Deke Dickerson and the Ecco-Fonics
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Deke and the Whippersnappers 7-inch

New Book!!

Sixteen Tons: The Merle Travis Story (BMG Books, 480 pages) is the story of Country Music Hall of Fame member Merle Travis, a brilliant, multi-talented, and deeply troubled artist who is widely considered a genius. A world-class guitarist who dazzled audiences with his Kentucky thumb-picking style, Merle was also a pioneering country songwriter who wrote such classics as “Dark as a Dungeon” and “Sixteen Tons.” Additionally, he was responsible for early electric guitar innovations in the 1940s, and was a gifted actor, writer, and cartoonist, among many other talents.

Deke will happily autograph your copy if you order here at his website. Add a note to your order telling him who to make it out to.

Buy it now!

Live Dates

January 28, 2023 Mosrite 70th anniversary show, Maui Sugar Mill Saloon Tarzana, CA with Venturesmania!
February 2-5, 2023 Rockin Race Jamboree Torremolinos, Spain Deke set and backing up Les Greene
February 19, 2023 Casbah San Diego, CA with the Whippersnappers
March 25, 2023 Grand Ole BBQ (North Park location) San Diego, CA Solo performance
April 27-30 Viva Las Vegas Festival, Orleans Casino Las Vegas, NV with Deke and the Whippersnappers, Dave and Deke Hillbillyfest, Deke’s Guitar Geek Show, more TBA
June 5-11 Screamin’ Festival Calella, Spain R&B/doo-Wop show
June 15-19 Rockabilly Rave Festival Camber Sands, England with the Deke All-Star Power Trio featuring “Crazy” Joe Tritschler and Chris “Sugarballs” Sprague

For more details, go to Live Dates

Book Writin’

Sixteen Tons: The Merle Travis Story (BMG Books, 480 pages)—the first-ever full-length Merle Travis biography, now coming in November 2022 (sorry! supply chain issues)—is the story of Country Music Hall of Fame member Merle Travis, a brilliant, multi-talented, and deeply troubled artist who is widely considered a genius. Pre-order it now via the button at right!
Also check out Deke’s two earlier books:
 
The Strat in the Attic: Thrilling Stories of Guitar Archaeology (Voyageur Press, 256 pages), in which musician, journalist, and “guitarchaeologist” Deke Dickerson tells the true tales of 50 thrilling rare guitar finds. Foreword by Jonathan Kellerman.
 
The Strat in the Attic 2: More Thrilling Stories of Guitar Archaeology (Voyageur Press, 256 pages), with even more stories behind dozens of astounding guitar finds.
More Info
Strat In The Attic
More Info

Musings

Articles and thoughts from the mind of Deke

Johnny Fields 1952 Guitar Mystery

Johnny Fields 1952 Guitar Mystery

Guitar mystery of the night: Here’s Johnny Fields, left, early 1950s. His Fender Esquire (Telecaster? No Caster? Broadcaster?) has been customized with what looks to be an extra bridge pickup section from another Fender guitar…

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RIP Jerry Blavat, The Geator with the Heater

RIP Jerry Blavat, The Geator with the Heater

RIP to the great Philadelphia DJ personality Jerry Blavat, the legendary “Geator with the Heater.” got turned on to the Geator a million years ago, when I auditioned for a Morells spinoff band when I was in high school in Missouri.

