The Bamboo Williams
This is the love story
of Venus and Roger Shackelton, and the Bamboo Williams.
I was contacted by a player named Joe Tucker.
He had a Williams in his possession and was hoping to chat about it,
possibly looking to sell it. He told me a little bit about it through email.
He wasn’t in a rush and was looking for more like a classic 10 string.
So I kept my eye out for something up his alley.
Joe and I kept in touch and at some point I picked up
a nice MSA S10 down south aways.
Shot some pictures of the MSA over to him
and he was interested enough to meet up.
So I loaded it up and headed over to meet him.
It was one of the best evenings ever.
We jawed about so many things
from music to growing tomatoes.
He sent me home with a bag full of ‘em, ripe and juicy.
I heard stories about all the greats he played with:
Del Reeves, Reba, and countless others.
The steels got set up side by side, and he taught me some licks and changes. I was very interested in the Williams, especially after seeing it in person. He was also interested in the MSA.
It was just like the one he had way back in the day.
Joe told me about how the Williams belonged to his friend Roger,
who had since passed away.
Roger couldn’t find a home for it in time and instructed his wife about who to contact when she felt it was time to let go. So he’d picked it up and had been hanging on to it ever since.
After a few more laughs and some stories of his days on the road,
he made a very fair, straightforward offer:
the MSA and some boot money.
I agreed and we shook on the deal.
I was in no rush to let this one go. I brought it home and set it up immediately. It glowed. I could tell it was special but unsure as to why.
I was contacted by the luthier and musician Aleister Paige when he caught wind of the Williams.
His keen eye spotted something different about the wood. He asked for more pictures and info and I told him what I could, but the pictures led him to believe it was laminated Bamboo.
With some searching he found the posts of Roger trying to sell it before passing. It was heartbreaking to see such a beautiful one-of-a-kind steel passed up by so many people, especially now that I know why it was built. Brian, a local player and friend, took a look and talked with Bill Rudolph about it.
Bill confirmed it was, in fact, Bamboo.
I was really enjoying the steel but felt the need to find it a new home. I sent out feelers here and there. This wasn’t one that I could let stray far from me.
All this time I was wondering and had asked Joe, “Where is Roger’s wife?”…….but I didn’t get word back.
Time went by and Brian had a get together at his place. Some familiar faces and some new ones were there.
I brought a few steels with me for the group to check out. Among them was the Bamboo Williams.
I always try to get outside opinions on anything I take in or send out.
Several players sat at it and made it sing sweeter than I ever could.
The evening came to a close and Brian gave me a shout not long after. He really took a liking to it and it didn’t take long for us to meet up and he took it off my hands.
He sent me pictures of it by his fireplace in his living room.
But not too close….
It was good to know it found a new home.
Pieces of the story really started to come together when I was randomly contacted by a player from South Dakota named Keith.
Being that Keith was a musician and aspiring pedal masher he had been keeping his eye out for a steel.
He caught wind of a woman named Venus selling an old Multikord.
It wasn’t what he was looking for but figured he’d help me out with a heads up.
I immediately recognized her last name. So I sent a message and asked if she was related to Roger. Which, she of course was.
I asked her to call me.
It was so great to hear her voice.
I told her that I ended up with the Bamboo Williams at one point. We talked for a bit that evening and she invited me out to check out the last of the items Roger collected over the years.
It was about a 4 hour drive.
I was excited and on the edge of my seat the whole way.
Upon arrival we went right to it, opening boxes and containers.
Lots of odds and ends.
The Multikord was missing parts but was in great shape.
There was a case for a Fender 400. Bars, picks, and small parts galore.
So we went through things and talked and talked.
(Tap the photo to see the rest)
Then….
“TIME TO EAT!"
She fed me an amazing lunch of Pork Adobo and taught me Roger's favorite word: “MASARAP!”, which means ‘delicious’ in Filipino, her homeland. From what I tasted I'd bet Roger said it a lot!
After lunch Venus told me about the Bamboo Williams. It was the only one Bill Rudolph made and it was because of the friendship he and Roger had.
Roger requested it be built to commemorate their wedding trip to the Philippines which is why she held on to it much longer than most of his collection. Which sounds like it was quite large at one point.
We agreed on a price for everything she still had.
I decided to sort through it for better or worse when I got home.
I packed it all up, said goodbye and hit the road.
It was fun going through it all.
There were lots of things players needed or wanted. Some smaller items I gave away. Everything has been sent off to players but I kept one tone bar to myself.
It feels good to know it’s all out there getting some use now.
I decided to contact Keith and share the whole story.
I was very thankful he gave me the heads up and I returned the favor by giving him a great deal on a Steel!
A nice Zumsteel Stage One.
Just what he had been looking for all along.
I had picked it up originally from John Kingsley.
I had a nice Zum Encore that John had been looking for and we worked out a trade.
Which I originally got from Brian!
I want to thank everyone for the opportunity to meet so many great people and hear so many amazing stories. I always enjoy when someone gets just what they’ve been looking for.
