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This appeared in the on-line edition of Fender News. Interestingly, Dick claims to be the inspiration for the name "Showman," which was a new one to me!

Surf Legend Dick Dale Visits Fender HQ

The “King of Surf Guitar” himself, Dick Dale, popped by Fender headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Tuesday, Oct. 18, holding court before a group of enthralled Fender fans.

The anything-but-soft-spoken Dale, in town for a performance in Phoenix, made it abundantly clear that, at age 68, he can still punish a Strat with the best of ’em, and he can still kick your …

Well, you get the picture. Seriously.

Consider that Dale is playing 37 shows in 42 days, a tour schedule that’d make other guitarists a fraction of his age cry like babies. Consider that he actively remains a busy recording artist (new album: Dick Dale Live at the Hard Rock Café, Dallas; a tribute to Joe Maphis is in the works) accomplished pilot, martial arts expert, and involved and dedicated parent (Dale’s 13-year-old son, Jimmy, often joins his father onstage). Consider that, unlike many of his ’60s So-Cal surf-music contemporaries who never even dipped so much as a pinky toe in the wild Pacific, Dale really was—and still is—an avid surfer.

Dale spoke affectionately of the “old days” at Fender, when his pal Leo—yeah, that Leo—often sought his consultation on the development of this guitar or that amp. He likes to tell the story of how Leo once told him, “Dick, you’re such a showman,” thus providing the inspiration for the name of one of Fender’s most successful ’60s amp lines.

“Fender is a company with such a beautiful history,” Dale mused.

He ought to know; he was an integral part of it. Dale is widely regarded, of course, as the spiritual father of surf music. His Fender-fueled machine-gun playing, reverb-drenched tone and oddly Middle-Eastern musical sense produced what is perhaps the greatest instrumental surf tune of all time, the immortal “Miserlou.”

“I was emulating the sound of the roar of lions,” Dale said.

Dale signed autographs and regaled Fender staff with an inexhaustible supply of anecdotes and attitude. “My brain never left 20, but my body ain’t buying it,” he cracked. “I’m for the underdog. I fight the system all the time—I’m for the bad boys!”

Keep up with Dick Dale if you can (good luck with that), online at www.dickdale.com.