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Old 10-09-2017, 12:30 AM
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Charmed Life Picks Charmed Life Picks is offline
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Default Live Cover of Michael Smith's "The Dutchman"

Michael Smith is one of the most under-the-radar songwriters in American music. However, in the last forty years he has produced some of the most beautiful songs on the planet, admired by everyone from Dylan to John Prine. "The Dutchman" alone has been covered by dozens of artists and is his most well-known song. The version below is one I borrowed from Steve Goodman.

BTW, if you've never played an Eastman, don't believe the chatter about "they're pretty good for the money." If you find a good one, it owes no apology to anyone. Whenever I can, I play directly in to a mic without a pick, most of which, even the good ones, sound like crap.

Enjoy!

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Old 10-09-2017, 05:11 AM
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I have seen this video before...

I am glad you posted it again here...

It not only is a testament to the fantastic tone of the E10SS, which has a deep throaty power beneath that powers even your delicate playing of this song.

The video is great for another reason. When I listen closely I get an excellent lesson on performing dynamics. At times your voice softens to barely a whisper, and it draws a listener in.

This is really a fantastic performance of a great song.
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Old 10-09-2017, 09:59 AM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Very nice job on this, Scott! I enjoyed it!

- Glenn
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Old 10-10-2017, 10:08 PM
marty bradbury marty bradbury is offline
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This song has always stirred my emotions, Your vocals and playing were great!
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Old 10-11-2017, 07:38 AM
auggie242 auggie242 is offline
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Songwriters don't get any better than Michael Peter Smith.
Nice job, Scott!
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Old 10-13-2017, 05:50 PM
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To the last four posters: Sorry for the delayed response. Finally had a moment to come up for air.

themissal: Wow, can't thank you enough. I've always respected your posts and thank you for the extremely kind words. On the E-10SS: Anyone who says an Eastman is just "a good guitar for the money" is missing the boat entirely. These are flat-out world-class guitars, at any price. They seriously rival Collins, SC, Martin, Gibson, you name it. Anyone who's play a good one will tell you the same thing. Missal: I'm trying to remember: Do you also own an Eastman E-40 or E-20 OM? My next major acquisition will be a top-end OM and I've narrowed it down to the Martin OM-28 or the Eastman E-40OM. So much guitar for the money.

Glenn: Thanks. Please email me some of your new stuff. Always enjoy listening to it.

Marty. Deeply appreciate that. I continue to play this song as a testament to Steve Goodman. Even though he didn't write it, he did a fantastic cover, and it was the first version I heard. Here's Steve and Jethro tearing it up on the same song, two charmers and superb players, both deeply missed:



Auggie, howdy, how ya been? Always great to hear from you. Thanks for the kind words. So many people don't even know who Michael Smith is. I share your opinion. Although his output is not massive, I cannot think of a better writer in the Americana genre that Mike Smith, and I include Dylan, Prine, Hiatt and Tom Waits in that consideration. I also do a version of "Sister Clarissa," which is another stunner from his pen.

Thanks again to all of you. Great songs stick to me like velcro, and I've been playing "The Dutchman" for more than thirty years now.

Peace,
Scott Memmer
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Old 10-13-2017, 05:52 PM
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Nicely done, Scott!
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Old 10-14-2017, 04:23 AM
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Scott... I do not have another Eastman aside from my E10ss. I do have a few Martins and Gibson’s though. none OM. I did own a Martin 0000-21 Steve Earle years ago. It was a stellar guitar: very melodic, insane sustain, power, but more balanced than a dread.
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Old 10-14-2017, 08:42 AM
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Well Scott you did a great job on that! Great playing, everything. And I am in awe of that guitar sound. Hmmm...

I love the sound a mic'd guitar? Do you have any tips? What mic, signal chain, whatever?
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Old 10-14-2017, 08:56 AM
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Thank you for this, and for the regular reminders on the forum about some of the greatest talent we've ever had.

We hosted Michael for a concert in Whitefish, MT back in the early 1990s, when we were running a concert series there.

Michael was a joy to have with us, and it was a more-than-memorable concert, for sure.

One of the best...
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Old 10-15-2017, 08:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LiveMusic View Post
Well Scott you did a great job on that! Great playing, everything. And I am in awe of that guitar sound. Hmmm...

I love the sound a mic'd guitar? Do you have any tips? What mic, signal chain, whatever?
Bill, howdy. Thanks for your post.

On the microphone thing, I couldn't agree more. I have two of the best pickups in the industry on two superb guitars and I still hate them. Why? None of them sound as good as a $100 Shure mic. I believe that one is an SM-58, which you can buy used in CL for about $50. I've heard the 57 is better for guitar, but that sounds pretty good to me.
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Old 10-18-2017, 12:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LiveMusic View Post
Well Scott you did a great job on that! Great playing, everything. And I am in awe of that guitar sound. Hmmm...

I love the sound a mic'd guitar? Do you have any tips? What mic, signal chain, whatever?
Live, I looked at this vid again and realize I misinformed you. In this particular case, I am NOT running the pickup on the guitar into the board. The only source here is a Shure SM-58. Shows how dang loud a good Eastman is.

Sorry for the confusion.

scott
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Old 10-18-2017, 12:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Pattis View Post
Thank you for this, and for the regular reminders on the forum about some of the greatest talent we've ever had.

We hosted Michael for a concert in Whitefish, MT back in the early 1990s, when we were running a concert series there.

Michael was a joy to have with us, and it was a more-than-memorable concert, for sure.

One of the best...
Larry, forgive my tardiness in getting back to you on this. I read it a few days ago with a great deal of joy. Cause for the joy? So few know about Michael, it's nice to see a fellow traveler. I worship only a very few songs, but "The Dutchman" is certainly near the top of that list.

The best version I've ever heard of this song is Michael's own live version, performed at the memorial concert for Steve Goodman after his death in Sept '84. Everyone who was anyone was there -- Arlo, Prine, Bonnie Raitt, Michael, Bromberg, Dirt Band, Jethro, John Hartford. Michael did "The Dutchman" at the very end, and it was like this sad prayer celebrating Steve's talent and impact on everyone. There's no video recording of the event that I know of, but here's the audio of Michael's stunning performance:



Here's a link to this wonderful live CD. A lot of hilarious stories about Stevie Goodman:

https://www.amazon.com/Tribute-Steve.../dp/B000000DLZ
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Last edited by Charmed Life Picks; 10-18-2017 at 12:15 PM.
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