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Videos

These and more on the Deke Dickerson YouTube Channel

Here's a new video, with a song that everybody knows--originally written by Nick Lowe, covered by Elvis Costello and a million others. I had an idea one day, what if this song was reborn as a 1960s AM radio hit? I thought it would work, so I went in the recording studio with legendary punk drummer D.J. Bonebrake of X. I played all the other instruments and sang all the vocal parts. It turned out pretty well, I thought, so I shot this video with the help of my friend Garrett Immel (from the band The Ghastly Ones, also one of the top makeup guys in Hollywood) as "The Car Dude." Thanks to my iPhone and free video editing software, this video cost a grand total of eight dollars to make! It might seem like the Pandemic is over, but us musicians are still struggling to get back on track and keep the bills paid. If you like this video, please consider leaving a virtual tip! PayPal to eccofonic@earthlink.net (friends and family please) or Venmo to @Deke-Dickerson (1080 if they ask you phone digits for payment). Thanks so much for all your support these last two years as we navigate this crazy new world.
Last week, Don Everly of the Everly Brothers passed away. It hit me hard, because the Everly Brothers music has meant a lot to me over the years. I love the Everly Brothers! Since I haven’t done a video in a while, I thought I would make a tribute video to the Everly Brothers featuring three of their songs from three different eras of their careers. “Since You Broke My Heart” is from their early era, written by Don (he wrote the song for Buddy Holly). “Gone Gone Gone” is one of their rockin’est songs, from their great mid-1960’s period. “I’m On My Way Back Home Again” is a late-period song from their country-rock phase before they broke up in the early 1970’s. I decided to record all three as a medley. I don’t think my efforts come within a country mile of the Everlys excellence, but it was a lot of fun to play and sing these songs to the best of my ability, and figure out how these songs were arranged. My hope is that if there are any of you out there who haven’t been gobsmacked by the brilliance of the Everly Brothers, maybe my little tribute will help you discover one of the greatest musical acts of the Twentieth Century. Rest in Peace, Don, I hope that you and Phil are back together making beautiful harmonies up there, somewhere in the afterlife. If you’ve enjoyed this video, or any of the other videos I’ve made in the last year and a half, please consider leaving a tip! We thought for a brief moment that the Covid pandemic was behind us, but as we’ve all found out, we’re still in the middle of it, with no end in sight. I had four shows booked for this month, and two of them just got canceled because of the new Covid situation. So, if you’re able to help, leave a tip and help buy some groceries or put some gas in the gas tank. You can send tips via PayPal to eccofonic@earthlink.net (friends and family please) or Venmo to @Deke-Dickerson. Thank you in advance, your support is much appreciated!
THAT’S HEAVEN TO ME! I haven’t done a gospel video in a long time. I got this one stuck in my head last week, it’s an old Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers classic called “That’s Heaven To Me.” I just love the harmonies on this one, and it’s got a great message, really good, positive lyrics. This is the first time I’ve attempted to pull off a black gospel number, and even though you’d never confuse me with Sam Cooke, I hope you like how it turned out. I sure love singing those harmonies, and I tried to play some Pops Staples-style guitar, because I just love it! I’ve said this before with my previous posts of gospel music—even if you’re a stone cold heathen, you really ought to open your ears up to some good gospel music. It’s one of America’s great musical genres. Some of the greatest and most heartfelt singing you’ll ever hear in your life. I honestly believe that every truly great singer America ever produced grew up singing in church, so I don’t ignore this music. I just let the beautiful harmonies wash all over me. Friends, even though it feels like the pandemic is over, it will be 2022 before I get back to any kind of regular income. Even though I have some local club shows coming in, in the “before times” I used to pay all my bills and expenses by playing festivals, and the festivals won’t return until next year. If you’ve been enjoying these videos I’ve been doing, I keep planning on doing a couple every month, for the simple reason that I really need to supplement my income to stay afloat. If you’ve been lucky enough to keep a job through this last year, and can spare a virtual tip, I would really appreciate anything you could send my way. Please send tips via Paypal to eccofonic@earthlink.net (friends and family, please) or Venmo to @Deke-Dickerson Thank you so much!
