Dave Malone
Encyclopedia
Dave Malone born August 29, 1952 in New Orleans, Louisiana
is best known as the guitarist/vocalist, and sometimes songwriter, of The Radiators
. He has also worked with a wide variety of other musicians, in and out of New Orleans. He has recorded more than a dozen albums with the Radiators, including their latest release Dreaming Out Loud (SCI Fidelity
, 2006). They maintain a strong, loyal fan base and are on the road relentlessly.
and Hank Williams are just as soulful as Otis Redding
and Muddy Waters
.”
The family finally settled in a tiny sugar cane town on the Mississippi River
—Edgard, Louisiana
....where Malone’s older brothers got mail order guitars from Montgomery Ward
and were learning folk songs and Duane Eddy
songs from the records they were starting to collect. Malone was just a kid when he witnessed the event that changed his life: The Beatles
on the Ed Sullivan Show. Singing and playing guitars seemed like an extremely cool thing to do. “I was mesmerized and completely hooked and thought that their music sounded so fresh and exciting….especially since Mom & Dad's record collection consisted of Marty Robbins
' Gunfighter Ballads, Johnny Horton
's Greatest Hits, The Fabulous Johnny Cash
and a couple of Sing Along with Mitch LP's. Since then, Beatles music has always inspired me. I even use a 60’s Gibson J-160E
and a 60’s Höfner
bass on all my stuff in my home studio (and to this day, it remains a thorn in my side that I had to miss The Beatles
at City Park Stadium to attend my brother Tommy’s birthday party). There were no record stores in Edgard, so I had to order 45s from Victoria at The Honey Hush [the same Honey Hush that Dave reminisces of in his song “Barnburner”]. At the same time, my older brothers and their friends provided access to other cool 45s and LPs. I have to confess though…I still love those Marty, Johnny and Johnny albums!”
When brother John put a band together with school friends, Dave hung around so much that he got the opportunity to pick up and learn to play the bass guitar. His folks were kind enough (or crazy enough) to let them commandeer the family dining room for years and years for practice. A little later, Dave started on the guitar and formed his first band: The Family Dog, with some other Edgard guys, including Jeff Amedee (older brother of subdude Steve Amedee) on drums. “When I was a junior in high school I paid 80 dollars for my first good guitar—a 1956 Fender Telecaster
—which I still have and love. We got regular gigs in Morgan City and Port Sulphur, bought a milk truck for equipment and actually made money and thought we were really rolling.”
After high school, Malone moved back to New Orleans and joined a country rock band, Dustwoofie. That band was a mainstay at Tulane University
. They went through several personnel changes and later, his brother Tommy (now with The Subdudes
) joined. After Dustwoofie, Dave bounced around in other bluegrass, rock & roll and country-rock bands such as The Johnny Zimple Band with Subdude John Magnie and The Dr. Bill Malone Band (no relation), finally winding up in Roadapple with Spencer Bohren
and Radiators bassist Reggie Scanlan
. One day Dave and Reggie got a call from Ed Volker
to come over and jam with him, Frank Bua and Camile Baudoin
. “We had such a a great musical experience that we decided to become a ‘band’ the very next day. The name took longer than the music. We played gigs as Them Neighborhood Boys, then a few more gigs as the Weema Woppas, and finally came up with The Radiators.” The Radiators feel blessed to have played with such New Orleans musical royalty as Professor Longhair
, The Meters
, The Neville Brothers
, Dr. John
, Allen Toussaint
, Eddie Bo
and were even the backup band for Earl King
for years. “The first time we ever went to New York
was to be Earl’s band at a club along with the band that Stevie Ray Vaughan
was in at the time—The Cobras. Earl never even showed up—We played the gig and I think the people thought that one of us was Earl. We found out the next day that he had decided not to fly because it was a Friday the 13th
. We’ve had some interesting things happen!!”
