4/11/09

Dude! Me and Rikki Styxx are MARRIED! Wow what a wonderful wonderful time in my life. I could not be happier or more blown away by the beauty of this woman inside and out. Oh lucky me I say. Go here to see some pics of the wedding and our honeymoon in Costa Rica. WE ARE STOKED!!!!

1/15/09

Hello NAMM. Ludwig, Sabian, Vater, Aquarian, Revolution Drum - all have been so fabulous to me this past year. Looking forward to seeing everyone and saying HEELLLOOOOO. Things I'll be looking at this year: snare throw offs - there are lots of hot rod high tech stuff out these days; cases - god i ALWAYS need new cases wtf? i talked with SKB at the PASIC show in Austin a couple months ago and their stuff is guaranteed for life and i have some of their cases i could take to their shop in OC to get fixed (only a few minutes from my house) but i really want something similar to the old school roller trap case, also i need a multi snare case that i can fly with; bass drum beaters including a long neck one for my 26" killah; better mic clips or rim mounts for toms. Well as you can see i have several things i am looking at.

2009 celebrates 100 years of Ludwig!

NAMM schedule

Friday 1/16

This is a crazy busy day for me. Check this out. The day starts out with an autograph session for Ludwig Drums with all kinds of other Ludwig artists. Come by and get some cool 8x10's and check out the new Legacy Drums - 3 ply old school shells with reinforcement hoops. You are gonna DIE for these drums! Another great addition to the line is the Black Magic snare drums. Similar to the Black Beauty but you don't have to wait a year to get one! Stop by the booth and check 'em out.

NAMM SHOW
@ Anaheim Convention Center
800 W. Katella Ave - Anaheim, CA
Friday, January 16
2:00 - 3:00PM @ Ludwig Booth

and then I have 3 shows WOO-HOO!

6:00 PM The Surfaris and Friends
Marriott Hotel
Anaheim Convention Center

9:00 PM Slacktone
Lofflers
8901 Katella Ave
Anaheim
Fender Custom Shop Kids Rock Free Benefit

11:00 PM Agent Orange
OC Tavern
2369 Camino Real
San Clemente

Saturday 1/17

Easy day hanging out at NAMM with Rikki Styxx! And then crank up the surf music once more!

6:00 PM Slacktone performs at the Deke Dickerson Guitar Geek Festival
Anaheim Plaza Hotel
1700 S. Harbor Blvd

Happy New Year!

4/18/08

CIRCLE CITY STUDIOS IS HERE!

More info soon

12/17/07

Home for the holidays. My boat is still floating (good) and the rubber duckies too! (very good) Wrapping up the year with my debut gig with Bloodhook at a benefit for the US Vets, and a New Year's Eve show with Agent Orange here in LA. Oh and I just got my kit back I used with Lita Ford. Crazy.

A recap of our last run...

There's a lot of cactus in Arizona. But not much else.

We went to the Grassy Knoll in Dallas and paid our respects.

My Austin buds, Roller Derby gal Jes and Art Car Genious Gregory

We went through the worst ice storm ever in Tulsa! Power lines and trees down everywhere. This is what a frozen tree looks like.

Mike, Rikki and me getting ready to ride at Steamboat Springs

Powder Pursuit owner rode with us and showed us the mountain. Thanks Chris, we are definitely coming back!

Getting schooled on scraping our way out of the snow

A wicked good year behind and an even better one ahead. Enjoy the holidays and tell yer mama how she deerin.

11/19/07

Wow life has really been showing up in spades lately and I have been having the time of my life WOO HOO! Glad to see everyone out on the road thanks for coming out to party with us. Oh and no slowing down from the looks of things. Ahhh yeah.

Agent Orange did some Warped Tour dates which were a trip for us, we've never played Warped before and it's about time right? We saw tons of friends and all the crews were fantastic to work with. C'mon Kevin, ask us back to do the whole run next year!

Becky Barksdale went into Clearlake Audio to record some more tracks which should be released in early 09 - STOKED!

Casey and the girls moved to LA (YAY!) and I gave them my apartment and ended up moving onto a boat in San Pedro - how lucky can a guy be?!! I've been wanting to move back to the water and get back into fishing but never imagined this. Thanks for making this happen Captain John! The boat's maiden voyage was a midnight dive trip that pulled this monster out of the water. WHOA!

Agent Orange ripped thru the Northeast for a few weeks. We played Toronto and stopped to see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side for my first time - AMAZING!

Hanging out with Caity from 1st Offense in Cleveland

... and Adrien from Insect Surfers and Chum in South Carolina on Halloween!

Sam and I backed up Davie Allan in San Diego at Winston's and a live radio show on KCR for Clint Beachwood's A Day At The Beach show - COOL! There's some talk about more shows which would be rad as hell. Hello Davie?

Rikki came out for a few days and we had an awesome time on the boat. Thanks for the visit girl, come back soon! (Yes, that's the Queen Mary in the background)

Home for Thanksgiving and looking forward to seeing the family and getting some much needed rest. Hope everyone enjoys the holidays!

Stay stoked

8/6/07

Agent Orange had a few shows in Hawaii (which were off the hook - thank you Jason from 808 Shows!) then as if that wasn't enough, Mike and I stayed for a few extra days for some surfing, snorkling and messing around. We even surfed one night long after the sun went down, sitting out in front of Waikiki under a full moon watching the city lights along the shore...I don't even do drugs anymore but I tell ya it sure felt like I was high as a kite! When I got home I drove straight to a show with Dick Dale in Santa Barbara and then to a Slacktone set at Huntington Beach Pier the next morning. My cheeks hurt from all this smiling!

Oh, and my new cymbals arrived from Sabian and they are incredible!! I highly suggest checking out the Paragon series for the heavier stuff. I got a whole set and they KICK ASS!! Also the HH Raw Bell Dry Ride for medium playing is exceptional. Great stick response but not too heavy so I can still get some splash and crash out of it. A perfect all around ride cymbal in my book. Thanks Sabian!

Here is a quick recap of our trip...

We stayed at my folk's palce in Punaluu. This is the first thing we saw every morning...

We hiked to the top of Diamond Head to watch the sunrise one morning. Looking down onto Waikiki from up there was pretty amazing ya think?!!

Shave Ice at Matsumoto in Haleiwa, North Shore - YUMMY!

Offroading in the rental isn't always a good idea

About to go out and splash around. Life is good baby life is good...

Reality check - I am home and surrounded by piles of things I don't even recognize - are these my things even? I gotta sort thru all this, check ya later.

7/16/07

This is crazy good and I just have to tell ya, I haven't been happier or felt better in I don't know how long. Thanks to all those that have been shakin it with me and making my thing rock so hard. Diggit. Here's a quick recap...

Agent Orange blasted thru Europe with Freddy Spaepen behind the wheel once again (Thanks Freddy!) and had a wonderful time!

As soon as we touched down in Los Angeles, we had time to do laundry and jump back on a plane this time to Brazil. Flying into Sao Paulo was amazing!

I played with recording legend Jerry Cole at the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach and another legend was there hanging out with us - Davie Allan!

After sitting in on Clint Beachwood's radio show I raced (?) I mean crawled up to Santa Monica Pier to catch a rare local performance by The Ventures - WOW!

A birthday party at Suzy's in Hermosa Beach was truly off the hook starting with this awesome cake made by Tiki Tena - Thanks babe you're the best!

Becky Barksdale played a summer blues festival in Salt Lake City and we got to hang out with friends old and new.

Like I said, Life is Good! Hope to see you on one of my adventures soon... dw

4/14/07

Been having some fun mixed in with the relaxation - I even went fishing! I haven't fished in forever and sure felt good. Thanks for getting me out there pulling on some yellows Jordan I love you!

Played live on the air at KXLU (thanks Robert and Eric at Livation) with Chris Murphy - a wacky violinist I adore. We are talking about doing a Northwest tour this fall.

Agent Orange March tour was fun! We added 2 cities we've never played, Durango, CO and Laramie, WY. They were incredible and we'll definitely add both to our normal schedule.

snowblind on I-80

Zion

Vegas hugs are great!

Denver hugs are even better!

Agent Orange heads to Europe May 2nd - YeeHaw!

Stay Stoked!

2/2/07

Ahhhh...Southern California sunshine! Welcome home baby. I'm not much for January tours cuz it's so effing cold everywhere but right here in Paradise it SNOWED IN MALIBU so go figure. As it were, Agent Orange had a STELLAR 3 week run of dates supposedly Southeast but our idiot agency can't read a map and after a week in Florida we ended up in New York, Jersey, Cleveland, etc. and we fought the snow and black ice with the rest of the fools who reside in the cold cold east. How do you do it???

At my uncle's condo in Florida - NICE!

Showing some love in West Palm Beach

Mike Palm getting interviewed for Jay Leno show

Fourscore and summin er other...

TCB at Graceland

Anyway, like I say, it was fun as shit and I would leave again tomorrow to do it all over again. Lots of local shows now for the next few weeks then tours starting again the end of March and back home for the summer when shit really goes off around here.

I found this link to a review of the Slacktone/Agent Orange show at CBGB's before that historic room finally closed the doors. It's pretty funny. Go here

Make a decision to do something exceptionally terrific this year. And then actually do it.

Peace.

10/30/06

I just downloaded some Spooky Tooth songs and sitting here listening reminds me of seeing them at the Swing Auditorium as a kid. Back then tickets were $3.50 and I saw a show there nearly every weekend - sometimes 2 or 3. Most of the time I went with my mentor and life coach Roger Jones. Roger taught me a lot about living in the world, having fun while staying respectful to those around me. God bless you Roger. Fuck I miss you sometimes.

10/26/06

Sandy West, drummer from the Runaways, passed away a couple of days ago at age 47. She was a wonderful person who loved and lived life to it's fullest. I am grateful to have known her and I am saddened beyond words. Rest in Peace, Sandy.

10/20/06

THE ART OF SURF DRUMMING Instructional DVD soon to be released! Featuring Bob Colwell, Lee Kix, Dusty Watson and Tracy Longstreth. Tips on technique, syncopated accents, counting, facilitating the kit, speed enhancement and more. Also tons of live footage! Available here soon.

9/13/06

Guess I haven't been too personal lately. Maybe I should change this page to: Not Very Personal. Yeah I think that is better. I am having fun and there is plenty of flam tap a doo dah so it's a good thing. Actually got in the water a few times this summer but just ask Dave Arnson about that. It was rather pathetic. No Hawaii or Europe this year which is also pretty pathetic. That's just downright wrong. I apologize to myself for that. I could use one of my favorite lines in Los Angeles - I'm veeerrrrrryyyyyy busy - but everytime I use it or hear it I start cracking up and this is serious business here. MmmmHmmm. I don't want summer to be over yet so I am not accepting that fact. Short days and cold nights suck. Thank God there is decent music going off again, I am assured a safe spot somewhere in this town.

Stay well...

5/11/06

What I thought was a fill in for a few weeks with Agent Orange has turned into quite a few shows now that we are home and that is just fine with me! I dig playing with Mike and Bruce and as I've always said, if I continue to surround myself with credible people maybe one day I myself shall be credible.

Huh?

Anyway, Slacktone is taking a few more weeks off while Sam is out with Dick Dale so I am digging staying busy. Besides the Agent Orange shows I am playing with The Surfaris again this year at their annual Balboa Island Parade which consists of us on a flatbed truck playing Wipe Out for 15 minutes straight. If you want some sun and laughter come check that one out on June 4th (time? early morning) and walk along side us or better yet put on your favorite swim suit and come ride on the float with us!

Taylor's Performing Arts Program is producing - The Who's Tommy - which opens June 2nd at Hollywood High so if you are local come out and support her!

June Gloom came early again this year and I am not diggin the marine layer hovering just off the ground here in SoCal. Where's the sun?????

We all live for the sun.

4/7/06

Agent Orange rocks. Geez, I forgot 1/2 the songs on the set list and faked my way through our first show last night in Altanta by playing as fast as I could. Seemed to do the trick. Joe Queer and Mimi came out as did Gregory Nicoll and Tremendous Horsepower Jim - glad to know you are playing so much these days. Diggit.

