Menu
Yeah - that pretty much sums it up for me, too. I think I've seen him five
times as well, or more like 3 or 4 & there are a few good tunes, but way too
much BS between songs or during songs & the worst part of it is that the chatter
doesn't change...ever. He says the same damn thing every time - blah blah blah,
me, me , me, Mountain Dew paid me alot of money to use this song in their
commercial, blah blah...I don't don't know how to play trumpet, but here it
goes - I need a pretty young girl to hold my sheet music, blah, blah, blah, this
is a song for the ladies about my favorite town in Brazil, blah, blah - House of
the Rising Sun, blah, I did this song with Stevie Ray Vaughn, blah blah, I
designed the Strat with Leo Fender - blah. I guess since most of his songs
don't have lyrics, he says the same things year after year so people can
memorize that instead. In any case, he does put on a good show for the
uninitiated - and Dusty always puts on a good show for everyone, which is the
sole reason I'll probably catch him when he comes through New England, or at
least New York (and he's playing 4 or 5 times within a 2 hour drive).
You do have to respect a guy that can play surf (even though its not really surf
anymore) & make a living at it - after all, he keeps getting booked at
respectable clubs and draws substantial crowds( or at least enough to keep
working). If I lived in Iowa or some other remote outpost, I would go see him
(for Dusty of course) because the chances of The Bambi Molesters or The Bitch
Boys (or even a really good domestic band other than Los Straitjackets) coming
through town are none to less than none
And I've seen Captain Ron trolling for some very young arse at many a show - and
these girls are young enough to be dd's granddaughters' younger, adopted
half-siblings.
I still prefer Slacktone's version of Miserlou - why can't that be in a
commercial?
-tfj-
----- Original Message -----
From: ipongrac
To:
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2003 12:07 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Dick Dale
Well, there are a lot of people that really seem to enjoy DD's live
show, and good for all of you. I just wanted to quiclkly give the
opposite view. I've seen DD at least five times, and probably more
like six or seven. The first time was in the fall of '92 (I think
anyway), and I loved it. It was even before Pulp Fiction came out.
Then again in the Fall of '93 and I '94 or '95. Each time I liked it
less because 1) his chatter and attitude were very irritating - it's
all about "me, me, me, native americans, me, me, me, we're destroying
the environment, i'm so sad, me, me, me, I used to have lions,
tigers, me, me, me...." Once or twice is fine, but after a few times
it really started getting on my nerves; 2) he was playing songs less
and less, and more just jamming - well, that's fine if you're Hendrix
or something, but DD is NOT - his improvisational vocabulary is
extremely limited and just plain boring, I think - I guess he
improvises more with rhythm, but even that gets very repetative - the
worst was a version of Third Stone From the Sun by Hendrix that was
deadly dull only after the first minute, and that he kept up for over
6 or 7 minutes - I'm not sure how long, cause I walked out of the
show at that point (that was in '96); 3) until Dusty he was using
really bad heavy metal drummers who had no idea how to swing along to
his music - and he even tells Dusty what to play and what not to
play, and the surf beat is stricly verboten - in fact, anything but
really plodding and straight beats seem to be off limits; 4) I find
his entire persona quite unlikable at this point - the whole thing
with the leather gear and the pony tail is just downright silly - in
addition, he's often hitting on (NOT flirting with) girls that can
literally be his grandaughters, which is just sick, I don't find that
playful, I find it disturbing (he was even hitting on Catherine of
the Cossacks once IN FRONT OF HIS YOUNG WIFE - hugged her really
tight, said "Oooh, perfect fit" and gave her his phone number!).
There are more reasons, Ron Eglit is basically the guy's puppet on
stage, and have I mentioned that he never plays actual SONGS
anymore? Finally, he refers to himself in third person the entire
time - how weird is that? I've hung out with him, and I've never
seen him be anything but incredibly self-centered and self-involved.
Yes, he'll take a lot of time to spend with fans, but try talkling to
him about anything else but HIM, and he's gone.
In case you're wondering why I went to see him ever again after
walking out on him in '96, well, once was because Dusty invited me
and got us in for free - since I'm a big fan of Dusty's I decided to
go see if DD was better with him (he was but not by much). The
second time was at the Rendezvous Reunion in 2000 where the Cossacks
also played, so I was kinda stuck there. I actually went backstage
halfway through - just couldn't take it anymore.
OK, to end on a positive note: the man started this music that we
love, and for that he deserved our respect. And everybody should see
him once. In addition, he can definitely still play, and his tone is
killer - at least he's stayed true to that. Just be aware of what
you'll be getting ahead of time. Hope you like it.
Ivan
--- In , DP <noetical1@y...> wrote:
> PS: DD does put on one of the best live show ever...
> I would rank his shows up there with classic "rockin" bands
> like:
> the Who and The Minutemen...100% heart and soul, volume and
> rockin' energy...you'll leave the show changed person.
>
> DP
>
>
> --- Brian Neal <bneal@z...> wrote:
> > > PS DD today is a total wanker - an army of 'chunkin''
> > guitarists
> > > wouldn't save him. (sorry - my rant for the day)
> >
> > It just so happens that DD is coming within easy driving
> > distance from me in
> > 2 weeks. I've never seen the guy, but feel obligated to
> > go see him at least
> > once. I am going to try to keep an open mind. His 90's
> > stuff has been kind
> > of a mixed bag for me. There is no denying his 60's
> > output though. Holy cow!
> > I am just as excited to see Dusty Watson on drums.
> >
> > So, any advice? I hear he is brutally loud, packing 2
> > Dual Showmans!
> > Earplugs anyone?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > BN
> >
> >
> > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> >
> > Visit for
> > archived messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
> >
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
>
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