In addition to his life as a Radiator, Malone has put together and become involved in many other projects. One of his side bands, Monkey Ranch with a core line-up of Malone as band leader, Reggie Scanlan
on bass and Neville Brothers drummer Mean Willie Green, has included a real who’s who of New Orleans musicians: brother Tommy, Theresa Andersson, Anders Osborne, John Gros, David Torkanowski and many others. Dave has also done shows with brother Tommy as The Malone Rangers… interpreting songs from their Mom’s original record collection as well as the Everly Brothers and Louvin Brothers
and other vocal harmony duos. Somehow, time has allowed the opportunity for Dave to be a guest musician with several New Orleans groups: Galactic
, Cowboy Mouth
, Twangorama, Johnny Vidocavich and George Porter, Jr.
, the Iguanas
, Bonerama
, The Theresa Andersson Group, Papa Grows Funk etc. Malone was also invited to front Allen Toussaint
’s band –playing guitar and singing on several of Allen’s songs—at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In the past few years, Malone has also had the pleasure of being one of three guitarists/Dads for a handful of now legendary shows with their offspring. The Chilluns featured two of his children, Johnny and Darcy (vocals), Annie Clements (bassist/vocalist for Sugarland and daughter of Cranston Clements of Twangorama) and Andre Bohren (drums/vocals for Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes and son of Spencer Bohren.) “That band and those shows were very special. The "kids" harmonize so well that we were even able to tackle songs such as “Good Vibrations” and “God Only Knows” as well as classic R & B and soul tunes, Beatles songs and originals by the three Dads. I was very pleased that they included my song ‘I Don’t Speak Love,’ which I wrote after realizing that my somewhat hard-edged Dad (born in Lickskillet, Mississippi) never said ‘I Love You’ until he was on his deathbed.” Dave has also stretched out with his non-Rads songwriting and has collaborated individually with Tommy, Theresa, Jim McCormick, Bonerama
and even performed some zydeco
with Chubby Carrier
.
A devotee of the Fender guitar, Malone was honored a few years ago to be included in their Frontline magazine. A known gear-head, he has also gotten involved with The Tone Quest Report, has been the subject of several feature articles, and is on their advisory board. “It’s a great mag for players always searching for newer or better guitar sounds. Everything in the signal chain makes a huge difference. Techs are making such fantastic-sounding stuff right now. Some of my current favorite stomp boxes are made by: Analogman
, Homebrew Electronics, Klon, Durham Electronics, Mojo-vibe and JangleBox. Having bought and sold a gazillion guitars and amps over the years, I’ve accumulated a very cool collection of toys. My oldest guitar is a 1921 Martin OO-18 and I’ve got a bunch of old Gibson and Fender guitars and old Fender, Vox, Silvertone, Marshall and Gibson amps. My road guitars include several made for me by Trip Thienemann, in the Chicago
area, such as a gold metal-flake Tele with Lindy Fralin
pickups, a chambered body Les Paul
type guitar with Jason Lollar P-90s and a wacky purple Strat with a Bigsby tailpiece and old Teisco and Harmony pickups. A prized possession is a Gretsch
White Falcon that my wife gave me for my birthday. My favorite acoustic is a 1962 Gibson J-50 that I play more than anything…except of course my main road guitar: 1982 ’57 reissue Strat. Other road guitars are: a candy apple red Fender Jazzmaster
, an early 90s Gibson [Les Paul Classic], a 1982 ‘62 reissue green Strat and a Danelectro
baritone. I mostly use a Vox AC30
for live shows and used a bunch of new and old Vox amps on the new CD. I’ve also got a Teo mini-12 which is like the old Vox mini-12s. That thing plays and sounds fantastic!”
“The Radiators are on the road so much that there isn’t a lot of time for other projects… I’ve had the good fortune, however, to share the stage with some amazing musicians—James Burton
, Steve Cropper
, Greg Allman, Martin Simpson
, Danny Gatton
, David Hidalgo
, Warren Haynes
, Maceo Parker
, Derek Trucks
, Robbie McIntosh and even Derek Smalls
. It’s been a crazy ride….but now I’ve been doing this for over 30 years....and .. Yes! It IS an extremely cool thing to do!”