3/27/06

Slacktone Orlando, FL Wills Pub Review:

O!  Everything flying out of my mouth right now is a four letter word starting with 'F' and i don't mean Fred.  It should be illegal for a band to be as good as Slacktone! 
F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb !!!!!!!!!!
Someone will probably want to revoke my surf members passport, but this is the 1st time I've ever seen Dusty Watson on the drums.  I felt I should have pulled a Wayne and Garth - "I'm not worthy!  I'm not worthy!"  And a friendly guy to boot.  He'll be touring with Agent Orange in the coming months so check it out if you can.
They did mostly originals throughout the night and a standard 4/4 is not their gig.  Hands down one of the most amazing 3 piece bands I've ever seen in my life. F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-
Bomb !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do not ever pass up a chance to see these guys live!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I was sad I only had $20 on me because they have 4 cd's. Things got extremely chaotic near the end of the show.  They played their version Miserlou, and then The Defiant ones came up and kicked
some ass, and then my memory goes kerplunk.  Sorry.  Rich, save me!! There was a melding of bands.  Slacktone and Thrusters members played Link Wray's Rumble as a tribute, and people were changing out all over the place for some great music.  It ended with Pipeline (you all know that one) and half way thru the song Dusty and the bassist from Slacktone left.  The drummer from The Thrusters and the bassist for The Defiant One's came up and if you weren't watching you wouldn't know anything had happened!  They finished the song and I felt guilty that I only paid $5 to see this event. F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb F-Bomb !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right.  I'm done.  I've left alot of stuff out.  sorry.  Florida needs a real reviewer.  ~phred

2/22/06

A recent Supersuckers show review:

"Hey Dusty,
Just wanted to thank you for hooking me and my friend up with tickets to the show... I tell ya, there is no other way to impress a date then by getting on the guest list by the guy who does a 5 minute show stopping drum solo.. man, I seriously cannot believe how good you are...I almost creamed my pants.... anyways, i got some good pics and will send those to you later... Thanks again man!"

JT

2/2/06

Awight...I went and did it again...I am packing up the suitcase and hitchin a ride with The Supersuckers for a pony keg of shows thru February. Now you know damn well you are going to come out and see this gig, ain't that right?

1/14/06

Happy New Year Y'all! Nice being home and some local shows popping up which is always a good thing. Man this year is so great right out of the box with everyone healthy and digging in, I am just going to think about that for a minute.

Check ya soon...

12/9/05

Home for the Holidays and preparing for Santa's visit. Hope I've been a good boy. Yup, I believe I have! How crazy it seems to be sitting here in Los Angeles in 70 degree sunshine while massive amounts of snow is blowin across the country. Humph. They can have it. I dig me some snow, but it better be powder and sitting on about 10,000 feet of giddyup. Other than that, I don't really see any reason for the stuff. Jen flew back to have an early xmas with her family and it was 5 degrees there when she headed out. HA! Jeezuz, I don't even know what that feels like.

OK, what's happening....

Slacktone has some shows coming up in 06. I have a couple of recordings coming up which I'm looking forward to. Becky Barksdale is putting some shows together around town and will be posted here soon. Cool. I am playing Slims in San Francisco on New Years Eve with The Supersuckers. Very cool.

That's about it. Check ya later.

8/16/05

Yosh! Coming up for air and shouting out here to no one in particular. Who do I have a problem with today you ask? How about my new property owner for starters. We rent a new apartment down the street and the secure parking gate is not working for a few weeks now, which makes the parking garage NOT secure and some fools decided to strip my bike of all it's contents that was not attached. What did they get? A handful of useless stuff including tools, flashlight, and get this...all my paperwork for the bike! What clowns. OK, so maybe they feel better now that they can lay claim to some DMV print outs. You would give ten dollars to hear the message I left on the apartment manager's voice mail. I am sure of it.

How about some uplifting, kick ass news??? I got plenty of that yes yes.

The Supersuckers European tour was outrageous and wonderful. Met up with some of the gang scattered about including Slacktone's Euro promoter, Freddy Spaepen and I took him on our Sprinter and showed him a REAL tour vehicle! We had a laugh over that one. Hey to everyone else I got to spend a few minutes with along the way. Festivals were great, and to top it off, we were 300 kilometers inside the Arctic Circle for one of the festivals in Norway which was cool. The sun never went down. Weird.

Slacktone had a killer show at Huntington Beach Pier last weekend along with some of our favorite bands. We are playing tonight in Santa Barbara and then I play there again with Agent Orange tomorrow night which is really bizarre. Hmmm. Supersuckers are preparing for our support tour with Pearl Jam across Canada starting on September 2nd. That run ends in Chicago at Farm Aid with Willie and the boys on September 18th. I like that.

Kick it out for the next few weeks. Summer is winding down so don't be caught still making plans. Just do it.

5/31/05

Back home and a little spaced out after a 5 week run with The Supersuckers. Feeling great despite being so brainless. Ummm, lot's to catch up on and will get on all of it. Tomorrow. Or the next day. I'll check back after my nap.

4/17/05

The benefit for The Surfaris' Jim Pash was so wonderful and it was a real honor for me to be involved with that. I've had the opportunity to play with The Surfaris a few times over the years, subbing for their drummer Dave Raven, and it is always a gas. Yesterday was just over the top with a cool party feel. Lots of guests got up and jammed, including longtime Surfari friend and roadie, Gregg Samp, and also Kerry Chester, Adrian Tapia, Ron Eglit, and a bunch more that I can't think of right now. Slacktone threw down as well and it was fun to rip into Miserlou at the end of our set with Dick Dale in the house! I was hoping Dick was going to get up with Dave Wronski and give the room a dose of some super heavy shit, but didn't happen. Dick's set was fun to watch with little Jimmy pounding on that bigger than life drumset trying to keep up with his old man. Ya gotta love that! All in all a really nice way to come together and celebrate all that Jim Pash and The Surfaris have brought to our lives.

3/30/05

Oh man I was looking forward to getting on the road with The Supersuckers but I HAD NO IDEA HOW MUCH FUN THIS WAS GONNA BE!!! The shows have all been sold our or close to it, and fans of the band are going crazy smashed up against the barricades, singing along to all the songs...it is truly a Rock N Roll show. To make things even better, the entire organization is top shelf...soundman, tour manager, merch guys, band manager...and the band members, Dan, Ron and Eddie are the nicest guys you would ever want to meet. And are you ready for this? The TOTALLY KICK ASS onstage. I know I sound like I have lost my mind and to tell you the truth I think I have. You must come check out this show. I think you will be blown away.

The first leg of the tour the opener was Tenacious D man Kyle's side project, Trainwreck. Turns out I had jammed with two of the guys in the band before with my old roomate Michael Tamony. These guys are effin great! They were so much fun to watch every night and we all hung out before and after the shows and promised to do another tour together as soon as we possibly can. Killer gig those guys have together.

We just picked up I Can Lick Any SOB In The House and these guys are really good. They played with Dick Dale before and it will be great to see them for a few shows before we take a 3 week break in April. Good times.

The headliners for this whole tour is of course the undeniable Reverend Horton Heat. They are throwing down for 1 1/2 - 2 hours a night and all of them are just playing their asses off. Totally cool guys too. Scotty is one of the best drummers on the planet and Jimbo has got to be the best stand up players ever. He is solid and a great presence in the band. The Rev is playing all the cool shit, those crazy bends and string pulls and lap-steel-like effects with some kind of pedal I am not sure what he is doing but it sounds incredible. We all went bowling last night on our day off in Bend, Oregon. Cold as hell and has been snowing the last couple of days so about 12 of us all headed down to Fun City or whatever it was called and I think Eddie and the Rev were top bowlers tho I know Dan Thunder Bolton threw a 168 one game that was impressive. I broke 100 both games and thought I was doing pretty damn good. I did score 4th overall on the cafe style motorcycle race and had too much fun racing thru the streets of one of my favorite towns, Las Vegas. Yeah I know I act like a little kid sometimes but wouldn't you?

On the family side of things, Taylor turned sweet 16 on Easter Sunday, and I was in Eugene with Casey, Athena and Amity. Everyone is doing great and smiles all around.

I am more stoked than ever!

2/28/05

I have been talking with drummer, Michael Musberger (we recorded the last Boss Martians album together) for the last few months about me filling in for him on some Supersuckers dates and I couldn't be happier with the invitation to join up with them for their upcoming tour with Reverend Horton Heat and Trainwreck. Check out the gig page for all dates. I'm flying up to Seattle next week for some rehearsals then the tour starts off in Tucson on March 16th. Hell yeah!

If you go see Dick Dale and Sam on Dick's tour starting up in May, be sure to go up to new sticks man, Daxx and give him a WTF? for me. Some releases this year of note: Dick Dale Live from the Hard Rock in Dallas both audio and DVD, and also rumor has it that Surfer's Choice will be available soon on CD for the first time ever so I hope those see the light of day soon, especially the Live From Hard Rock, cuz that is really what Dick Dale is all about...kicking ass on-stage!

Becky Barksdale is in pre-production now, and we are going into the studio in a few days. This session will give me the opportunity to loosen up the heads a little and pull out the vintage wood snare drums. I want to capture all the rings and rattles that I can so the drum tracks don't get all sterile sounding like a damn DW kit (L-I-F-E-L-E-S-S). I am really looking forward to this one.

The Defiant Ones sessions a couple weeks ago kicked ass! I used my new blue sparkle Ludwigs for this one (the first time I've recorded with them) with Aquarian Satin Finish heads and they were just amazing to play. I heard the roughs in Oakland last weekend and this thing is ROCKIN! Should be finishing up mixes and have release info in a couple of months.

Slacktone's new release, 'Rough Surf, Rough Mix, Live in Berlin' has nearly sold out at our first run of our 10th Anniversary shows, so we are talking about pressing another batch which is exciting for us. We didn't know how well this disc would be received but it has already gone way beyond our expectations and we couldn't be happier. We have a few more shows scheduled with Japan's Surf Coasters which will be totally over the top and I am looking forward to those.

All the news for now. See ya on the road!

2/6/05

Slacktone is in full force and rockin up to the Bay Area this weekend for 4 more shows in celebration of of our 10 Year Anniversary. Diggit. I've recently made some changes in tour schedules so check date page for all that. More news soon!

1/21/05

Two thousand and five. Let that sink in for a moment ~~

The year is kicking off with Slacktone's 10 year anniversary and we have been rehearsing and working up new tunes for our string of dates from San Diego to San Francisco. We are playing for the Fender Custom Shop party tonight at NAMM. That is the convention that Dave and I met after not seeing each other for over over a decade, and decided right then that we should put another instro band together. Life is funny that way. We will have some copies of a live show Slacktone recorded in Berlin last summer available at these shows and that was an effin raucous night so glad someone decided to hit the record button.

Becky Barksdale is in the studio in February and we will be recording 2 CD's...some new tunes and covers Becky has put together, and also a Christmas CD! I have been playing with Becky off and on for 12 years and this will be the first time I have recorded with her so I am stoked!

Sam and I recorded the first few tracks for a new release with Rich Griffith and Kait O'Shea from The Balboas in Florida a few months ago, and we're back in the studio here in Orange County next week to finish the tracks. These guys take extreme instro to the wall, then start hammering and slashing until there is nothing left standing. I will have plenty of Red Bull on hand for those sessions.

I flew back to Boston and recorded another album with The Queers last year, 'Summer Hits Number 1' which is out on Suburban Homes. I just love playing with Joe and crew and there is talk about me joining them for a stateside tour in March/April to support the record. Joe and I have talked about me touring with them for years and it hasn't worked out with our schedules yet but maybe this is the year!

My dad and I have started pre-production on his next album. The last release, 'O.J. Watson Sings Your Favorite Gospel Hymns', was so much fun to record! Hanging out with Papa was an awesome experience in itself. Add the list of great players on the sessions, and I can truly say that I was moved in a big way. More on that later.

