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I'm sure most of us saw this on Cowabunga, but in the light of the
recent discussions of the Dickster, I thought everyone would enjoy
reading this one.... The mind (and ego in this case) boggles
~Bill~
By JEFF SIMONS, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (February 28, 2001 1:18 p.m. EST) - Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth jump up from
their table in a Los Angeles coffee shop, whip out their pistols and
kick off a brazen early morning holdup. It's the opening scene
of "Pulp Fiction" and what follows is a surge of power.
Not gun power. Guitar power.
It's Dick Dale ripping out the opening riffs of "Misirlou," a
ferocious, nails-scraping-the-slate fusion of frenzied flamenco and
Motor City metal that jump-starts Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film.
Like Jerry Garcia's Deadheads, Dale has, over his 40-year career,
garnered his own die-hard following. At a smoke-choked show at the
Launchpad, his fans, dressed in their off-color T-shirts, were
ubiquitous.
Dressed in black jeans, shirt, boots and Harley-Davidson jacket, the
63-year-old rock musician pumped out a nonstop set that
included "Misirlou," "Spear Dance" and "Trail of Tears."
His first single, released in 1962, was the guitar
instrumental "Let's Go Trippin'."
He continued recording and performing his brand of surf music during
the '60s and '70s, making appearances in the films "Beach Party," "A
Swingin' Affair" and "Muscle Beach Party."
"Spatial Disorientation" is his latest album.
1. What's the story behind "Misirlou" and "Pulp Fiction"?
Dale: Quentin Tarantino came to me and said, 'I've been a fan for
years. Your song "Misirlou" is a masterpiece. It's like "The Good,
the Bad and the Ugly." It's like "Ben-Hur." It's very heraldic.'
'Misirlou' goes back to the beginning of time. It's not a Greek folk
song like people think; it's an Egyptian song.
I created my version of 'Misirlou' at the Rendezvous Ballroom (in
California) when a little kid asked if I could play something on a
single string. So I went home and tried to figure out what to do. I
was playing 'Misirlou' very slow and realized the sound was too thin,
so I added a little bit of a Gene Krupa beat and speeded it up.
Eventually 'Misirlou' became my anthem.
2. What does the title of your latest album, "Spatial
Disorientation," mean?
Dale: Well, it means left is right and right is left. And me being a
pilot, you can experience this if you're not careful in what you do.
But when we play, that's what takes place. We not only go into
spatial disorientation, we put everyone else into spatial
disorientation where they're on a roller-coaster ride of emotion, of
sounds that go anywhere. Nothing is played the same way twice.
Nothing is ever solid - in a certain pattern - except my application
of rhythm. And my rhythm is very disciplined, and it's done a certain
way. It's a pulsation - an application of accentuation - and that's
why we sound so big. That's the key to the whole power thing, no
matter what we play.
3. Your music often sounds like a mix of Spanish minor modes and
heavy metal. Are there are other influences coming into play?
Dale: My music is a mixture of everything. It's a mixture of sadness,
happiness, anger. Spanish is only one of the modes I play. Other
modes I play come from the different indigenous people that I've met,
including the indigenous people of Australia.
4. Why do you refer to yourself as a "manipulator of instruments"?
Dale: I'm playing these instruments - drums, trumpet, guitar - from
my soul, from within. But I'm not playing them with the knowledge of
a person who has been to a school of music. I've never taken a lesson
in my life; I play strictly by ear.
5. What about the origins of surf music?
Dale: Some people say surf music started in the '60s, but it didn't.
It started in 1958. That's when I started creating those sounds. It's
Dick Dale music. They call it surf music because I was surfing. They
could have called it 'Tarzan of the Jungle' music. ... Because I was
raising lions and tigers and cheetahs and leopards. And a lot of that
sound came from the roar of my mountain lions and at the same time,
when I started surfing, it came from the roar of the ocean. So they
could have called me 'Dick Dale, king of the lions' because that's
what I had.
Bill Bergstrom wrote:
> Dale: Some people say surf music started in the '60s, but it didn't.
> It started in 1958. That's when I started creating those sounds. It's
> Dick Dale music. They call it surf music because I was surfing.
Yeah, that's a pretty messed-up attitude.
-c*
Ok the King of the Lions plays Dick Dale music, aka, Roar Music. And
never stopped, in his solipsistic way, to develop any curiosity about
music theory or fretboard mechanics, or any of the other purveyors of
reverb soaked guitar music. He's the original Dickhead of the Jungle.