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
is best known as the guitarist/vocalist, and sometimes songwriter, of The Radiators
The Radiators (US)
The Radiators, also known as The New Orleans Radiators, are a rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana, who have combined the traditional musical styles of their native city with more mainstream rock and R&B influences to form a bouncy, funky variety of swamp-rock they call fish-head music...
. He has also worked with a wide variety of other musicians, in and out of New Orleans. He has recorded more than a dozen albums with the Radiators, including their latest release Dreaming Out Loud (SCI Fidelity
SCI Fidelity
Formed in 1998, SCI Fidelity Records is an independent record label based in Boulder, Colorado. It is owned and managed by the jam band The String Cheese Incident....
, 2006). They maintain a strong, loyal fan base and are on the road relentlessly.
History
Malone was born in New Orleans on August 29. Because his father was in the military, he and his mother and three brothers moved constantly and spent many hours in the family car with the radio blasting. “I feel very fortunate to have had access to radio the way it was then. We would hear every type of music imaginable: pop, country, soul, blues etc., etc…and to me they weren’t all that different from one another.. If it was melodic and tuneful with a good singer...I loved it!!.. To me, George JonesGeorge Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
and Hank Williams are just as soulful as Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
and Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
.”
The family finally settled in a tiny sugar cane town on the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
—Edgard, Louisiana
Edgard, Louisiana
Edgard is a census-designated place in and the parish seat of St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,637 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...
....where Malone’s older brothers got mail order guitars from Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
and were learning folk songs and Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...
songs from the records they were starting to collect. Malone was just a kid when he witnessed the event that changed his life: The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
on the Ed Sullivan Show. Singing and playing guitars seemed like an extremely cool thing to do. “I was mesmerized and completely hooked and thought that their music sounded so fresh and exciting….especially since Mom & Dad's record collection consisted of Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
' Gunfighter Ballads, Johnny Horton
Johnny Horton
John Gale "Johnny" Horton was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
's Greatest Hits, The Fabulous Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
and a couple of Sing Along with Mitch LP's. Since then, Beatles music has always inspired me. I even use a 60’s Gibson J-160E
Gibson J-160E
The Gibson J-160E is one of the first acoustic-electric guitar models produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.A major problem with playing an acoustic guitar in live settings is that it is often quite difficult to hear...
and a 60’s Höfner
Höfner
Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, with one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and another that manufactures other string instruments....
bass on all my stuff in my home studio (and to this day, it remains a thorn in my side that I had to miss The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
at City Park Stadium to attend my brother Tommy’s birthday party). There were no record stores in Edgard, so I had to order 45s from Victoria at The Honey Hush [the same Honey Hush that Dave reminisces of in his song “Barnburner”]. At the same time, my older brothers and their friends provided access to other cool 45s and LPs. I have to confess though…I still love those Marty, Johnny and Johnny albums!”
When brother John put a band together with school friends, Dave hung around so much that he got the opportunity to pick up and learn to play the bass guitar. His folks were kind enough (or crazy enough) to let them commandeer the family dining room for years and years for practice. A little later, Dave started on the guitar and formed his first band: The Family Dog, with some other Edgard guys, including Jeff Amedee (older brother of subdude Steve Amedee) on drums. “When I was a junior in high school I paid 80 dollars for my first good guitar—a 1956 Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
—which I still have and love. We got regular gigs in Morgan City and Port Sulphur, bought a milk truck for equipment and actually made money and thought we were really rolling.”