THE YEAR THAT GOT AWAY! I’ve been trying to do as much music as possible this past year, even though all my gigs went away. If you’ve been following the videos that I’ve been posting, you know I’ve tried all different kinds of music, many out of my regular wheelhouse. However, I haven’t really been inspired to write many new songs. Perhaps it coincided with getting my first vaccination shot, but about a month ago I started writing a new song in my head. The first thing I came up with was a title—“The Year That Got Away.” I wanted to relate to this common feeling about this Covid year—looking to the future, a sense of loss but also a positive feeling for what lies ahead. The song started coming together in my head. A week ago, it hit me—this song has turned into a ROCK ANTHEM. What do I know about rock anthems? I’ve never written one before. But I had to admit, this was a really, really catchy song. I liked everything about it. It really captured how I felt about this last year. I decided if it was a rock anthem, I was going to record it like a rock anthem. There was going to be a chorus everyone could sing together, at the top of their lungs, while holding a cigarette lighter in the air. There would be cowbell! I got in touch with my friend Jim Laspesa, who currently plays percussion in Brian Wilson’s band. He’s played drums for a bunch of bands over the years, including Dave Davies, the Muffs and Green Jelly. He came over, laid down the drum part, and did a great job! I buried myself in the studio for a couple days and by the time the video was done, this thing had taken on a life of its own. Once I got the background vocals and handclaps and cowbell on there, I started getting an itchy feeling all over me. Goosebumps. I’ve never experienced this feeling before, but I had this unshaking belief that, holy crap…I had a hit song on my hands. You know how there are those songs you just can’t get out of your head for a week? It just had that “thing.” When I got finished with it, I just had this feeling—damn, son, you just created the Pandemic anthem. It’s a song for all of us. OK, so I’m pretty proud of this new song I wrote and produced. But I’m still out of work and unemployed. We’re all waiting for the gigs to come back, but for now, if you’re enjoying these videos, please consider leaving a tip! Your tips have kept me from going under during the “Year That Got Away.” Please send tips via paypal to eccofonic@earthlink.net (friends and family payment, please) or Venmo to @Deke-Dickerson and I’ll share tips with Jim! I hope that this song gets stuck in your head and that you find something meaningful in the lyrics. Let’s all look toward the future and better days!
I’VE GONE MOD! OR….I’VE GONE MAD? I’ve been unemployed long enough due to this pandemic that I thought I’d try something I never thought I’d attempt—playing an early Who song! I remember the day many years ago when I randomly found a copy of the Who’s “My Generation” album at a yard sale. YEAH! This was cool! Four sharp looking, sharp dressed young British guys, playing R&B covers and their own songs, and what songs they were! Two and a half minute long power pop masterpieces! And then there’s Keith Moon! I love, love, love, LOVE me some Keith Moon! Why do I love Keith Moon? Because that guy was crazy, he was unique, he really could play, he had great TONE when he hit the snare and toms, and you could always tell that the guy LOVED MUSIC. Moon had music, crazy and delirious and wild, flowing through his blood. It’s the same thing that all my favorite drummers share—Moon, Earl Palmer, Hal Blaine, Dino Danelli, Bobby Elliot, even going back to guys like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. They were like kegs of dynamite, and if you were a guitar player or a singer or a musician lucky enough to be part of their explosion, it was like you finally got to PLAY MUSIC. “You’re only as good as your drummer,” I was told early on. The Who were a great band because they had the great Keith Moon behind the kit. So, after a year of doing videos in every style imaginable, I heard the Who’s greatest song, “So Sad About Us,” and thought to myself….could I do that? “So Sad About Us” is one of those masterpiece songs, covered by every aspiring Mod band and bands like The Jam and The Breeders and The Dexter Romweber Duo (and even my buddy Chris Sprague’s band The Outta Sites, who do a great version on their awesome new album “Beautiful You.”). I thought to myself, “OK, but only if you can get something approximating a Keith Moon drum part.” I’m not a good drummer, but I think I got something that finally captured the spirit. I didn’t own a Rickenbacker 12-string, so I borrowed one from Gregory Antoniono. Rickenbackers have never been my thing, but when you need one, you really need one! Nothing else gets that proper woody “chime” sound. When I got it on the edge of distortion, it had that perfect 1967 Townsend sound. Same thing with the bass part—cranking that Precision Bass just enough to get that distorted edge really “filled in the holes.” When it came time to shoot the video, I thought, okay—I don’t look like a mod. I’m a hillbilly. But I thought about Keith Moon, he never went through the motions….he drove a Rolls Royce into a swimming pool, for god’s sake! I figured I needed to go into the deep end and have fun with it. Huge thanks to Sally Jo for helping style me for this video, including trimming up a bunch of her own costume wigs and figuring out how to make my thrift store clothing purchases look like something out of 1967 Carnaby Street. Yeah, it’s completely ridiculous, but it was FUN. And if you’re not having fun, why do it at all? Sally Jo also came up with the funny idea for the narrative video, starring lonely middle-aged Mod “Reg Poppelwell Gloucester” and the love of his life, Duncan the Dog! If you’ve been enjoying these videos, please consider leaving a tip! You have no idea how much your tips have kept us musicians afloat during this year where the gigs all went away. A lot of people are thinking “Hey, the pandemic is over now” but as of now I have only a handful of gigs booked over the next few months, and that won’t keep the lights on! If you appreciate live music and the abilities of musicians to continue doing what they do, send a tip via Paypal to eccofonic@earthlink.net or Venmo to @Deke-Dickerson It is much appreciated!
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