The snow has been amazing this season at Mammoth and Jen and I have been sneaking away as much as possible to get some good ride time in this year. The kids are all doing great...Casey is getting married this summer, Taylor is playing water polo for San G High School, and the little ones' eyes continue to shine and melt Grandpa's heart.

I am a lucky man...

10/23/04

Gigging around the Bay area with Dick Dale right now and loving it up here! Man, you guys have some beautiful scenery here. Sunny and gorgeous for the last few days but raining here in Brookdale today but that's cool cuz I just wanted to sleep all day anyway. Lots of talk about some shows coming up to celebrate Slacktone's 10 year anniversary in January. Dig it...

8/24/04

Hey well and what the hell right? I mean, it's not like it's been years or anything. I sat down to write something here I thought it was January or February but it's ummm, ummm, THE END OF AUGUST????? Oh geez I need to take a rest. Oh. I just came back from a rest. Hiding out in a cabin on the Horseshoe chain of lakes in Minnesota. Catfish, bass, perch, northern pike...(no walleye dammit) camp fires and cook outs and acoustic guitars. A guy could retire with a setup like that. But that's not in the cards yet. What has been going on anyway? Dick ran a string of dates together all over the US and Europe, then did a week stint at an AmericaSuites Casino in Kansas City with Becky Barksdale. That was a trip. NOTE: I do not like playing on drum pad triggered drums ok? EVER! Which reminds me...I just signed an endorsement deal with Ludwig Drums and my new kit is awesome! Thanks to Todd Trent for hooking that up for me. As soon as the dust settled after Dick and Becky's gigs, Slacktone went back to Europe and did shows from Italy to Norway which was a gas. Lots of friends coming out to the shows and seeing lots of new faces showing us plenty of support out there. Muchas Gracias all. So now it is making more sense as to the imperativeness of my fishing trip. OK, that is a much too large of word to throw out. Sorry. youknowhatimsayin tho.

As far as the rest of the year...I don't have a clue. I have been trying to get Dick to commit to our annual West Coast and Southern tours and one of these days he is bound to make a few phone calls ya think? (yosh!) I'll post the dates as they come. Working on a Surf Drum Video which has been a lot of fun, don't know release info yet. A new Queers album to be released in September in Japan. I'll try to get some links set up on here for all the recent stuff I've been doing lately.

And lastly...my Sony Vaio laptop took a dump and I lost all my goodness inside. Turned out to be a common problem with their lappers - power supply. Took me a moment to regroup but up and running again. Other companies trying to rape me are ATT Wireless and SBC long distance. Stay away from those bastards at all costs.

Later,

dusty

10/15/03

Some cool breeze happening all around so gotta spill some here. Just back from a week on the north shore of Ohau...wow! Just go there. First day checking the swell was double overhead at Pipeline. You saw me. I was the one on the shore watching. Jen and I did play in the 2-3's at Waikiki and that was plenty of fun for us. The Queers split CD that we recorded a few months ago (Acid Beaters-Stardumb) is finally out. Also, the Boss Martians CD (The Set Up-Musick) will be released October 21st so look for that one as well. Both CD's feel and sound GREAT! I recorded another CD worth of instros with Evan Foster and I haven't heard what he is planning on doing with those, but one of those tracks is on the Tribute to Link Wray (Musick) which is filled with some cool performances by loads of bands. Great to be a part of the process ya know. Slacktone is headed to the bay area this weekend, traveling in style in Bob McDonald's RV. Thanks in advance for driving us Bob. Yeah!!! I'm back to Austin when we return, not just for fun, (ok, it is just for fun) this time to play a couple of shows with 3 Balls of Fire which I'm really looking forward to. Home just in time to pack and head off thru the south with Dick Dale through Thanksgiving. Time to breathe?

OK...I'm in. Let's do it!

Artist: MANGES / QUEERS Title: Acid Beaters
Label: Stardumb
Release Date: 9/1/03
***A smash-up new album split between two smoking hot pop punk veterans. THE QUEERS bust out with six exclusive tracks of sunny and surfy action featuring DICK DALE's drummer DUSTY WATSON, and wicked covers of the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" and the Surfari's "Wipe Out." Italy's MANGES come through with six exclusive songs of their own, showing the darkside of the pop punk force.

NEW BOSS MARTIANS ALBUM OUT IN OCTOBER
Titled "THE SET-UP", the new disc features 13 brand-new original Martians tracks produced by Johnny Sangster and mixed by Jack Endino. The CD will be released on OCTOBER 21 in the U.S. on MuSick Recordings with the European release to follow on Snap Records (Spain) in December! Also, the 12" LP version of "THE SET-UP" will be released by Germany's Screaming Apple Records.

7/30/03

Just back from a short Euro tour with Slacktone. I'll post some shiznitz about the goings on soon. Gotta share some sadness however. My high school band director, Roger Rickson passed away recently and I am devastated. He was the man who invited me to record my first record with the Corona Sr. High Jazz Band when I was 9 years old! He believed in me and showed me how to believe in myself. He demanded a high level of performance from all of his students at all times and had no problem chewing my ass when I was not hitting the mark. Rest in Peace, Roger....

5/19/03

This is a very lame post but I want to say I love Sam Bolle. Great seeing so many friends out on the road with Dick Dale right now. Holy cow. Lurkers from Cowabunga coming up saying hi and the whole enchilada. Love it. Laker's tears have fallen across my cheeks. Expecting changes next season oh yes. Karl Malone is a dirty rotten stinking filthy player and if they sign him to back up Shaq I will cringe a bit but he will undoubtedly help us in the paint so what can I do about that I ask you now. Next topic (sorry I'm jumpin around some here)

Just walked around the memorials here in DC and must say that was a wonderful experience. Many years traveling through here and my first trip and I suggest anyone near here with an extra couple of hours should take the walk. You will feel better as an American. Period.

Looking forward to getting moved into my new place in Long Beach as soon as I get home from this tour. And that is that...

3/19/03

Howdy Cowboy! I had the best time spending an entire week in Austin for the SXSW shindig. I ran into so many people I hadn't seen in a while, as well as a few I had just seen in one city or another just a week before. How can I even begin to write down what is bouncing around in my head right now? I am overwhelmed still and must settle down for a second before I continue...

OK, that's better. Let me back up a couple of weeks, starting out this post with a shout out to Joe King with The Queers for inviting me out to CBGB's in New York to sit in for Wipe Out, The Kids are Alright and Route 66. What a rush that was! I hadn't been inside of that crap hole since 1980 and I must report it hasn't changed a bit. Thank God. The next day we drove to Boston and recorded for two days at Q Division which in my opinion is one of the best sounding rooms I have ever recorded in. For those of you on the east coast that are not using this room, you are blowing it! We recorded 8 tracks which will be used for a European release sometime soon. 60's pop covers and 3 instros! Very cool finally playing with those guys. We stored some of Joe's gear at (The Serfs) Jim's studio and I heard some of their Serfin with the Poodle CD and it is really fun stuff. Kind of polka surf complete with accordion! Rad shit that everyone should add to their collection.

I flew home in time to hook up with Evan Foster from The Boss Martians and we recorded for 2 days at Lincoln Lounge in Venice. That guy is an amazing guitar player! I never knew he was so fucking good. Sorry, but I just never heard it on the old hot rod recordings from the past. We blistered through 16 tracks and it was a great experience to work with just guitar and drums on the basic tracks. We were sweating our asses off and pushing each other to the edge the whole time. Thanks to Art from Musick for asking me to do that one.

The next day Slacktone drove up to Goleta and San Francisco for two shows with our friends, The MiGs. We had a wonderful trip and saw so many friends it was well worth the insane drive back right after the SF show. We drove up 101 instead of that God forsaken 5 and it was so beautiful to just space out and stare at this wonderful state we live in. I couldn't ever even think about living anywhere else on the planet.

I flew out the day after we got back to Austin. OK, I will admit, I could be convinced to live there for a time. What a party! This was my first trip to SXSW. 1,000 bands in 50 venues over 4 days. As if that wasn't enough, I stayed for 7 days instead. I played two shows with Mike Vernon's 3 Balls of Fire and I just love his playing and it was a great time to be able to do some shows with them. We played at a little barbecue place one day and at Antone's Records the next. Thanks to the usual instro enthusiasts for coming to those. Got to meet Roberto from Italy (the new Jesus Christ Surferstar producer) and he was a super nice guy. Ted James and crew came out and it still amazes me that he is over 14 years old, that guy will never age! I missed the Johnny Vortex show on TV while I was there but I am sure it was a hoot. Love and hugs to Gregory Fleeman for offering up his house and van to us for our stay. This guy is totally out of his mind and such a gracious host and so full of energy...anyone heading to Austin must look this man up and give him a big wet kiss on the cheek. I demand it!!! We went out every night and saw so many bands I can't possibly remember everything that I saw but here's a few highlights...

Petty Booka - two girls from Tokyo that play ukulele's and sing Hawaiian songs. These shows were incredible. Saw them at Cheapo's Disc and The Mercury.

Pleasure Club - Marc from Sugartooth is rocking in a new band with James Hall and these guys are amazing! Great funky grooves, James reminds me of Perry Ferrell meets John Lydon, killer drums. Steamboat was a cool venue, the only one with seats!

Maserati - These guys play instrumental solid rock, all time signature stuff but not progressive, with a chorus guitar running over the top of everything. Think Tangerine Dream with bigger balls. Emos was packed that night! Also saw And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead (locals) who rocked and Lazy Cowgirls, kind of hard edged Blasters and loads of fun. Another show here a few days later was Mudhoney who are like total rock stars now, heavy Sabbath sounding. Another band we saw here was Zeke which totally kicked ass. Fast and powerful, maybe a bit too much lead guitar at times but I forgive them.

Nashville Pussy - This was an all girl Roller Derby event at the Austin Music Hall and my long time friend, Tomax skated to victory with her team, Los Putas del Fuego. Rad shit. Katie Lynn, new bass player with NP was awesome and lovely and it was good to see her again.

Tremolo Beer Gut - This was the only surf band that I saw during the event and they were heavy trashy and sweaty and wonderful! This was at Friends, a stupid bar and the place was so packed earlier for Junior Senior (a bizarre Duran Duran dance band) we bailed and came back later when the club thinned out some. TBG was two guitars, bass and drums. Drummer had no rack tom (side bar-for some reason, this seems to be the trend now as I saw no less than a dozen kits with this set up) and besides some great thunder, he also provided vocal screams and smart ass remarks in between songs. "Thank you for being...Texans!" I would buy their discs.

Jake Andrews - I was the house drummer for a private party in Hollywood a few weeks ago and Jake was one of the artists that flew out to play. He is a total charmer, excellent guitar player and songwriter, taking over from SRV and it was good to see him again. This was at Antone's which is a great sounding room.

Convoy - Kind of Kinksish and pretty good rock band from San Diego. At the Hard Rock which is certainly not my favorite venue no matter what town.

Brian Jonestown Massacre - upstairs at Buffalo Billiards. I thought these guys would be heavier, but they were more like Neil Young meets The Byrds. Good time and packed but got bored and left.

The Teenage Idols - From Stockholm, probably one of my favorite bands of the event. Crazy 3 piece with frontman. They had lots of influences, some punk, some Bowie, and mostly out of their heads! We danced and laughed and had so much fun watching them. Wonderful band. I thought they were the TI's from Nashville so I saw these guys on total accident and was glad I did. Pretty cool club, Maggie Mae's.

I Love You But I Have Chosen Darkness - This was by far our favorite band name of the event. How could you not love that? This show was at Club Deville in the back under a makeshift tent and the band pretty much sucked but I just had to check them out. Think Frat party 80's Flock of Seagulls shitty cover band.

Red Elvises - My last night in town after everything calmed down I just had to see the boys again and glad I did. I had never been inside The Continental Club and it has the coolest vibe. Like a large version of LA's Lava Lounge. Great drum solo and I haven't seen the band since this guy joined them and he was exceptional.

I have left out so much and just walking down 6th street was as entertaining as any of the bands so you will just have to go experience this party for your own self. You will not be disappointed I assure you!

