By Danny Coleman
originally published: 07/31/2015
"In 1955 I brought the first surf board to Wildwood, New Jersey. I was playing the Rainbow Bar and I'll not forget that Fats Domino was performing across the street. I brought that surf board in and people looked at me like I was crazy, they'd never seen anything like it; I had to get permission from the police to take it in the water because it was considered a weapon," explains the father of "Surf Rock" Dick Dale.
Dale brings his freewheeling, rip roaring guitar back to the Jersey Shore on August 8 with a one night only engagement at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park. Dale still maintains a touring schedule that would make even the most ardent of rockers half his 78 years of age wilt. With almost nightly shows, some in cities and towns hundreds of miles or sometimes states apart; Dale shows no signs of slowing down. "Twenty years ago they told my wife that I'd probably not make it off of the operating table," he lamented as he currently battles rectal cancer for a third time. "When I was twenty I was told that I had three months to live; guess what? I'm still here aren't I? I have to tour, I have to play; it's a matter of life and death for me. I have a $3,000 per month bill to pay for a stoma bag which needs to be changed daily or I die. Many people who have similar or other illnesses can't even get out of bed but I'm lucky. I said it before; I was supposed to be dead twenty years ago but I made changes. I don't drink, don't smoke or do drugs and I don't eat red meat; what I put in my body has saved me. Look, I'll never stay home and build that ship in a bottle and I truly feel that our maker has chosen me to set an example for young people; kind of like a Johnny Appleseed. If I can engage them and they get well or look at life differently; then I have done my job one town, one show at a time. I don't like musicians because I think they set a bad example for our young people. I'm not a musician, I can't tell the difference between a ninth chord and any other chord but I can play any instrument put in front of me. I take the young kids who come to my shows and ask me to show them how to play and I sit them down and say, "First let me clear your mind because you have to have an open mind to learn." "My wife Lana is my booking agent and handles all the press; she has M.S but we try to show people that you can get through the pain. When people see me on stage and realize what I am battling through, I hope that it makes their pain a bit easier to take. Lana tries to book my shows accordingly to work with both my illness and our schedules. You need a sense of humor in this business and despite your troubles; be able to laugh at yourself. I may be on the other side of youth but I've never seen anyone walk away after a Dick Dale show and say, "That guy sucks!"
Dale is an avid surfer and is widely known as "The King of The Surf Guitar." Born in Massachusetts, he moved to California after his junior year in high school and took up the art of the long board. Already an accomplished player of the piano, ukulele, guitar, drums and trumpet; Dale was captivated with sounds. Deriving his fierce picking style and unique sound from listening to drummers and wild animals, he found that recreating them and their rhythmic, at times aggressive sound patterns, was just what he needed. "I view music and touring as an instrument to make people feel better," he explained with enthusiasm. "I play my music like I think and feel; from the sounds I hear in my head. Gene Krupa was an unbelievable drummer; his beats, his feel and the way he wrote drove people to move. I wanted my music to be that way, I wanted to play those tribal drum beats on my guitar. When I was nine, I think I was nine, maybe younger, my dad actually shoved me on stage and left me there; it was a real sink or swim moment. Lucky for me I swam and never looked back. When I go on stage, I've never used a list. I just get on stage and play. I play to those rhythms that the animals make, those sounds that I'd hear at night. Lana will feed the coyotes near our home; she'll feed them and their babies. Their cries, the way they communicate when hungry or defensive inspire me and always has. I worked with Liberace in Vegas and I learned from him that you don't play to or for your band; you play to the people. Krupa, Louie Armstrong; these guys were entertainers. There is a difference between a musician and an entertainer and boy are they different. So I try and make my music different by using a style that has served me pretty well."