After high school, Malone moved back to New Orleans and joined a country rock band, Dustwoofie. That band was a mainstay at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
. They went through several personnel changes and later, his brother Tommy (now with The Subdudes
The Subdudes
The Subdudes are an American roots rock group from New Orleans. Their music is a blending of American folk, swamp rock, New Orleans rhythm and blues, Louisiana blues, country, cajun, zydeco, funk, soul and gospel with harmonic vocals...
) joined. After Dustwoofie, Dave bounced around in other bluegrass, rock & roll and country-rock bands such as The Johnny Zimple Band with Subdude John Magnie and The Dr. Bill Malone Band (no relation), finally winding up in Roadapple with Spencer Bohren
Spencer Bohren
Spencer Ward Bohren is an American roots musician, singer, songwriter, teacher, and visual artist. He plays guitar, lap steel guitar, banjo, and percussion, and utilizes the roots of American traditional music to write songs in blues, country, gospel and folk styles...
and Radiators bassist Reggie Scanlan
Reggie Scanlan
Reggie Scanlan is a bass guitar player and photographer from New Orleans, Louisiana and a founding member of swamp rock band, The Radiators.According to Matthew Haggman of radio station WWOZ in New Orleans, "In the early seventies Scanlan made enough of a name for himself as a bassist to record...
. One day Dave and Reggie got a call from Ed Volker
Ed Volker
Ed Volker, aka Zeke is a singer, songwriter and keyboard player from New Orleans, Louisiana, and a founding member of the legendary New Orleans band, The Radiators...
to come over and jam with him, Frank Bua and Camile Baudoin
Camile Baudoin
Camile Baudoin is a guitar player from New Orleans, Louisiana and a founding member of The Radiators.Baudoin shares lead guitar duties in The Radiators with Dave Malone, and plays with or without a slide...
. “We had such a a great musical experience that we decided to become a ‘band’ the very next day. The name took longer than the music. We played gigs as Them Neighborhood Boys, then a few more gigs as the Weema Woppas, and finally came up with The Radiators.” The Radiators feel blessed to have played with such New Orleans musical royalty as Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist...
, The Meters
The Meters
The Meters are an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977...
, The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art , Charles , Aaron , and Cyril The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in...
, Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
, Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...
, Eddie Bo
Eddie Bo
Edwin Joseph Bocage was an American singer and New Orleans-style pianist. Schooled in jazz, he was known for his blues, soul and funk recordings, compositions, productions and arrangements...
and were even the backup band for Earl King
Earl King
This article is about the musical artist. For the Earl King convicted of murdering a ship's officer, see Earl King, Ernest Ramsay, and Frank Conner...
for years. “The first time we ever went to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
was to be Earl’s band at a club along with the band that Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
was in at the time—The Cobras. Earl never even showed up—We played the gig and I think the people thought that one of us was Earl. We found out the next day that he had decided not to fly because it was a Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year...
. We’ve had some interesting things happen!!”
In addition to his life as a Radiator, Malone has put together and become involved in many other projects. One of his side bands, Monkey Ranch with a core line-up of Malone as band leader, Reggie Scanlan
Reggie Scanlan
Reggie Scanlan is a bass guitar player and photographer from New Orleans, Louisiana and a founding member of swamp rock band, The Radiators.According to Matthew Haggman of radio station WWOZ in New Orleans, "In the early seventies Scanlan made enough of a name for himself as a bassist to record...
on bass and Neville Brothers drummer Mean Willie Green, has included a real who’s who of New Orleans musicians: brother Tommy, Theresa Andersson, Anders Osborne, John Gros, David Torkanowski and many others. Dave has also done shows with brother Tommy as The Malone Rangers… interpreting songs from their Mom’s original record collection as well as the Everly Brothers and Louvin Brothers
Louvin Brothers
The Louvin Brothers were an American country music duo composed of brothers Ira Lonnie Loudermilk and Charlie Elzer Loudermilk , better known as Ira and Charlie Louvin. They helped popularize close harmony, a genre of country music.-History:The brothers adopted the name Louvin Brothers in the...
and other vocal harmony duos. Somehow, time has allowed the opportunity for Dave to be a guest musician with several New Orleans groups: Galactic
Galactic
Galactic is a funk and jazz jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.-Origins and background:Originally formed in 1994 as an octet and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a sextet of: guitarist Jeff Raines, bassist Robert Mercurio,...
