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I met Dick Dale once for an interview before one of his shows. We spent about
two hours,
with Dick basically stroking his own ego like a monkey jerking off at a zoo.
Now, I was
brought up to believe humility is a positive virtue, so I came away with much
less respect
for Dick Dale as a person. But not as a musician...for, as they say, it ain't
braggin' if you
can back it up.
That night, Dick played a very good show. His tone, as many say, was monumental,
bleeding ear stuff. More 70s hard rock than surf, lots of distortion for surf
music. But, that
was okay by me, it was still a very energetic performance for a dude in his
mid-60s.
But then, he got my friend back stage to go try and shag young girls for him out
of the
audience, and as it happened, the two Dick picked were both friends of mine.
While he
tried to get them to party with him in his hotel room, all they did was have a
couple drinks
then split. Or so they swear.
Overall, I came away with no more nor any less respect for Dick as a musician,
but a lot
less respect for him as a person. I have to think he must have some deep-seated
insecurities to have to impress strangers with his tales. And, his lewd comments
and his
tiresome stories during the performance really took away from my enjoyment of
the
music.
While I acknowledge his contribution to the surf music sound, I think that he
wasn't the
lone seed that started the crop; there were many seminal artists, from Link Wray
to The
Shadows, Duane Eddy, and many more who were nipping at the apple. Dale just put
a wet
stamp on it.
But that doesn't mean I would want to spend a vacation with him, as he is very
much, just
Dick.
Gavin
