Interview With Bass Player and Website Owner Keith Dick
Introduce yourself! What are your current projects (Bass related and otherwise)?
Hello my name is Keith Dick, at the moment the Band is on hiatus and I am working on my Video Gaming Websites plus a few other web related projects…
How did you start playing bass?
I actually was a Guitar Player and a Bass Player spot came up in my cousins band so I switched and have been a Bass Player ever since tho I still do play guitar, some keyboards, ukulele and I have a banjo I doubt I’ll ever get around to learning…
Did you start out with a teacher or were you self-taught?
When I got my first guitar I broke all the strings the first day trying to tune it so the parents figured I “Really Needed Some Lessons!”, hahaha…
What is your musical background and history?
I had no musical background but when my father and I were putting a new roof on my grandmother’s house I saw two very old acoustics there, I begged grandma for them and I was hooked from then on…
*Experience:*
10 years on the road, mid 70’s - 80’s.
*Recording experience: *
Track Records, Rockway Studios & Paramount Studios, Hollywood CA.
Studio in the Country, Bogalusa, LA. Rampart Studios,Trax &
Yeaney Studios, Houston, TX.
*Opened for or worked with:*
Buddy Miles, Leslie West, Iron Butterfly, Blackfoot,
Captain Beyond, Bobby Caldwell, Back Street Crawler,
Ohio Express, Blue Ash & Jr. Walker & The All Stars.
*Past associations:*
KANSAS, Brad Aaron, Roger Capps, Tom Fowler, Andy
Parker, Lee Jackson, Greg Wright, Cherie Currie, Randy
Jackson, Rick Hendrix, Nick FaKouri & Greg Knolwes.
*Radio and Television Experience:*
Numerous Radio interviews and appearances on the 80’s Rock Show: Texas Rocks.
What gears do you or have you used?
I started out with a “Norma Guitar and Amp” then graduated to a Vox Bulldog 6-string and a Sears Silvertone Amp, my first Bass was a 1963 Hofner Bass like Paul McCartney’s except mine was right handed and I used an Ampeg Bass Rig. My next Bass was a Fender Precision Fretless and then a fretted version, my next one was my 1972 Fender Jazz Bass which I still use today along with a Marshall Super Bass 100 Stack for amplification, at one point I had four stacks just to keep up with our guitar players but know I only use two if need be… Other basses in my collection are my “Mini” P-Bass which has all Fender parts on it, my ‘78 Tobacco Sunburst Rickenbacher, ‘76 Gibson Thunderbird (sold), ‘66 Gibson Thunderbird, Homemade Precision Fretless out of purchased parts, 5-String Steinberger prototype (sold), ‘66 VOX Bulldog, ‘72 Gibson SG-Deluxe 6-string, ‘76-Fender Tele’ ‘80 Alvarez 12-string, Cheap 6-string with “Whammy Bar”, 4-string “Uke”, 5-string Banjo, Various Midi-keyboards, drum machines and other toys…
Who, and what were your influences?
Wow, that is a tough question… I’d have to say Dave Hope of Kansas is my most fave player along with Chris Squire, Greg Lake, John Wetton, Stanley Clarke and most of the Funk Slappers that I could never quite imitate… I also like a few of the new guys that are taking the instrument to some new extremes…
In the ’60’s I listened to whatever was on the Radio and I liked all the British bands and few of the U.S. ones until the “BubbleGum Era” hit big time and we used to play all those… Then I heard “Iron Butterfly” (In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida) and it took me to the next level of music, “Progressive” and I thought Lee Dorman was the best Bass Player I had ever heard… Later on it would be ELP, YES, Genesis, Gentle Giant, ASIA, SAGA, my favourite KANSAS since Dave Hope and I are on the same mind set as far as Bass Playing…
What have you been listening to lately?
A few years ago I was living in my home state and listening to the station I grew up with, they used to play whole album sides in the early 70’s and now they play oldies and new rock so bands like Nickelback and a few others, the rest to me all sounds the same tho Ozzie’s stuff with Zakk Wylde is really good… These days I listen to “Progressive Progpositivity Radio Online” and get to listen to some great new Progressive Music, like the Flower Kings, Pallas, Dream Theater, Sieges Even, there’s so many I can’t remember all the names…
If there were one bit of advice you could offer about playing bass what would it be?
Stick with it and practice every moment you can, keep trying to find your own style and find guys that you can get along with outside of the band to play with…
What plans do you have for the future?
As of now my only plans are to get my websites running smoothly and hopefully the band will get back to working on new material in the near future…
Interview End
Thanks alot to Keith for letting me interview him. You can find Keith and a list of his sites at http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/KeithLDick/
Keith’s Sites
LifeTime Gamer
Exchangebanners.org
LifeTime Gamer Arcade
MultiView (His Band)
Tom LeDree
If you would like to be interviewed via IM or E-Mail Send me an Email
Tom@TomLeDree.com
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