, Cowboy Mouth
Cowboy Mouth
Cowboy Mouth is a rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Their name usually means "One with a loud and raucous voice". The nucleus of the band formed in the 1990s, and they have become a powerhouse live act whose performances have been likened to "a religious experience."Some of their most...
, Twangorama, Johnny Vidocavich and George Porter, Jr.
George Porter, Jr.
George Porter, Jr. is a musician best known as the bassist and singer of The Meters. Along with Art Neville, Porter formed the group in the mid 60's and came to be recognized as one of the progenitors of funk. The Meters disbanded in 1977, but reformed in 1989...
, the Iguanas
The Iguanas (New Orleans)
Hailing from New Orleans, where Latin and Caribbean music have a long and glorious history of interaction with R&B, blues and jazz, the Iguanas was formed in 1989 by guitarist/accordionist Rod Hodges and Joe Cabral, who alternates between saxophone and a traditional Mexican stringed instrument...
, Bonerama
Bonerama
Bonerama is a brass funk rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.Bonerama was formed in 1998 by trombone players Mark Mullins and Craig Klein, who, from 1990 up until late 2006, were also members of Harry Connick Jr.'s big band...
, The Theresa Andersson Group, Papa Grows Funk etc. Malone was also invited to front Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...
’s band –playing guitar and singing on several of Allen’s songs—at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In the past few years, Malone has also had the pleasure of being one of three guitarists/Dads for a handful of now legendary shows with their offspring. The Chilluns featured two of his children, Johnny and Darcy (vocals), Annie Clements (bassist/vocalist for Sugarland and daughter of Cranston Clements of Twangorama) and Andre Bohren (drums/vocals for Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes and son of Spencer Bohren.) “That band and those shows were very special. The "kids" harmonize so well that we were even able to tackle songs such as “Good Vibrations” and “God Only Knows” as well as classic R & B and soul tunes, Beatles songs and originals by the three Dads. I was very pleased that they included my song ‘I Don’t Speak Love,’ which I wrote after realizing that my somewhat hard-edged Dad (born in Lickskillet, Mississippi) never said ‘I Love You’ until he was on his deathbed.” Dave has also stretched out with his non-Rads songwriting and has collaborated individually with Tommy, Theresa, Jim McCormick, Bonerama
Bonerama
Bonerama is a brass funk rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.Bonerama was formed in 1998 by trombone players Mark Mullins and Craig Klein, who, from 1990 up until late 2006, were also members of Harry Connick Jr.'s big band...
and even performed some zydeco
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
with Chubby Carrier
Chubby Carrier
Roy "Chubby" Carrier is an American zydeco musician. He is the leader of Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band.Carrier's father and grandfather both played zydeco music, and his cousins recorded under the name The Carrier Brothers. He was taught to play accordion by his father, Roy Carrier Sr.,...
.
A devotee of the Fender guitar, Malone was honored a few years ago to be included in their Frontline magazine. A known gear-head, he has also gotten involved with The Tone Quest Report, has been the subject of several feature articles, and is on their advisory board. “It’s a great mag for players always searching for newer or better guitar sounds. Everything in the signal chain makes a huge difference. Techs are making such fantastic-sounding stuff right now. Some of my current favorite stomp boxes are made by: Analogman
Analogman
Analog Man LLC is a company that makes and modifies guitar effects pedals.In 1995, the company, led by "Analog Mike" Piera, started modifying Ibanez Tube Screamer overdrive pedals to sound like the vintage ones which were used by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Johnson...