Time to pack for Slacktone's European tour so signing off with a big smile on my face. Oh shit, I gotta do some laundry...

2/14/03

I am one step behind where I left off last year but I did enjoy some time off after mucho travel last year. I swear I won't attempt that again for a while. At least not for a few more weeks!
The happenings I can report thus far include recording with Evan Foster and The Boss Martians March 6th and 7th. Cool. Recording with The Queers March 1st in Boston, that is gonna be cool as we've been trying to get that together for years now! Working on new Slacktone material now with Dave and Sam and paying some shows up and down the coast. We leave for Europe on March 25th and finish that tour March 9th...just in time for Sam to start the Agent Orange Europe tour with US Bombs April 10th. There's plenty of time to rest when you get older right? I will fly home in time for the Northeast tour with Dick Dale starting up April 30th in Salt Lake City. Yahoo!!!
My friend, Jeff McCoy, is working on my '67 Triumph Trophy 650 right now trying to get it roaring and I am stoked about that. (Thanks Bob for hauling it down there for me!) I'm trying to move back to the beach sometime before summer and looking forward to getting back out on the water, I miss it too much and cannot stay away any longer!

Come out and say hi somewhere!

Later,
dusty

10/15/02

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported Slacktone these last two weekends of out of towners. Lots of back slappin has already gone out regarding our Bay area trek two weeks ago on the cowabunga list so I will just mention our time in Texas last weekend. We were totally blown away! The hospitality and camaraderie shown us was exceptional and I am sure I speak for Dave and Sam by saying we are most fortunate to have such great friends in far away places. Outstanding job by 3 Balls of Fire axe man Mike Vernon, who laid the groundwork for the Texas trip. Getting to watch him get down and dirty with the 3 piece set up was extra cool and what a hot slammin drummer he had both nights! Yahoo! We spent weeks on the phone and emails getting these shows put together and he got us some killer shows. He even got us on KUT Radio which is pretty big shit in Austin. The DJ was kind of a jack ass but we had a great time firing off 8 tunes during his show and it was funny to hear him keep saying we were the loudest band he had ever heard. He should have heard us the night before if he thought that was loud! Ted James jumped in and made some cool looking posters which we saw around town and his new band, Johnny Vortex did an incredible version of Black Flag's Wasted, amongst other obscure garage rockers. Most entertaining and I did enjoy hearing Ted's guitar work thru the big sound system at Emo's. I must extend a H-U-G-E hug upon Mr. Gregory Fleeman who flew in from some family business in Florida to be at our shows and he was on fire the entire weekend! Renting a souped up SUV and playing road manager, stage manager, merch man, as well as F'ing Superman, dancing and hollering and having himself a damn fine time to boot. Oh man, everyone on this list must make a point to party with this man whenever possible. I insist. Paul Borelli from Wildebeest Records (who was the first one to have faith enough to fly us to Austin several years ago to play on his radio show KOOP and to promote a show that we were asked to headline!) was out both nights in Austin. What a treat to see him again. Drew from the Sandblasters gang did the hang as well as our friends Jen, Carey, Jes, Marci and Road Dog. So many others too, (sorry if I am forgetting you here) were totally into what we were doing and really made us feel good to be there. Our friend and huge supporter from our humble beginnings, Charlie Kinyon and his wife Catherine drove down from Oklahoma to see the band for their first time and were just as stoked as we were to see them! Charlie dedicated numerous hours to make sure we had a website up and running and was so very instrumental in us getting on the net years ago. I could never thank him enough for all he has done for us.
The club owners all liked us and want us back so we are already talking about a return trip sometime next Spring. And talk about Barbecue...We LOVE Texas!!!

Still Stoked,
dusty

9/30/02

A whirlwind of a year -- I can't believe it is almost over! I just got back from a 3 week tour of Europe with Dick Dale and that was so much fun I cannot possibly do it justice here, but for an idea...
Starting with recording at the BBC (yes, the same place The Beatles and Stones recorded many times) the day we arrived --- walking around Christiana in Copenhagen which is a free city where they sell soft drugs watching Dick walk around acting like he smoked something funny --- a Gondola ride into the Swiss Alps and hiking around the mountain tops ---our Berlin show where we ALL nearly passed out with heat exhaustion (I played the last 3 songs in a total blackout!) --- sold out shows in Holland... Like I said, I could go on forever.

My daughter, Taylor made cheerleader this year so I am totally stoked for her and looking forward to going to her games to cheer HER on. Life keeps gettin' better...

dusty

Up Close with Dusty Watson
Drummer for Dick Dale, Slacktone, et al
1. By: Dick Stewart, The Lance Monthly (Contributor)
7/4/04

[Interviewer's Note: My first contact with Dusty Watson was sometime in the late '90s, when he and the rest of Dick Dale's band were arriving in Albuquerque to do a one-night venue at the El Rey in Albuquerque. He had sent out a distress call by e-mail via the Cowabunga surf-rock instrumental list because he was certain that the equipment truck would not arrive in time for the gig. Being a member of Cowabunga, I contacted him, told him I was a member of The Knights, and that I would provide him with most of what he needed.
He had never heard of The Knights, nor me, for that matter, but then I never heard of him either. In my case, it was understandable, as The Knights' breakout success in 1964, with a guitar/classical piano, instrumental-rock 45 release called "Precision," was regional at best. In Dusty's case, his high-profile career as a superior L.A. drummer and, who is presently playing for The King of Surf Guitar, Dick Dale, is remarkable, and his name should have had at least a little ring of familiarity. But then, few people know whom L.A. sessionist Larry Knechtel is, even though he was either the keyboardist or bassist in more hit recordings of the '60s and '70s than most of the rock artists with household names! That's the way it always has been in the world of rock: superior talent does not necessarily earn one world-wide name recognition no matter how many high-profile gigs in which one has performed or how many recordings of note to which one has contributed.
Well, it turned out that Watson's equipment truck did arrive on time and he sent me a nice e-mail of thanks anyway for my offer to help. Since then we've really not stayed in touch that much (no real reason); however, throughout the four or five years I've been a member of the Cowabunga list, a great deal of the text has been centered around the greatness of Dusty Watson. This, in itself, inspired me to get more acquainted with Watson and to learn what he had to endure in order to arrive at such a supreme level of musicianship. Although he practiced like, as he says, "a madman as a youngin'," he had demons to slay along the way.]

[Lance Monthly] When and where were you born and in what kind of neighborhood did you grow up?

[Dusty Watson] I was born in Paxton, IL, July 5, 1957. My eldest sister, Debbie, got sick and the doctor suggested we move to a warmer climate. So we moved to southern California when I was two years old. Thank God for small miracles! I grew up in Corona, California, about an hour east of Hollywood. We were basically out in the sticks by city standards and so my friends and I made up our own entertainment most days, which resulted in me getting into a lot of trouble as a kid: getting suspended from school and having my dad kick my ass for something or another was pretty common.
I rode dirt bikes obsessively from about six or seven years old until well into my adult years, eventually switching to street bikes. I raced motor cross and rode in the desert for years, though [I] never competed in desert racing-a little TT racing at Ellsinore racetrack. Corona had an awesome racetrack and we rode out there quite a bit. We even had a motorcycle team at our high school! Also [we had] a wonderful music department in junior high and high school, so I was really lucky.

[Lance Monthly] How big a birth family do you have?

[Dusty Watson] I have two older sisters, Debbie and Denea. My mom and dad are still healthy and travel in their motor home several months a year since they have retired. They spend a few months a year at their condo in Hawaii on the north shore of Oahu. Of course, I'm no fool and try to make it over there as often as I can! My sisters have raised their families and everyone still lives locally, so we get together on holidays and they all still support me by coming to my shows whenever possible.

[Lance Monthly] Were there other members of your birth family that had a professional interest in music aside from yourself?

[Dusty Watson] Well, my dad always loved to play guitar and sing, but never had any hopes of being professional. He just really enjoys it. Now that he is retired, he performs a lot at nursing homes and campgrounds while they are traveling. He even performed at the Ryman Theatre at the Grand Ol Opry last year!!! He is so awesome! He loves country gospel music. We recorded an album together a few years ago, which turned out incredibly well. We are putting together another bunch of songs now and are planning on recording them sometime toward the end of this year. He has written several songs recently for this one and that is rad. My sisters both played clarinet and accordion in school, but neither one of them ever wanted to pursue music; they were just messing around, I think.

[Lance Monthly] Was there another genre of music that interested you first before rock?

[Dusty Watson] Yeah, I grew up listening to only jazz. I didn't play rock until I was fifteen years old, nine years after I had been playing drums! My drum teacher, Gerry Colapinto, was one of those totally hip jazz cats and he had me so tuned into Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, I really had no interest in any other drummers for a long, long time! Nothing wrong with that, though, as you can probably agree.
I eventually started listening to and playing modern pop music and eventually gravitated to rock, then punk, then surf, back to rock, to blues, then back to rock, back to punk, and now have landed back in surf. Wow, I am dizzy! I really like AND appreciate all kinds of music. The only requirement for me to enjoy it (whether I am playing it or listening to it) is for it to be good and played with passion.

[Lance Monthly] Who were the first high-profile artists that you frequently listened to?

[Dusty Watson] Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Monkees, Beach Boys, Beatles, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Dave Clark Five, Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chase. That list eventually turned into Zeppelin, Zappa, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Who, Stones, Hendrix, Cream, ad infinitum.

[Lance Monthly] So the Ventures, The Fireballs, Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, and other '60s guitar instrumental-rock greats were not on your list of likes until later on?

[Dusty Watson] Well, out of that list I must say that Mel Taylor was indeed most respected by me. His snare work was closest to what I was into at the time, and I just loved his syncopated rim shots mixed in with his seemingly flawless flowing rolls. Dick's "Miserlou" and "The Wedge" were super hot recordings, but I really didn't give many other instros the respect they so rightfully deserve until much later.

[Lance Monthly] When did you develop a reputation as a cut-above-average drummer and did this get you a lot of session work?

[Dusty Watson] Hmmm … I still don't consider myself a cut-above-the-average drummer, so excuse me if I am somewhat sheepish here. I know that I worked very hard at mastering my craft as it were, and practiced like a madman as a youngin', though those days are long behind me and I must admit I have fallen way behind in continuing my studies. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I sat down behind a set of drums by myself and actually practiced.
I will say, however, [that] I have been very fortunate in being recognized in my field as a decent drummer and have been asked to record several albums with different bands, and they have all been rewarding in one way or another. I have mostly concentrated on being a performer rather than a session drummer, so I have not really pursued that avenue of expression as much as I could have.
I have recorded tracks with many different types of bands over the years, including a Billy Joel session in the early '80s to pay off a coke debt! I've worked in a lot of studios (A&M, Cherokee, Paramount, Record Plant, Fidelity, Clearlake, Q Division, Soundhouse, etc.), more than I can remember, and have always walked away with a better understanding of the recording process, which has helped me both in live and recorded projects. There is something very surreal about being in a recording studio. The thought of laying something down that is going to [be] played (hopefully!) for years and years to come is most exhilarating to me. It's always a great opportunity to dig deep and try to come up with a drum track that will make a difference and add to the depth of the song.

[Lance Monthly] What was the name of your first rock group of note and were you convinced that it would go places?

[Dusty Watson] My first rock group that actually got any recognition was The Lita Ford Band, which I joined in 1980. Of course, I knew the importance of that project and we had everything we wanted in regards to money and support from the label and management. (We were signed to Polygram and managed by Alan Kovac, now of West Bank Management.) So it was all big guns right out of the box. We had a production deal with Artie Ripp (who had Billy Joel for an unheard of ten-album deal at the time!), so although he didn't know it, Billy was paying all of our salaries and buying our drugs for many years. Hey, thanks Billy!
That was my first experience with MTV videos and tour buses. We just hung out at the studio all the time and I recorded lots of demos with all kinds of players that were around at the time. Steve Miller's band comes to mind. Also recorded some great stuff with Neil Merryweather and Nick Gilder's guitarist. I was just a snotty nosed kid back then and didn't realize what I had. So within a few short years, I quit in a stupid drunken brawl in Beaumont, Texas.