That "Style" has resulted in multiple song placements in television commercials, on shows and in movies like "Pulp Fiction" and "Escape From L.A." as well as appearances and soundtrack contributions to films such as "A Swinging Affair," "Beach Party," "Muscle Beach Party," "Back To The Beach," the last three starring Annette Funacello and Frankie Avalon as well as "Let's Make Love," starring the late great seductive, sexy actress Marilyn Monroe. Dale has also won multiple awards and garnered nominations for a Grammy, has his music placed in the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame and earned the title "Forefather of Rock 'N' Roll. He has been inducted into the "White House Congressional Hall of Records," the "Hollywood Walk of Fame," received a plethora of lifetime achievement awards and even played atop Disney's Space Mountain in 1998. Dale is also responsible for assisting his good friend Leo Fender in the adaptation of the Fender Stratocaster and amplification. Fender came upon Dale and asked him to play his "New creation," the "Strat" and what happened next had Fender laughing. Dale, a left handed player, took a right handed guitar and turned it "Upside down and backwards" and began playing; transposing the chords and leads in his head as he worked the fret board. "I saw Jimi Hendrix one night playing left handed bass for Little Richard, he and I talked and I showed him how I played my guitar; he got a good laugh but he learned a little something too," laughed Dale. Fender gave his friend amplifiers by the dozens; each one causing Leo to re-evaluate his creation. Dale "Blew Up" many of the amps and even had one catch on fire from the intense volume and drive with which he performed. This experimentation led to the development and Fender partnering with JBL speakers and even the creation of the Fender "Tank Reverb" feature.
Perhaps a bit more reserved but still as aggressive, Dale uses his talents and name to promote wellness, love and great music which brings an audience together. "I use music as a gathering source. No matter what genre I play, be it country, rock, jazz, surf style; I use it to bring people together for a good time and to share in something special. I try to be the best that I can be at no matter what I do. When I was a kid, I worked in a bakery, I dug clams, I worked digging ditches; I made twelve cents and five cents an hour at those jobs but I wanted to know everything I could about the job from start to finish. I'm the kind of guy, where if I worked in a car wash; I'd want to do everything in that car wash so that I could learn everything there is to know about the job so that if needed I could run the place. This is why I talk to kids, even while I'm on stage; do yo think kids today would do what I did for the money that I just talked about? I try and teach values and hard work and press that we all should try and do something for somebody for nothing and just for the gratification of doing something nice for somebody; when's the last time anyone has tried that?"
Dick dale calls himself a "Jack of all trades" but he will be the first to admit that he masters none as he views his playing and life in general as an ever evolving learning process. "Life is a learning experience and when you refuse to learn from your mistakes or stop trying to do what's right you should probably be dead," he laughed. "Life is like walking a mine field; you have to watch your step. I go out and help people; learning all along the way. I try to do so through music and without stepping on any toes and if I can do that; then I have succeeded."
Dick Dale rides a wave of popularity into the Wonder Bar located on the corner of Fifth & Ocean Avenues in Asbury Park, NJ. Tickets for this August 8 event featuring The Coffin Daggers and Black Flamingos as opening acts are $30 in advance or $35 at the door and the doors open at 7:30 p.m.
To learn more about Dick Dale; please visit www.dickdale.com
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
THIS WEEKS CALENDAR LISTINGS
Alchemist & Barrister
28 Witherspoon Street Princeton
(609) 924-5555
Thurs. 10 p.m. Mike & Laura
Sun. 9 p.m. (TBA)
All shows 21+
29 Church St. Windsor
(609) 448-7144
Fri. 8 p.m. Sounds of The Street
Sat. 8 p.m. After Dark
Blend Bar & Bistro
911 Highway 33, Hamilton
(609) 245-8887
Tues. 8 p.m. Triviajam
The Backstage at Championship Bar
931 Chambers St. Trenton
Fri. 7 p.m. Crescent Ave., From Below, (TBA). All ages, $10
Sat. 7 p.m. Eye of The Destroyer, We...Our War, Oraculum, Carnavarice Breath. All ages, $10
Candlelight Lounge
24 Passaic St. Trenton
(609) 695-9612
Sat. 3 p.m. Daryl Yokley Sax Quartet. (No cover-$10 minimum)
