A country groove instrumental duo comprising guitarist
Jeremy Fetzer and pedal steel guitarist
Spencer Cullum, both veteran Nashville session musicians,
Steelism combines country twang, jazzy swing, blues, and an R&B punch, with throwback surf guitar, and
Ennio Morricone-like movie soundtrack washes in an utterly unique 21st century blend of all of these things and more.
Fetzer, who grew up in Canton, Ohio, and
Cullum, who grew up in Essex, England, met while touring the U.K. as part of Nashville singer
Caitlin Rose's band. The two began experimenting with impromptu instrumentals during soundchecks, and the idea for
Steelism took hold. A debut EP, The Intoxicating Sounds of Pedal Steel and Guitar, drew immediate critical acclaim, and the duo, backed by Nashville's
Jon Radford (drums) and
Michael Rinne (bass), released a full-length,
615 to FAME (half of the record was tracked at Muscle Shoals' historic FAME Studios while 615 was the duo's Nashville area code), on Single Lock Records in 2014. The pair released
The Drawing Room, Vol. 1 EP in 2015, returning with the full-length
Ism in the summer of 2017. ~ Steve Leggett