[Lance Monthly] Were there any popular mainstream rock groups that sought out your services before you gravitated to surf rock instrumentals?

[Dusty Watson] After I left Lita Ford, I joined Legs Diamond, who had a decent career in the late '70s and early '80s, touring with Kiss, Ted Nugent, etc., but by the time I joined them in 1984, our tours were rather short, though we did record several albums throughout the ten years I played with them, off and on. Also, around that time, I joined another L.A. band, Dream Six. We recorded at Earl Mankey's studio and I ended up quitting the band before the album came out in '86 with a different name, Concrete Blonde. They went on to enjoy quite a bit of success and recorded several albums after that. I recently saw them at the Troubadour here in Los Angeles and it was great to talk about the good ol days again!

[Lance Monthly] What was the name of the high school you attended and what was considered cool in reference to in-phrases, attire, and vehicles?

[Dusty Watson] I went to Corona Sr. High about an hour east of L.A. We had a great music department and won all kinds of trophies for jazz band and marching band. A really great experience for me, though as you probably know, being in band can kind of mess up your cool as you are marching around the parking lot in your monkey suit. But I didn't mind. I had all kinds of special favors, which I graciously cashed in daily-not having to show up for classes and hanging-out-in-the-band-room-all-day kind of stuff. Similar to jocks I guess. Not so bad really.
Muscle cars were cool (I was in high school 1973-1975), though I drove a '66 Dodge van all pimped out with bed and stereo, curtains, etc. Let's just say the local girls' moms weren't very impressed when I picked them up to go to a zillion concerts at the Swing Auditorium.
Cool and bitchin' and bad and boss were terms I recall, though I still use those words. So I am kind of out of it in today's world, to be sure! I wore the same thing I wear today: T-shirts and jeans. We went to the beach as much as possible, usually Newport or Huntington, and I remember the cops were way harder on us in Huntington Beach compared to Newport. We would end up getting harassed and searched and run out of town because we weren't locals and we were minors, so they frowned on that.

[Lance Monthly] What are your takes on Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, et al? My 33-year-old son, Jason, is on that level and I'm thinking about bringing him out your way for a special appearance one of these days, and would certainly need a drummer and bass player on an advanced scale that could keep up with his licks and complicated timings. Interested?

[Dusty Watson] I like that some people have the ability to write (and perform) instrumental guitar oriented music without being too far out or too progressive. Call it wanking or whatever, but you know what I'm saying. That style is outdated, overrated and quite a bore to me to watch. Even worse to sit in a chair and listen to. Take the new releases from Zeppelin. Great rocking stuff, which I just love. Some of the CD gets into some Jimmy wanking and I am done with that in a couple of minutes.
Satriani has some great melodies and structures and was one of the first instro guys for me to see. A blues band I was in, Jimmy Wood and the Immortals, opened for him in San Diego around '85. I guess and he and his band were just getting it. Really a great performance and I dug that. I never owned any of his stuff (or any other rock instro guy for that matter), but certainly appreciated his sound.
Steve Vai is a bit of a wanker for me. I did see Eric Johnson at a festival in San Antonio in the '80s. He opened for a hair band I was in, Legs Diamond and he was good, but a little too "nice" for my liking. I want some grit and he just didn't seem to get it up. I recently recorded some stuff with ex Sha Na Na guitarist Rob McKenzie, and we did a bunch of surf tunes in a raucous setting and it was pretty fun. Dick's old bass player, Ron Eglit played bass with us.
Regarding playing with Jason, I have played that style and though it is not my favorite, it can be quite a challenge to make it sound "natural." I am talking about time signatures and stop/starts. If you can put it together in a way that doesn't come off like Rush, it can be interesting sometimes. I would like to hear what he is up to. Sam and I are pretty locked in with whomever we play, so if it sounds like something we would enjoy we could certainly talk about trying to schedule something.

[Lance Monthly] You mentioned that you have a daughter. Are you married?

[Dusty Watson] I was married when I was nineteen and divorced when I was about twenty-three, I guess-too young and crazy maybe? I dunno. We had a daughter, Casey, who is now twenty-six and [she] has two daughters, Athena and Amity. I have another daughter, Taylor, who is fifteen and lives a couple of hours east of me. I don't get to see any of them as much as I would like, but we do get to hang out quite a bit, so that is cool.

[Lance Monthly] It's no secret (as L.A. studio sessionist, Larry Knechtel told me in a recent interview) that drugs were and still are rampant in the high-profile music community of Los Angeles. To what degree did your admitted coke habit interfere with your progress as a professional musician over the years?

[Dusty Watson] Hmmm . . . well as all good things go, as long as you keep some degree of moderation in mind, things usually work okay. There was never any moderation in my life (very little even today!), so yeah, I was affected by alcohol and drugs for several years, and I did make some foolish decisions while under the influence, like quitting Lita Ford and Concrete Blonde, getting pissed off at John Blair over a guest list at the Roxy in Hollywood, and getting shitfaced enough to fall off my drum riser during our gig there the next night. Or turning down an offer from Brian Johnson on a train in London to go with him to a castle in the U.K. while recording an ACDC record. There are plenty of stories like this, but you get the drift.
I was just pretty out of it most times. I am so far removed from the pulse, as it were, that I really don't know how the drug scene is playing out in L.A. these days. I know we were all pretty buzzed in the '70s and '80s, and I did have a pretty good run going on back then. But I had to walk away from all of that nonsense and find some kind of peace within myself without running away from everything all the time. It was weird at first, as any change is, but these days it has come full circle to being about the music again and that is good with me.

[Lance Monthly] Was the brawl in Beaumont, Texas, between you and one of your band mates and did it happen on stage? What made you quit over that?

[Dusty Watson] Nah, I was only involved with one brawl onstage that I can remember, in Orem, Utah, of all places! I was just out of it and got a little carried away one night in a hotel, but the road manager put an end to that by knocking on my door at 7:00 A.M. with a ticket home. Ahhh, not one of my most proud moments!

[Lance Monthly] Dusty, knowing that the surf rock instrumental genre has a limited audience, under what circumstances did you decide that that would become your rock genre of choice?

[Dusty Watson] This is funny to read, not because you wrote it, but because I never really made a decision (it seems to me) to play any particular kind of music. When opportunity knocks, I just answer the door and that has just developed into playing with a few surf bands over the years. When Dave Wronski and I ran into each other after not hearing from one another for ten years, we decided right then and there to put together our surf band, Slacktone. But other than that, I really never thought of myself as a surf drummer, as it were.
The one thing that I will say in favor of playing drums in surf bands, the music usually offers me a powerful form of expression: there is unlimited opportunities to create moods. As there is no vocalist to "conduct" the audience into understanding or following along with the song. It is up to the players to create the ENTIRE message or sound, so it is much more challenging for me than performing in a more standard (i.e. vocal) band.
As I have from the very beginning, I still play in several different bands each year, which include different styles of music, and I hope to continue doing just that. My main gig these days is with Dick Dale, who, by all rights, is so removed from surf these days it is more like a hard-rock gig I did with Legs Diamond in the '80s! But it is understood that he is the King of Surf Guitar, so even though he hates that title, it is what it is.
I've recently recorded with punk band The Queers, pop/new-wavy Boss Martians, psycho-surf Rich Griffith from the Balboas, [and] Pollo Del Mar's Ferenc Dobronyi. [I] have played live shows with TSOL's Joe Wood, blues artist Becky Barksdale, bottleneck player Lauren Ellis, Surfaris, Insect Surfers, Agent Orange; in other words, I just love to play. I am always interested in playing with new people in different situations; that's what keeps me sharp and interested in playing drums. Without the diversity of these different kinds of bands, I think I would have burned out years ago just playing the same ol' thing over and over every night.
Another added bonus in my playing is that bass player Sam Bolle and I play together 90% of the time, so we are always locked in and ready to back someone up on the drop of a hat. I dig that. I am very fortunate to still be playing after all these years and having just signed an endorsement deal with Ludwig (who is building my new kit for Dick Dale's tour as I write this); it just keeps getting better and better. I have said for a long time that I am the Self-Appointed Ambassador of Good Will, traveling around the world doing what I love to do and making people feel good. Now how in the hell are you gonna top that?

[Lance Monthly] That would be hard to top, Dusty, but again, of course, you had to take the good with the bad to get to where you are today. Nevertheless, all musicians experience burn out and go through a period of just wanting to bag it and go into some other type of work, whether related to music or not. Did this happen to you?

[Dusty Watson] Hey, well we all have time to think while on the road and yes, of course, I have thought of coming off the road at some point and what I might do when and if that time comes. As you can see, I am still on the road (right now I am sitting in a hotel in Madison, WI), so I haven't thought of anything yet. I'll let you know when I do!
In all fairness, I have been working with a friend of mine off and on for many years when in town booking and routing tours. I like to sub for bands when I'm in town and do that occasionally. Though I don't know about playing in town permanently, I think I would get tired of the same ol', same ol' and I would burn out doing that much quicker than traveling and playing to new faces every night. What I really get off on is doing drum circles with a friend of mine who has an organization called Drum for Life. She has fifty hand drums and sets up these drum circles for Easter Seals, Kids at Risk, Elementary schools, and all kinds of places. So I bring a small kit and lay down a solid beat for the kids to lock onto and we have a blast! You should see some of these kids that have never felt how powerful that can be, hooking up with fifty or sixty people all pounding out the same rhythm. It is so rewarding to me!
I recently finished doing an online interview with three fifth grade classes in Long Beach. I was touring through Europe for six weeks and they were playing "Where's Waldo" except they changed it to "Where's Dusty," emailing back and forth. When I got home, I took my kit to their auditorium and they all sat around while I talked about being a traveling musician and drummer in particular, played some and answered their questions, then had them all come up one at a time and play my drums. It was an incredibly rewarding experience for me.

[Lance Monthly] It's interesting that Dick Dale doesn't like to have his genre of music labeled as surf guitar. Davie Allan of the Arrows hates that too. I suppose The Ventures don't like it either, but just let it slide. But in Dick's case, he has the distinction of being called the King of Surf Guitar because of his breakout instrumental success in the early '60s. Do you think that Dale would have the popularity that he has today if he didn't have that title of importance?

[Dusty Watson] No way! My opinion is that he should accept the fact (because in my mind it is indeed a fact) that he is the King of the Surf Guitar and just go with it. I don't know what the big fear factor is. Dick will tell you it is because labeling one's style of music eliminates the possibility of attracting new listeners and perspective fans if they are opposed to that particular style. In other words, there are a lot of people out there that only think of one thing when you mention surf music. Nine times out of ten they are going to say, "Oh you mean like the Beach Boys?" Hey I must say right here and now, The Beach Boys rule in my book! That band really had magic starting from the writing, the unorthodox playing of Dennis, all the way through the production of their records.
But REAL surf music (imho) is instrumental double picking guitar and pounding drums. Yes with the double snare on 2-And. The reverb tank came after the music was already named, but nowadays everyone pretty much has agreed reverb is another necessary ingredient.
I am not challenging Dick on his opinion because a lot of the time he is right on the money and he has more experience than I, but I hold my ground when I say he should get back on the wave and ride baby ride. (Side note: After Dick played with The Beach Boys a few years ago, Mike Love pulled me aside and said, "Hey you know our drummer is getting kinda old and if anything happens to him, you'll come and play with us, right?") I hope you can guess what my answer was.

[Lance Monthly] Dusty, give our readers a little history about Slacktone from the band's origination to the present. I realize drumming for Dale is your main gig; however, how often and at what venues do you presently play with Slacktone?