Chickie's & Pete's
183 US Highway 130 North Bordentown
(609) 298-9182
Tues. 8 p.m. Acoustic Music Night feat. The Dawgs
Wed. 9 p.m. Trivia Night
Dog & Bull Brew House
810 Bristol Pike (Rte. 13) Croydon, PA.
(215) 788-2855
Thurs. 8 p.m. The Jangle Experience
Fri. (4 p.m.) "Happy Hour Jam" feat. Visoon (9 p.m.) Big Soul Chicken
Sat. (11 a.m.) "Saturday Brunch Jam" feat. Dave Dzubinski (9 p.m.) Visoon
Sun. (11 a.m.) "Sunday Brunch" feat. Dick Gratton (3 p.m.) Tommy Griggz
Mon. 8 p.m. The Keith Lesnik Trio
Tues. 8 p.m. Nytrous
Wed. 8 p.m. Joe Robinson
Fran's Pub
116 S. Main St. New Hope, PA.
(215)862-5539
Thurs. 9 p.m. Curtain Call
Mon. 8 p.m. Open Blues Jam
All shows 21+
Halo Pub
9 Hullfish Street Princeton
(609) 921-1710
Sat. 6 p.m. Dick Gratton
Havana New Hope
105 S. Main Street. New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-9897
Thurs. 10 p.m. "Beat The Clock" College Night DJ Dance Party
Fri. 8 p.m. Best of The Eagles. Doors at 6 p.m., $25
Sat. 8:30 p.m. Hot D
Sun. 2 p.m. Midnight Sun
Mon. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Ron
Tues. 7 p.m. "A Taste of Artistry" Paint and Sip Night
Wed. 8 p.m. Pat Foran & Friends
Ivy Tavern
3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton
(609) 888-1435
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Fri. 10 p.m. Gunsmoke
Sat. 10 p.m. Papa Delux
All shows 21+
John & Peter's
96 S. Main St. New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-5981
Fri. 9 p.m. Keith Kenny
Sat. (3 p.m.) 15th Century Moxie (9 p.m.) Vinyl Approach
Sun. (3 p.m.) Little Leslie & The Bloodshots (9 p.m.) The Naturalists
Mon. 9 p.m. Open Mic. w/ Tim
Wed. 9:30 p.m. The Invitational
All shows 21+
JoJo's Tavern
2677 Nottingham Way Hamilton
(609) 586-2678
Wed. 10 p.m. Karaoke
Palermo's Of Hamilton
310 Klockner Rd. Hamilton
(609) 838-7979
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Sat. 9 p.m. Radio Fiction
All shows 21+
Patriot's Crossing
1339 River Rd. Titusville
(609) 737-2780
Fri. 7:30 p.m. Just Us
Sat. 7:30 p.m. Riverdogs
Pete's Steak House
523 Whitehorse Ave. Hamilton
(609) 585-8008
Fri. 9:30 p.m. Infinite Bandwidth
Sat. 9:30 p.m. (TBA)
Randy Now's Man Cave
134 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown
(609) 424-3766
Please Check web Page for Events
RHO Waterfront
50 Riverview Plaza Trenton
(609) 393-7300
Fri. (4 p.m.) Happy Hour Buffet. $10 (8:30 p.m.) The Soul Cruisers
Tavern On The Lake101 Main St. Hightstown
(609) 426-9345
Wed. 8 p.m. Karaoke Night
The Cool Cricket
216 4th St. Fieldsboro
(609) 291-9110
Sat. 9 p.m. Dirty Red
The HOB Tavern
146 Second Street
(609) 291-7020
Sat. 9 p.m. Karaoke
The Ivy Inn
248 Nassau St. Princeton
(609) 921-8555
Thurs. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Ron
Fri. 10 p.m. Jam Lab
Sat. 10 p.m. DJ Fatha Ramzee
Tues. 8 p.m. Quizzo w/ Bob E Luv
Wed. (8:30 p.m.) Tune Trivia (10:30 p.m.) DJ Rockn Ron
The Sticky Wicket
2465 South Broad St. Hamilton
(609) 439-0007
Fri. 9 p.m. It Starts With ST
Sat. 9 p.m. Never Enough
The Sun National Bank Center
81 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 656-3200
Check web site for upcoming events
Tir Na Nog
1324 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 392-2554
Fri. 9 p.m. Bill Shannon
Sat. 9 p.m. Oliver McElhone
Sun. 3 p.m. "Irish Sessions" w/ Kathy DeAngelo & Dennis Gormley
All shows 21+
Trenton Buzz702 Pine St. Trenton
(609) 392-6000
Thurs. 8 p.m. Open Mic. w/ Hek Cat
Trenton Social
449 South Broad Street Trenton
(609) 989-7777
Thurs. 8:30 p.m. Cinema Thursday Presents: (TBA)
Fri. 7 p.m. First Friday
Mon. 10 p.m. Service Industry Night w/ DJ-Jay Kountree
Tues. 7 p.m. Open Mic.
Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location)
400 Union Square New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-8300
Fri. 10 p.m. Elison Jackson w/ Mobile Steam Unit. ($5 cover charge)
Sat. 10 p.m. La Capitana. ($5 cover charge)
Sun. 7 p.m. Open Jam Night
All shows 21+
Wildflowers Inn
2572 Pennington Rd. Pennington
Sat. 9 p.m. Acoustic Rock
All shows 21+
