Paul Franklin Interview: Becoming The Pedal Steel Guitar Icon

[Chris W]

Thank you

Touring with Mark Knopfler was the greatest thing for me

Really?? No complains, no regrets, no memories of Mark's bad behaviour, or of his marriage, or whatever?

What a pity, so this is going to be a very short thread... 

1) You brought it up, not me. If people tire of the dark tales, stop raising the topic.
2) I spent almost the entire tour hanging out with Paul F and Chris White. I know exactly how Paul felt about the tour.
Hint - we never spent much time with Mark and John.
3) Some people value their loyalty and their professional reputations so generally speak in positives about every job. Paul's a nice guy and an in-demand professional, so I'm not surprised he mainly said positive things about the tour. As others have already said, Paul was just about Mark's favourite musician on the tour. Paul is an uber positive guy and easy going. He has no need to dredge up horror stories, although as Ed Bicknell has pointed out, both at the time and since, the tour was widely regarded as a major drag by all those involved, from the crew to the management.

[Chris W]

or maybe just choosing to let sleeping dogs lie.

^^ This ^^

[K-alberto]

OMG, this is worrying enough.
So if someone speaks in positive terms of MK, it's only because he wants to show "loyalty" and has to protect his professional reputation.
Otherwise, the only way to speak about the 91/92 tour is "horror stories".
Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.

[Chris W]

Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.

Hmm, you left out the bit where I spent almost ALL my time on the tour with Paul and Chris. Of course you know what he was saying in thinking better than me.
Also the way you paint it is very black and white. The vast majority of people in the creative industries do not wash their dirty laundry in public. It just isn't the done thing. People would rather focus on the positives. That's fine. So do I 95% of the time.
If people ask me about the tour in detail however, I'm just honest.
This is NO slight on Paul. As I said, he is a super nice, easy going guy, and I'm not surprised at all he hasn't repeated any negatives about the tour.

[Chris W]

Seemed to me that K-Alberto's comment was indeed made in jest.

Sure, I get it.
I really don't know why it had to come up again. It seems people don't want me to post about the tour, but reserve the right to make a point about me. Just enjoy Paul's tales, his take on music and life.....and leave me out of the discussion. That's to everyone btw.

[vape68]

Hilarious when he recalls the way Calling Elvis turned its style 
Worth to watch it!

what minute is that ? Can't find it

[K-alberto]

Hilarious when he recalls the way Calling Elvis turned its style 
Worth to watch it!

what minute is that ? Can't find it

Sorry vape, it's from the hunter video link (same page 1 in this same topic). You can find it from around minute 18:30 

[Chris W]

I have no doubt Mark's dream team was Paul Franklin and Jeff Porcaro. Chris White and Danny C were also around for the album.
In the guitar stakes I think Mark saw Paul as an equal. Anything Mark played, or asked Paul to play, Paul could achieve. Paul taking the pedal steel way beyond its country origins, performing rock style guitar solos on the tour, sometimes verging on complex be-bop jazz.
Paul would never have played huge outdoor shows, before or since, being mostly a studio musician. He says 'it was an eye opener'.
You can see in the videos, he is passionate about pedal steel as an instrument and it wasn't lost on him he was showcasing the best pedal steel can be to 60,000 people a night for over a year, as he says to something like 5 million people.
I think he regretted turning down so many album sessions while out on tour, and every time we had a couple of weeks off, he would fly back to Nashville and spend the whole time in the studio playing on sessions.

[ds1984]

At the time being, before the declining of CD sales, a session man could be a comfortable seat from a business perspective.
I know session men that continuoulsy refused to tour for that exact reason.
Because they feared if they became unavailable that someone else on the agenda's producers will take their position.

[Chris W]

Exactly right.
I think this was Paul's dilemma. Especially in the Nashville system. He regularly worked with all the top producers and artists. If someone turned up and took his place while he was on tour, he'd likely never get back in again.
Nashville is just about the only place still with consistent studio work since streaming.
If you are based in London or LA, you are probably on tour most of the year.

[K-alberto]

I have no doubt Mark's dream team was Paul Franklin and Jeff Porcaro. Chris White and Danny C were also around for the album.
In the guitar stakes I think Mark saw Paul as an equal. Anything Mark played, or asked Paul to play, Paul could achieve. Paul taking the pedal steel way beyond its country origins, performing rock style guitar solos on the tour, sometimes verging on complex be-bop jazz.
Paul would never have played huge outdoor shows, before or since, being mostly a studio musician. He says 'it was an eye opener'.
You can see in the videos, he is passionate about pedal steel as an instrument and it wasn't lost on him he was showcasing the best pedal steel can be to 60,000 people a night for over a year, as he says to something like 5 million people.
I think he regretted turning down so many album sessions while out on tour, and every time we had a couple of weeks off, he would fly back to Nashville and spend the whole time in the studio playing on sessions.

This insight is really helpful!

[Pottel]

OMG, this is worrying enough.
So if someone speaks in positive terms of MK, it's only because he wants to show "loyalty" and has to protect his professional reputation.
Otherwise, the only way to speak about the 91/92 tour is "horror stories".
Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.

oopsie someone dredge your god through the mud?
Chris is just recanting his memories and giving us some insights on others (PF) as he WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.
take of the pink glasses

[Robson]

 

[K-alberto]

OMG, this is worrying enough.
So if someone speaks in positive terms of MK, it's only because he wants to show "loyalty" and has to protect his professional reputation.
Otherwise, the only way to speak about the 91/92 tour is "horror stories".
Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.

oopsie someone dredge your god through the mud?
Chris is just recanting his memories and giving us some insights on others (PF) as he WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.
take of the pink glasses

Just bored by 200 posts all about the same thing. Time to move on, as you see in this topic (and in the videos) MUSIC gives us so much more to talk about...

[dustyvalentino]

OMG, this is worrying enough.
So if someone speaks in positive terms of MK, it's only because he wants to show "loyalty" and has to protect his professional reputation.
Otherwise, the only way to speak about the 91/92 tour is "horror stories".
Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.

oopsie someone dredge your god through the mud?
Chris is just recanting his memories and giving us some insights on others (PF) as he WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.
take of the pink glasses

Just bored by 200 posts all about the same thing. Time to move on, as you see in this topic (and in the videos) MUSIC gives us so much more to talk about...

Yes, so boring hearing about what it was like to be in Dire Straits from an actual member of Dire Straits.

I for one am much more interested in reading random speculation from nerdy middle aged men posting from their bedroom.