[Dusty Watson] Slacktone started as a result of Dave Wronski and me running into each other at the annual NAMM show in Southern California. We wanted to get back together and play some surf music. I had been playing with bass player Mike Sullivan, with Lisa Dominique, "a hottie moaner," but we wanted to do something different so we got together and started learning Dave's songs. Not an easy feat!
We started playing out in '95 and released our first CD in '96 or '97: Warning: Reverb Instrumentals. We played a lot of surfing events, mountain bike events, snowboarding events, etc. MTV hired us to be their house band for their annual Rock 'n' Jock Super Bowl game in San Diego a few years ago, and also had us write the theme song, kicking off the game. We hung out with them for three days driving around in a '72 convertible Caddy with [the entire] camera crew crawling all over us; it was a great experience! We did all the bumper music live and then LL Cool J played with us at halftime. Crazee shit.
We wrote a bunch of songs for a series of Slim Jim commercials with Randy Savage and that was fun. We released our second studio release, Into the Blue Sparkle in 2002 and our live from Prague, Surf Adventure Tou, shortly after that. We really don't play out that much, as we are trying to work around other bands' touring schedules, so that is the downside of the band, which is very frustrating for all of us.
We have toured Europe five or six times and will be there again this summer. We play up and down the California coast mostly, and have flown to New York and Florida for shows. There are so many offers for us to play in other regions (Denver/Chicago/Seattle, etc.), but we haven't been able to schedule those trips yet. Right now we are learning the new album's material and hope to record it soon and release it by the end of the year.
Dave is without a doubt the most skilled writer and player in the history of instrumental music, and I am not the only one who thinks that way! Listening to his music shows his ability to capture emotions and push and pull the listener along. But watching him pull it off live is an experience that has yet to be matched. His unique style of playing the melody, the rhythm, and harmony parts all at the same time with the utmost precision is mind-boggling!

[Lance Monthly] How much preparation does Dick Dale normally do with the rest of the band in the way of rehearsals before a high-profile tour, and where do you typically rehearse?

[Dusty Watson] This is a great one and you will love the answer to this: I joined the band and Ron Eglit and I drove out to Dick's house once and hung out and rode motorcycles and quad runners and played pool and messed around with massive computer rigs, and on and on. Oh yeah, we sat up and played a few songs and talked about watching each other and listening to each other. And then Ron and I drove home. That was over seven years ago.
The only other time I played music with Dick in a rehearsal type setting was when Ron left the band last year and I convinced Sam to fly home early from an Agent Orange tour (he was in the middle of) in Europe. Sam picked me up and we drove out to Dick's and again sat around and talked, played a few songs, talked some more, then drove home. We flew to Salt Lake City the next morning and started a six-week tour. So lets see . . . ummm, that makes two rehearsals (and I am being generous in calling them that) in seven years. In other words, Dick doesn't rehearse. Everything he does is pure spontaneity happening right now on stage in full volume aggressive behavior. It is possibly the most thrilling thing I have ever been privileged enough to be involved with. Truly amazing shit! We are creating in the moment and somehow making it all click each night. Crazy and fun, and certainly never boring!

[Lance Monthly] What were the circumstances around you being picked as Dick Dale's drummer? Did he openly advertise for one or did he seek you out because of your reputation? In addition, who was his previous drummer?

[Dusty Watson] I was playing with Slacktone at Toe's Tavern in Redondo Beach, CA, and after the show a guy walked up and told me his boss was always looking for drummers and handed me a card. It said Dick Dale. I thought, hmmm, I hadn't ever thought about playing with that guy; might be interesting. (Funny thing was, another person handed me a phone number that night for a band that had been looking for a drummer for two years and after a couple of auditions I was hired for Geffen's band, Sugartooth. That was an awesome gig until Geffen basically folded a couple years later.)
Anyway, I must have had a good show that night is what I'm sayin'! So Dick and I talk a couple of times on the phone and we are both busy as hell with lots of tour dates already booked, so we agreed to hook up at some point. I was touring a lot with Sugartooth and doing some Slacktone tours and Agent Orange tours. I didn't have any breaks for quite a while. It took over a year before I actually saw Dick and it happened to be in the lobby of the Rock 'n' Roll Ramada in Denver. We stood there [with him] doing his tonguing thing playing drums with your mouth kind of thing? Maybe you have seen him do this. Anyway, it's pretty funny shit and he and I were in this lobby doing this "digga, digga, digga, digga, digga, digga" on and on and on. I am kind of having fun with the accents and elbowing Ron and laughing a bit and Dick was laughing and we just hit it off, I guess. I gave him a Slacktone CD, but I have since learned that Dick never listens to anything people give him, E-V-E-R!
So even after that meeting it was a few more months before I finally got a break in my schedule and went out to his house. As soon as I did one show with him, he hired me to be his full time drummer. Ron and Dick's wife, Jill, counted how many drummers Dick had gone through from when he started doing his three-piece gig up until then. We are talking six years, as this was 1997. Are you ready? 21! That is twenty-one drummers! That is freakin' crazy! So either Dick was finally tired of firing drummers, or I am one stupid sonofabitch for sticking around this long, or we like playing with each other. I haven't figured out which.

[Lance Monthly] Dusty, did you ever get on the bad side of Dick and get a good chewing out as a result?

[Dusty Watson] Let's see, do you think Dick will be reading this? Nah, just kidding. Dick is a really demanding individual. He demands a lot out of himself, and therefore a lot of those around him. If you've ever talked with him, you know what I mean. It's not a bad trait necessarily, it's just challenging at times. To be able to maintain your integrity and voice your opinions without upsetting the flow of the organization, as it were, is sometimes hard. He has experienced so many things in his life and has been screwed over countless times, so he is a bit leery about new ideas.
He is extremely straightforward and will tell you exactly what he is thinking, so you are never confused about that. In regards to my drumming for him, he has a distinct style in mind that works best with his double picking style, and we had a few discussions about that in the beginning. I had to become aware of all of those, but once I got them down, the last few years we have gotten along incredibly well.

[Lance Monthly] All musicians (whether high profile or not) have some rough venues now and then. Can you describe a couple of negative Dick Dale performances for our readers, why they occurred, and the eventual outcomes?

[Dusty Watson] Dick plays all kinds of venues and sometimes we get stuck in a room with inadequate PA or incompetent soundmen, etc. In the very worst cases it can ruin the show. We've all been playing for so many years, we know how to work through it and make the necessary adjustments to overcome most disasters.
I remember one gig we did at the Henry Fonda Theater in L.A. for a Lifetime Achievement Award Dick was getting. We played only two or three songs and there was no sound check, as there were a lot of acts getting up to play just one or two songs. We jumped up and started playing and the guitar was not even in my monitor. I could not hear anything at all and was trying to follow Dick by just watching him but it was useless. We were so off the whole time it was very frustrating. Every once in a while we would actually hook back up and hold it for a while, but basically it was a wash and a sad state of affairs.
Playing instrumental music (for the most part) demands the players to be able to see the necks of their guitars as the whole song is based on hitting the right notes. Duh, right? So sometimes the lighting tech is more into the regular lighting techniques, which might include blacking out the stage now and then or setting up mood lighting. When that happens, it can be a mess with the guys up front trying to find the notes in a blackout and well, you can imagine the results. We always tell them to keep lights on the stage at all times, but that doesn't always happen.

[Lance Monthly] Without going into the particulars, does Dale have you on a weekly or monthly salary, or does he pay you a percentage of the take on each gig, plus expenses?

[Dusty Watson] We get paid per gig. Not enough gigs. Not enough pay. It varies on the bigger shows, but generally stays the same each show. Regarding expenses, I can drive out to his ranch and ride with the trucks to start each tour if I want, but I just fly commercial from home to the first show and fly home from the last, and those extra days are well worth the added expense to me. I pay for all my own sticks/heads/cymbals, but am endorsed by Aquarian heads, Vater sticks, [and] Sabian cymbals, so I only have to pay cost, which really helps. Ludwig is building me a kit for Dick's tours and they are covering the expense of that, which is rad as hell.

[Lance Monthly] How would you describe Dick Dale's overall demeanor as a person on and off the stage? Have you ever seen him lose his cool with anyone?

[Dusty Watson] Oh man, this is a funny one. I have seen him go absolutely ballistic one minute and stay as calm as the Pope the next. Depends on what his mood is AT THAT MOMENT. He loves to laugh and goes to the movies constantly. Every night off he is at the movies. He loves his family more than anything on earth. When his mom and dad were living, he would spend hours on the phone with them, everyday. He has multiple phones and they are always going. He is most proud of his twelve-year-old son, Jimmy, who is an accomplished musician (guitar/drums/piano) and also flies remote control choppers and races motocross. Dick talks and brags about him non-stop.

[Lance Monthly] When touring in Europe with Dick, which countries are most receptive of the band's music and which of those are somewhat hard to please, if any?

[Dusty Watson] Man, I don't know if one is more receptive than another. It seems like everywhere we go in Europe, no matter what band I am touring with, we get an overwhelmingly great response for the most part. Europe has a much better opinion about musicians in general. They don't have the when-are-you-going-to-get-a-real-job attitude and we are treated with the utmost respect. That in itself makes it worth while flying over!
Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, it just goes on and on. I have always had great shows over there and that is why I keep going back. I have been going over since '86 and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Slacktone had trouble in France a few times and that may have been because of the promoters or the club or something else going on in town; hard to say. I told our promoter we don't want to play there anymore. A couple of other shows we have done (maybe the room was too small or I didn't like the club for one reason or another), at the end of the tour I have told our promoter not to book us there again. Very few times, though, and overall any band going over will have a successful tour, even if it just means breaking even and playing to a bunch of people and selling a lot of merch. Oh, and seeing some rad scenery to boot!
One of my favorite towns for surf music would have to be Gent, Belgium. That is the hometown of '50s Combo, and that place always goes off. There are only two European promoters that are bringing bands over these days: Freddy Spaepen and Gert Geluykens. They are both from that area so maybe they have influenced the crowds being so receptive to surf bands. Rudolph Heinz (also from Belgium) used to bring Dick and Jon and the Nightriders over, and I also worked with him when I was in Sugartooth, but he basically ripped everyone off and I don't know anyone working with him anymore.

[Lance Monthly] Dusty, has Dick reminisced with you about his early '60s breakout days and his eventual taking-a-back-seat (like so many other U.S. rock bands did) to the British? In addition, how did he adapt to the new sounds of the U.K. and did he struggle to the point that he had to take on a day job?

[Dusty Watson] No we've never talked about that, only some small talk about him getting started. Dick was really in the spotlight for a couple of years: lots of radio airplay, in a lot of movies; it was all happening. He only wanted to be a country-western singer when he started and never imagined himself being deemed The King of Surf Guitar, so I am sure it was pretty amazing while the scene was blowing up. Then the bottom fell out in America, starting with "one, two, three, four" on the Ed Sullivan Show! (When was that? February 64, I think.) So I am sure there is some emotion attached to that.
The band he had in the '70s and '80s was a joke: big Vegas lounge act with dancers and doing shitty covers-most embarrassing. He had the balls or insight or whatever you want to call it to start playing with an aggressive styled three piece in the early '90s, and has been able to rebuild a strong following all over the world.
The only day job that I am aware Dick had was when he just moved to south central L.A. from Quincy, MA, in 1954. His dad was a metal worker and he got Dick a job at McDonald Douglas or somewhere like that by LAX. I don't know how long he worked there, though.

[Lance Monthly] If you could live anywhere else in the world and successfully continue your music career, where would that be and why?

[Dusty Watson] I have lived in Southern California since I was two years old. Grew up in Corona (current home of Fender Guitars), moved to Hollywood, Venice, Marina del Rey, Silverlake, Long Beach, and now back in Hollywood. (It's all L.A. to us.) I have traveled to every state and several countries and I have yet to find another place I would rather live. LA offers me everything I want and all within a short drive. Well, it could take you half the day to get there with traffic!
I love getting in the water, snowboarding in the local mountains, eating great meals, seeing a couple of bands, and having a late-night snack, all in one day. I have yet to find another town that can offer me that. I do love Austin, New York, San Francisco, and could live in any of those cities, but really don't see it happening. I thought about spending some time in Belgium at one point a few years ago, but after talking with Sam Bolle about his attempt at living there, I scrapped that idea. I know we pay out the ass for everything, and there are just too many damn people everywhere, but I am pretty happy where I am.