, Homebrew Electronics, Klon, Durham Electronics, Mojo-vibe and JangleBox. Having bought and sold a gazillion guitars and amps over the years, I’ve accumulated a very cool collection of toys. My oldest guitar is a 1921 Martin OO-18 and I’ve got a bunch of old Gibson and Fender guitars and old Fender, Vox, Silvertone, Marshall and Gibson amps. My road guitars include several made for me by Trip Thienemann, in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area, such as a gold metal-flake Tele with Lindy Fralin
Lindy Fralin
Lindy Fralin is a US manufacturer of "boutique" guitar pickups based in Richmond, Virginia. He got his start in the early 90's winding by hand on a homemade machine because he was not satisfied with commercially available pickups...
pickups, a chambered body Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
type guitar with Jason Lollar P-90s and a wacky purple Strat with a Bigsby tailpiece and old Teisco and Harmony pickups. A prized possession is a Gretsch
Gretsch
The Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
White Falcon that my wife gave me for my birthday. My favorite acoustic is a 1962 Gibson J-50 that I play more than anything…except of course my main road guitar: 1982 ’57 reissue Strat. Other road guitars are: a candy apple red Fender Jazzmaster
Fender Jazzmaster
The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as an upmarket sibling to the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Show, it was initially marketed at jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s...
, an early 90s Gibson [Les Paul Classic], a 1982 ‘62 reissue green Strat and a Danelectro
Danelectro
Danelectro is an American manufacturer of musical instruments and accessories, specializing in rock instruments such as guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and effects units.-History:...
baritone. I mostly use a Vox AC30
Vox AC30
The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox and known for its "jangly" high-end sound. First introduced in 1958 due to the growing demand for higher-wattage amplifiers, it became an iconic amplifier for British musicians and soon for others....
for live shows and used a bunch of new and old Vox amps on the new CD. I’ve also got a Teo mini-12 which is like the old Vox mini-12s. That thing plays and sounds fantastic!”
“The Radiators are on the road so much that there isn’t a lot of time for other projects… I’ve had the good fortune, however, to share the stage with some amazing musicians—James Burton
James Burton
James Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
, Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
, Greg Allman, Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in the British Isles, America and beyond.-Biography:...
, Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...
, David Hidalgo
David Hidalgo
David Hidalgo is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Los Lobos. He is also a member of the supergroup Los Super Seven and of the Latin Playboys, a side project band made up of some of the members of Los Lobos...
, Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes is an American rock and blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Haynes is best known for his work as long time guitarist with The Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a guitarist for David Allan Coe and The Dickey...
, Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...
, Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks is a Grammy Award-winning, American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded The Derek Trucks Band and worked as a session musician when he was still in his early teens. Throughout those teenage years, he toured with The Allman Brothers Band primarily as a slide...
, Robbie McIntosh and even Derek Smalls
Derek Smalls
Derek Albion Smalls is a fictional character played by Harry Shearer. He is the bassist for mock British heavy metal group Spinal Tap. He co-starred in the hit spoof rockumentary This is Spinal Tap with guitarists Nigel Tufnel and David St...
. It’s been a crazy ride….but now I’ve been doing this for over 30 years....and .. Yes! It IS an extremely cool thing to do!”
Discography
For albums with The Radiators, see The Radiators Discography.Collaborations
- Andy J. Forest ~ N.O.L.A. — (Appaloosa 1992)
- The Iguanas ~ Superball — (Margaritaville 1996)
- Anders Osborne ~ Live at Tipitina’s — (Shanachie Records 1998)
- Various Artists ~ Get You a Healin’ — (Orchard 2000) [w/Tiny Town]
- Jessica Radcliffe ~ Nightblooming Jasmine — (High Bohemia 2002)
- Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes ~ Bandicoot — (Full Frontal 2003)
- Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band ~ Ain’t No Party Like a Chubby Party — (Swampadelic Records 2003)
- Martin Simpson ~ Righteousness Humidity — (Red House Records 2003) [nominated for Album of the Year at the BBC Folk Awards 2004]