--- In , "Bill Bergstrom"
<swingin_cat@h...> wrote:
> I'm sure most of us saw this on Cowabunga, but in the light of the
> recent discussions of the Dickster, I thought everyone would enjoy
> reading this one.... The mind (and ego in this case) boggles
> ~Bill~
>
>
> By JEFF SIMONS, Associated Press
> ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (February 28, 2001 1:18 p.m. EST
>
> ) - Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth jump up from
> their table in a Los Angeles coffee shop, whip out their pistols and
> kick off a brazen early morning holdup. It's the opening scene
> of "Pulp Fiction" and what follows is a surge of power.
>
> Not gun power. Guitar power.
>
> It's Dick Dale ripping out the opening riffs of "Misirlou," a
> ferocious, nails-scraping-the-slate fusion of frenzied flamenco and
> Motor City metal that jump-starts Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film.
>
> Like Jerry Garcia's Deadheads, Dale has, over his 40-year career,
> garnered his own die-hard following. At a smoke-choked show at the
> Launchpad, his fans, dressed in their off-color T-shirts, were
> ubiquitous.
>
> Dressed in black jeans, shirt, boots and Harley-Davidson jacket, the
> 63-year-old rock musician pumped out a nonstop set that
> included "Misirlou," "Spear Dance" and "Trail of Tears."
> His first single, released in 1962, was the guitar
> instrumental "Let's Go Trippin'."
>
> He continued recording and performing his brand of surf music during
> the '60s and '70s, making appearances in the films "Beach Party," "A
> Swingin' Affair" and "Muscle Beach Party."
>
> "Spatial Disorientation" is his latest album.
>
> 1. What's the story behind "Misirlou" and "Pulp Fiction"?
>
> Dale: Quentin Tarantino came to me and said, 'I've been a fan for
> years. Your song "Misirlou" is a masterpiece. It's like "The Good,
> the Bad and the Ugly." It's like "Ben-Hur." It's very heraldic.'
>
> 'Misirlou' goes back to the beginning of time. It's not a Greek folk
> song like people think; it's an Egyptian song.
> I created my version of 'Misirlou' at the Rendezvous Ballroom (in
> California) when a little kid asked if I could play something on a
> single string. So I went home and tried to figure out what to do. I
> was playing 'Misirlou' very slow and realized the sound was too thin,
> so I added a little bit of a Gene Krupa beat and speeded it up.
> Eventually 'Misirlou' became my anthem.
>
> 2. What does the title of your latest album, "Spatial
> Disorientation," mean?
>
> Dale: Well, it means left is right and right is left. And me being a
> pilot, you can experience this if you're not careful in what you do.
> But when we play, that's what takes place. We not only go into
> spatial disorientation, we put everyone else into spatial
> disorientation where they're on a roller-coaster ride of emotion, of
> sounds that go anywhere. Nothing is played the same way twice.
> Nothing is ever solid - in a certain pattern - except my application
> of rhythm. And my rhythm is very disciplined, and it's done a certain
> way. It's a pulsation - an application of accentuation - and that's
> why we sound so big. That's the key to the whole power thing, no
> matter what we play.
>
> 3. Your music often sounds like a mix of Spanish minor modes and
> heavy metal. Are there are other influences coming into play?
>
> Dale: My music is a mixture of everything. It's a mixture of sadness,
> happiness, anger. Spanish is only one of the modes I play. Other
> modes I play come from the different indigenous people that I've met,
> including the indigenous people of Australia.
>
> 4. Why do you refer to yourself as a "manipulator of instruments"?
>
> Dale: I'm playing these instruments - drums, trumpet, guitar - from
> my soul, from within. But I'm not playing them with the knowledge of
> a person who has been to a school of music. I've never taken a lesson
> in my life; I play strictly by ear.
>
> 5. What about the origins of surf music?
>
> Dale: Some people say surf music started in the '60s, but it didn't.
> It started in 1958. That's when I started creating those sounds. It's
> Dick Dale music. They call it surf music because I was surfing. They
> could have called it 'Tarzan of the Jungle' music. ... Because I was
> raising lions and tigers and cheetahs and leopards. And a lot of that
> sound came from the roar of my mountain lions and at the same time,
> when I started surfing, it came from the roar of the ocean. So they
> could have called me 'Dick Dale, king of the lions' because that's
> what I had.