[Lance Monthly] In your opinion, Dusty, what is the future of surf-guitar-instrumental rock and what's your take on today's mainstream music?

[Dusty Watson] It's hard to say what is happening with the instro scene these days. I was pretty [much] on top of it all for several years, but I have kind of fallen out of the loop. I just don't have my finger on any pulse, if you will. I see a lot of garage-styled surf happening, and some progressive stuff, [but] not a lot of traditional (though that is my least favorite, so I might not notice all that is out there). But regardless, I think the album releases have fallen off somewhat and I don't know what is in store for the future. We'll see what happens this summer.
I absolutely love the guitar rock bands-garage rock or whatever it's called these days: Yeah Yeah Yeah's, The Hives, The Walkmen, etc. . . loads of energy, not overly produced, great fast drums. I saw The Strokes and The Vines recently and was disappointed in both, though I still like their recorded music. Just too pretentious live for my taste. The boy bands like Blink play well and write catchy tunes, but I am sick of them. Maybe can handle AFI somewhat, as they haven't lost all of their edge yet. Beastie Boys have always made me smile-always ripping some great drum tracks and pretty funny lyrical content most times. Still like Foo Fighters, Hole, [and] would like to see Velvet Revolver before Scott OD's (sorry but seems inevitable).
I bought the latest Seal release and love it. Norah Jones is soothing, but doesn't take enough chances for me. Pink's release (not latest but one before that) was good. So much music out there and I hear a lot of stuff I like, but don't know who the hell it is usually. I think the music industry is shitting in their socks still and have no idea what to do about the cost of promotion versus the availability of free downloads and file sharing. Prince's idea of handing out CDs with live concert tickets is a great idea. Most major releases now have DVD and live concert footage or behind the scenes type stuff on them, so that is helping sales a little.
I haven't been signed to a major label since 1997 with Sugartooth, when we were signed to Geffen. As soon as our record wasn't headed for platinum, they pulled tour support. This was within ten weeks of release! Labels just don't have the luxury of keeping a band on any kind of salary anymore. You better hit the radio airplay hard right out of the box or head for home with your tail between your legs. I have talked with bands that are on MTV heavy rotation [with] plenty of airplay [and] tour buses-all the big tours-and are living on per diem of $150 a week. I respect those guys because that is where this business may lead you, and if you are into it for the right reasons to play music, then you can make that work for you. I say God Bless Em!!!

[Lance Monthly] Thanks, Dusty, for your enjoyable responses. What are your plans for the future and what advice can you give to the active surf-instrumental bands of today?

[Dusty Watson] I think the most important thing to keep in mind is why you are playing music in the first place. If it's to get laid and make money, you had better stop playing surf music immediately! If you enjoy the free form expression of instrumental music, whether it be keeping to your roots in a traditional vein or stretching the boundaries and allowing the music to take on a life of it's own, then I think instro is one of the best ways to achieve that.
I started playing big band and jazz music, then eventually graduated to rock and punk. I didn't start playing surf music until 1979 when John Blair asked me to record with Jon and the Nightriders, and I had a helluva good time doing it. I have been playing surf music ever since, and now I find myself playing with the King of Surf-the top of the heap as it were.
Having played in all three waves of surf music, the only thing I can hope for now is to be right there in the forefront of the fourth wave! . . . or did the fourth wave already pass me by?
As far as where I'm at personally, for the immediate future I want to get the hell off the road for a few weeks, go back to Hawaii, spend some time with Dave Wronski to learn all the material for Slacktones' new studio album, have my kids come and stay with me for a few days, go to the beach, ride my bicycle and my motorcycle, sit in my house and read a book, [and] run a couple of 10K's. I will try to get all of that done in my first week home. Right!
Future plans are staying in good shape, figuring out how to buy that condo on the north shore, see my family as much as possible, continue to listen to children, do more volunteer work, become more accomplished on guitar, write more (music, poems, thoughts, notes), smile as frequently as possible, remain teachable, and do what I can to keep music alive in schools.
It's been fun talking with you, Dick. Thanks for this opportunity to spill a little. See ya my next time through New Mexico!
Dusty

2/02 Interview with Martin Schmidt (Frankfurt, Ger)

How did you get to know John Blair?

John was booking a club in Riverside, CA called The Squeeze, and I was playing there like every week with a different band and he hired my band, The Press to open for The Knack in '78. He liked my drumming and asked if I would be interested in recording some surf tunes with him and I said sure.

How many gigs did you play with the band over the years (approximately)?

Oh man, I don't know. We didn't play ANY shows the first year or so. We recorded the 4 song EP at Eddie and the Subtitles house in Brea, CA in '79. That was released on John's California Record label. Some months after that we recorded the Surf Beat 80 LP for Greg Shaw at Bomp Records at Pretty Poison's studio in Carson. That was a trip cuz I was hanging out with those guys and Lita Ford doing pre production on her debut after The Runaways and we were like, "Surf music?? HUH???"
What was the question? Oh yeah….how many shows. Our first show was October of 1980 at Santa Monica Civic and my last show (til we regrouped in '95) was at the Roxy sometime in '81. I didn't last long as I was more into getting fucked up and getting all my friends in on the guest list. That didn't always go over so well with everyone. I probably did 10 - 15 gigs on that run, maybe 40-50 shows in the 90's so I would say I probably did about 50-60 gigs all together. The SM Civic and the Whiskey show opening for The Blasters were definitely the highlights for me with the band.

Have you been on all european tours?

No, they went over in '82 or '83 with Greg for some dates. I went over a couple of times '97-'99. I haven't played any shows with J&N the last couple of years as I have just been way too swamped with Dick Dale, Agent Orange and Slacktone.

What does the band J & TNR mean to you?

That's a funny question. I don't think I have ever thought about it. Umm…I would say J&N's were an integral part in building my style of playing, being able to play aggressively without worrying too much about groove or tempos. Jeff used to push the shit out of every song, stomping his foot and yelling to go faster faster faster!! I loved that craziness. Also we were doing something that nobody else was doing which I always dig a lot. We got in with the punk scene and having played with The Press and The Stepmothers, it felt like a natural transition, though I know now it was quite unorthodox what we were accomplishing. Nowadays, there's lots of 3rd wave instro bands doing that kind of thing but back then, no one was doing it and I was proud (can I use that word here?) of the band.

Where are the best audiences in europe for surf music?

Gierl, Belgium - Chur, Switzerland - Berlin, Germany

Are there any special shows with J & TNR you remember from all these years?

Santa Monica Civic with Dick Dale and The Surf Punks. Our first show and probably the most exciting and challenging. I had a show the previous night with The Press. I was a notorious drinker back then and I was true to form on this particular evening. I was also a bit of a fighter and didn't really care who it was that I fought with. It turns out that when it was time to drive home after the gig I thought I was fit to drive and my drum tech (Brian Wede) didn't agree with me and I found myself in quite a battle inside our van. I owned a 12' box truck previously owned by a Snap On Tool distributor. (Perfect tour vehicle I might add!). I was in the driver's seat and Brian ended up knocking the shit out of me and slamming me into the roof of the van a number of times and tossing me in the back. My right hand thumb was jammed so bad it felt like it had been yanked out of the socket. I was so pissed! The next morning I knew I was in big trouble as I couldn't move it and it hurt like hell. Of course I was blaming Brian for the whole incident. We got to the Civic and we were both scared that I wouldn't be able to play as I had absolutely no grip whatsoever. This was bad. The Civic was a union gig and there were a few stage hands hanging out and I told Brian to ask one of them to tape my hand up and the guy told him no way. This is moments before we are going on and I had to do SOMETHING. I walked over to the guy and told him he WILL tape my hand or there will be no show. I guess I was convincing because that guy taped my stick in my hand, gripped tight between my fingers and palm with my thumb sticking straight out. It was hysterical. Luckily J&N's played about a twenty minute set that night and I remember watching the tape unraveling during the show and by the time we got to Banzai Washout I was in an 'out of body experience' and have no idea how I had any control of the stick at all. I got a cassette tape of the show made by our soundman, Jerry West, and I was relieved to hear a decent performance as I really had no idea how I sounded that night. I have a totally different respect for my drumming and life in general and I hope to never find myself in a situation like that again. It was ROUUUGGGHHHHH!!!

Why do you think people are still listening to surfmusic, although the style is nearly 40 years old?

Because it is non threatening. You don't have to buy into anyone's concept of what is cool or hip in the way of following along with lyrics and deciding whether or not you agree with what the singer is suggesting. Surf music isn't pitching anything. It's pure music, like the jazz cats used to throw down.

What makes the band J & TNR special?

John has a unique style and delivery, which sets the band apart from most other instrumental surf bands. He finds really cool obscure tracks to record, as he is the king of surf music knowledge in my opinion. He has done his homework and knows just about every fucking band who ever recorded an instrumental song in the 50's-60's. The band has had many line up changes through the years, yet has always maintained that Jon and the Nightriders sound so that says a lot for John's ability as a player and a leader. I do believe that adding Dave Wronski on rhythm guitar when we were asked to perform live was the smartest thing John could have ever done. Dave plays rhythm, harmony and lead fills throughout every song and what that provides is a monstrous sound that allows John to play his single and double note runs and yet the band is still full as shit. Dave is the most amazing player I have ever seen in my life. I have to say though that I think what makes the band special is we were the first band to bring this stuff back on this level. I know some of the other guys were still banging around…Paul Johnson some…Bob Dalley some…Dick Dale, The Ventures, they were all just wanking it. Way too polite for my taste. I want a band to come out and kick me right in the mouth. The full on assault of instrumental force, loud as hell, had never really been done through modern sound systems. Sure Dick will tell you he was blowing up amps in the 60's. The fucking clubs had shit for PA's back then too. No doubt he was blowing them up. Run that dual showman through the sound systems we were blowing through and I am talking about a melt down of your senses! We were fucking shit up. Of course now, 20 years later, it's a whole knew scene with the harcore funk stuff blasting everyone's heads off, but I tell ya, only the Marshall guys were louder than Jon and the Nightriders and we were even giving them a run for their money.

Which J & TNR record is your favourite?

Live at the Whiskey.

What is the thing that fascinates you about surf music?

For me, as a drummer, I like the challenge of expressing myself within the context of the music. Not behind someone's idea of "what the song is all about" bullshit. I want to 'feel' every note and I want YOU to feel every note. I'm an emotional drummer and I like to lose myself within the song and let it breathe and fly off the handle when called for. I still have to pay close attention to the verse and the chorus and the bridge…maybe even more so as it isn't so obvious to the listener what is going on without someone out front holding their hand with a lyric sheet telling them, "It's time to repeat after me now, here comes the chorus…" It's challenging to keep someone's interest and I LOVE that. It's multi dimentional and quite experimental at times. I see more and more kids getting into instro surf and that is just wicked good to me. I've heard about enough of Limp Dickwad and it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see more young surf bands and less Hip (Shl)Hop.

Here's a travel log of Slacktone's European tourin 2002. Is this even relevant?

5/21/02

Slacktone European Tour 2002

We played 27 shows in a row on this trip and that is a trip in itself! We had loads of fun and saw a lot of friends along the way and made new ones as well, as the surf enthusiasts just keep coming out of the woodwork. Amazing to me and a big thanks goes out to all in attendance at the shows. We brought along some copies of our SURF ADVENTURE TOUR - LIVE FROM PRAGUE CD's and came home empty handed and we are thankful for the support. The official album release party for this CD will be at The Pitcher House, in Hermosa Beach on July 26th. All the usual shops should have them available before that though.

So, here's how the trip looked from where I was sitting…

3/25 Club Iota Arlington, VA
We arrived at Newark Airport and were met by Ray and Kate Dukes with a 15 passenger van to drive us to our shows in Arlington and New York. Man, I cannot say enough about these people…they are GOLDEN! We drove straight to the Iota in Arlington, VA and arrived just moments before Atomic Mosquitos went onstage. Perfect! Those guys were really good and it was fun to kick back and enjoy their show while stuffing food down our pie holes. There were lots of people at the show and we even signed some Jon and the Nightriders and Los Relampagos CD's! That rocked. Iota is a great room and I highly suggest any instro bands to contact them regarding playing there. The crowd was very receptive and we got thru the first show jitters. We drove by the Pentagon after the show and it was an emotional experience for all of us. We stayed with drummer Craig from the AM's and had a great breakfast the next morning including a healthy serving of fastnatch.

3/26 Brownies New York, NY
This show was set up by Irreversible Slack's drummer, Greg and we were stoked to finally play New York. Great club and right in the thick of things. The Gadgits were on the bill with us and they are really cool guys out on an extensive tour, which included a show with Sam and I a couple of weeks before this in New Orleans. Great surprise to see them again. I've known Greg for a few years but never got to see him play and I was blown away by The Irreversible Slacks. They are incredible!! Think party band with great chops. Dancers on each side of the stage added to the choreographed moves and lots of crowd participation made their set fun to watch. The Nebulas and 9th Wave were among the many folks in the room and it was great to see them again. We stayed at guitar player Steve's house and him and Kelly have a great pad in Brooklyn with a basement rehearsal room complete with a wet bar and tiki lights! Awesome.

3/27 Fly to Brussels
Kate and Ray drove us to JFK and we had plenty of hugs and happy tears before we left them. The plane was a good place to sleep and we all took advantage of that. Thanks to Dave Arnson for hooking up the travel arrangements for us again!

3/28 KultuurKaffee Brussels, Belgium
We were picked up by our promoter, Freddy Spaepen and went straight to the hotel to sleep some more. Thanks for that Freddy! We walked around town after a nap and went to the Musical Instrument Museum and that was very cool wearing headphones that played samples of the instruments you looked at in each display case. The show was at the University and it was packed with 250 kids all dancing and freaking out to surf music. We gave away a bunch of our drink tickets after the show and you would have thought we were giving away gold bars instead. Funny. Dinner was upstairs in a quite restaurant overlooking a huge pool with boys in Speedos playing water polo. Interesting.

3/29 Bat Cave Tilburg, Holland
This place has 3 rooms and we played in the small room, thankfully. Excellent stage and sound, about 70 people showed up to check us out. Freddy was the DJ after the show and it was fun to hang out with everyone afterwards. Cor, who we met last year in Amsterdam was there with his fiancé and we had a blast talking. Also sold a grip of stuff to an Internet record store, which was cool.

3/30 N9 Eeklo, Belgium
First support surf band, Hawaiian Astros were on the bill. They were cool, mostly traditional stuff. Steve from Revelairs, Bart and Jenz from 50' Combo, Fre and Alexandria from Speedball Jr. all came out and we had us a good damn time. Place was packed and we shed a lot of sweat

3/31 Wollewei Turnhout, Belgium
This was a super cool club. This was a Pop Festival with 12 clubs supporting 12 bands and everyone just got wasted drunk and walked from club to club (think mini SXSW). We played 4- half hour sets and that is a lot of notes I tell ya. More friends in attendance, Eddie and his son, the 50' crew, even Fabulous Frankie came out! We hadn't seen him since he supported one of the first Jon and the Nightriders shows there years ago. Food was exceptional, complete with a pancake, whipped cream and strawberry topped desert. Yummy!

4/1 JH Palias Zoutleeuw, Germany
Small room but very enthusiastic crowd. Salmon and ribs down the street was memorable. We came out for multiple encores, which was a good thing, but I forgot my shorts and played in long pants (which I NEVER do) and I got a little bitchy and as a result started the Slacktone Police moniker which took a while to shake. Make note: do not ever forget shorts.

4/2 Dreikonigskeller Frankfurt, Germany
This club is always empty. Don't come back here! (personal note). Heard about alternate club, AU and will try that next time perhaps. Talked with a local regarding a group of Germans who bought a ghost town, Lobo, TX between El Paso and San Antonio and they are setting up an art colony there, sounds cool. Martin Schmidt came and we all went out for Donner Kabobs so it wasn't a total loss.

4/3 Beebop Paris, France
How's this? The promoter tells us the curfew is 10:30. OK, no problem. Opening band plays until 9:45. Whatever, we set up fast and start by 10:00 and figure we can go over a minute or two. Still no problem. Light crowd but they are all dancing and having a good time. Somewhere during the set, Dave's power goes out and he's trying to figure out what's up, then Sam notices his power is out too….then we realize they pulled the power on us! We looked at the time and it was exactly 10:30. Hmmm. Guess it's time to go home. Paris is not high on my come back to list.

4/4 Manuscript Oostende, Belgium
This is on the eastern coast complete with a marina filled with pleasure craft. Wonderful town, lots of shops, etc. The place was packed and we had a great show. All 4 bartenders had Slacktone shirts on and that was a beautiful site!

4/5 Waterfront Rotterdam, Holland
We opened for The Apemen and that was cool! Huge room totally full and great sound system. Actually most of the clubs in Europe have really good gear as a lot of them are subsidized by the government…I still haven't figured out how that works…I was in the audience talking with Bart and Isabelle while watching the Apemen and the guitar and bass player came out into the audience and were playing an extended jam section and Dave the bass player walks up and puts his bass around my neck and then starts playing the guitar with Jeroen while I played the bass! They went directly into a bit of Miserlou and we were laughing our asses off. I told Bart, see, anyone can play the bass, even drummers! Too much fun tonight.

4/6 Witte Theater Ijmuiden, Holland
Another instro band supported this show, The Annacandas from Amsterdam. They were more jazz improv influenced and damn good. This was a bitchin venue and the sound was exceptional. Kind of a light crowd but we had a blast and the promoter was cool and let us check email from his office so what more could you ask for???

4/7 Hammer Muhle Bielefeld, Germany
Openers, The Triffids we very cool. Lots of surf songs and some old school garage vocals i.e. Sonics etc. 2 girls in the band, bass player and tambourine/triangle player. No shit. Guitar player was from the German Astronauts and really ripping it up. Very fun evening and lots of surf enthusiasts here. I dug this place.

4/8 Blue Saloon Tubingen, Germany
This town rocks! We had fun walking around and shopping before the show. It was so crowded that we loaded out of the side window behind the stage after the show as there was no room to get to the door through the crowd! Promoter Michael was a major music fan. We crashed at his house and he played DJ for as long as we could handle it… Kill Allen Wrench, Peepshow, Bombshell, and lots of bands that he was promoting.

4/9 Angi Pub Trenton, Italy
Vineyards everywhere! This was our first trip to Italy and the people were very enthusiastic. They don't speak English for shit, though and we had some fun making up Italian for our own amusement…"Spumoni, Spaghetti, I work-ed-ded so hard-ah…" These people loved us and wanted to carry on conversations with us even though neither party could understand a single word being said. Beautiful snow capped mountains behind the club. Quite amazing.

4/10 Jack the Ripper Ronca, Italy
This place was packed to the hilt and I think everyone in the joint bought something after the show. We stayed here at the club, which is owned and run by Alberto and his entire family. We did some laundry here but no one has dryers over here so we had wet clothes strung out all over the van for the next couple of days. Raining and cold.

4/11 Madly Pub Castelnovo, Italy
Promoter, Gianni was total comedy. Tom Cruise look alike and full of energy. He even did the Nipple Dance for us, which we had never experienced before and can't say that I would like to see it again actually. When we finished playing a very drunk gentleman came onstage and started talking shit to me and then hit my cymbal really hard with his fist and I thought he was choosing me on or something. He looked all pissed off, but I found out he just wanted us to keep playing and the bouncers carried him off. Pretty funny. We stayed in an old castle, which is now the office for the City Mayor. Really fun snooping around all the town records in a store room on the top floor late that night. Kinda spooky too…

4/12 Safari Beat Club Chur, Switzerland
This place goes OFF!! Unbelievable! The dance floor was bouncing the whole night and packed to the back walls. Promoter, Michael got the whole room to bow down and start chanting some weird foreign gibberish, trying to get us to come back out for encores and I gotta say in all my years playing, I have never experienced anything quite like this. Waaayyy too much fun! We walked around town the next day as this is a wonderful city. We all split up and ended up in a restaurant several hours later and when we showed our goods, all 3 of us had purchased Swiss Army Knives so we had them out on the table acting like silly little tourists. You gotta love that! More Donner Kabobs.

4/13 Remise Wil, Switzerland
This was the biggest show we played on the tour. Huge venue and impossible to get from one end of the club to the other. Amazing. Everyone stayed after we finished and danced to a cool DJ spinning old school soul and 60's fun. The stage became part of the dance floor and our Merchandise Queen, Raina, got up and did the pummel dance with several of the drunk Swiss boys. More fun than I can explain here, but you get the idea.

4/14 Le Fonqu Stuttgart, Germany
This was a small room but totally fun show. Everyone loved us and there were lots of girls dancing so no complaints here. We walked around town and bought some stuff. This is a really cool town and would love to spend a day or two here checking it out sometime.

4/15 Jena, Germany
We were supposed to have a day off here, but our promoter Freddy is opposed to such things so local surf band, Los Banditos, set up a show here for us. It was a restaurant, small and impossible to play the way we like to play so I was being a baby about the whole thing. Whatever. I don't even know the name of the place, nor do I really give a shit about ever coming back here to play. We were told the cool club here is Casablanca and if we ever play Jena again, I hope we go there. The town is cool and we had a totally bitchin hotel, complete with a freak bartender who did magic tricks and told us he had 7 girlfriends scattered across America while trying to convince us he spoke several languages. Quite amusing.

4/16 Klupfel Nuremburg, Germany
This place was packed! Wonderful sounding room with good stage. Last year the room was about ½ full, but this year there were lots of people saying they heard about the show and they weren't going to miss it this year. Very cool. Promoter, Peter is a great guy and helped make this one of the best shows of the tour.

4/17 Wild at Heart Berlin, Gemany
I love this room. Full of funky posters, lights and Elvis stuff. Owner, Leah met her husband in Venice, CA! The opening act from Ireland cancelled at the last minute so we played 2 sets. We had a lot of fun shopping up and down the street before the show. Berlin rocks!

4/18 Nyx Oslo, Norway
Our first time in Scandinavia and we loved it! The Beat Tornados helped put these Norway shows together and it was a real treat to share the stage with these guys. They were awesome! Decent crowd and what a wonderful location…right in the heart of downtown. We walked around the next morning and had a great time checking out the Parliament and the King and Queen's pad. Oslo was just swarming with people and I really liked it. Promoter, Steiner was a very cool rockabilly guy and made sure we enjoyed ourselves, which was very helpful.

4/19 Zappa Arendal, Norway
Our 2nd show in Norway with The Beat Tornados. I think this is where some of them grew up, and they had the place packed with very enthusiastic people. When we got to the club, it was set up for an off track betting place and it was a bit shocking, but as soon as the last race went off they set up the PA and we were off and running. Great food right around the corner. The show seemed fairly normal until we tried to quit playing and everyone was yelling and clapping and would not let us quit. I don't know how many encores we did but it seemed like forever before they finally decided they had had enough. Whew, what a night!

4/20 Loppen Copenhagen, Denmark
This club was in a community called Christiana, which was an old army barracks that some squatters took over in 1971 and have developed into a 'Free City' which I don't fully understand just what that means other than cops don't patrol thru there and so they sell hash and mushrooms without any worry of being busted. Even more bizarre was walking out of the club after soundcheck and seeing Cowabungun, Jim Murphy from Santa Clara, CA! We had fun walking around and tripping on the whole place. Another instro band supporting tonight, The Baywatchers from Copenhagen. These guys were cool… loved their version of Squad Car.

4/21 Nijdrop Opwijk, Belgium
Our 27th show in a row…Wow! This was a full on surf show with Ward 69, who played pretty aggressive and sounded good, and Los Venturas who are a well polished traditional sounding band, great tones and matching shirts. Sebastian was quite impressive on guitar. Lots of friends showed up for our last show and it was cool to talk with everyone about our month spent traveling around Europe. Thanks to our promoter, Freddy Spaepen for putting the tour together and to all the people that came out and supported us along the way.