Deke Dickerson
	The Untamed Youth At Garage Shock 1997 (Mace, pictured left and Deke, pictured right)

It was a huge thrill to interview Deke way back in Continental magazine number 5. At the time we were working on putting together the latest Double Crown Records release, a 7" by The Untamed Youth featuring "Since You Went Away" b/w "Come On Down To My Boat". It was simply amazing that he fit this and so many other releases into his busy schedule. He has recorded and performed with several bands over the last few years (The Untamed Youth, Dave & Deke Combo, The Go Nuts, The Sprague Brothers and solo), produced and written liner notes for several recent releases.

He is currently touring and promoting his new record, a knockout LP called "Number One Hit Record" on Hightone Records. We are proud to feature The Untamed Youth's version of "Bird Dance Beat" on our upcoming Trashmen tribute CD. Anyway, here's how our interview went...

The Continental Magazine: First of all, how in the hell did a kid in Missouri get obsessed with surf and hot-rod music?

Deke Dickerson: I became obsessed with 50's rock and roll first, through my introduction to Elvis. Then my folks bought me a little Fisher Price record player and I somehow wound up with this strange batch of records: Elvis' Greatest Hits Vol. 1, Paul Revere & The Raiders Greatest Hits, Johnny Cash's Greatest Hits, and one of those K-tel compilations called Funky Favorites or something like that which had Surfin' Bird on it. Damn, I played Surfin' Bird probably 10,000 times until the grooves of the record were white. It's amazing how much those first few records I had dictated the rest of my life.... I mean, what if my folks had bought me Molly Hatchet or Elton John records? I shudder to think...

The Continental: When did you first get into music? Was The Untamed Youth your first band?

Deke: I'm tryin' not to get too much into detail, because of a Dick Dale interview I read recently where he recaps his entire boring life story.... Anyway, I started collecting records wherever I could, and eventually I started seeking them out at garage sales, where my mom would take me to look for hand me down clothes. Then I checked out the record section at the public library and for some unknown reason they had the Eddie Cochran Legendary Masters 2-LP set and the Gene Vincent Bop that Won't Stop albums. Those albums knocked me on my ass!! I became obsessed with rockabilly. This was around 1981. Then the Stray Cats hit around 1982 or so, rockabilly was in demand, and I was determined to get a band together. I played guitar very badly (and had a couple of Top 40 type bands when I was 13-14...OUCH) but it didn't matter. I formed a really, REALLY, terrible rockabilly band called the Rockin' Tailfins in 1984. We played around Columbia Missouri and everybody really liked me 'cause I was this 14 year old kid goin' wild, y'know? Unfortunately I could never find the right guys to play music with, and eventually I became convinced (until I saw Big Sandy when I moved to California) that rockabilly couldn't be done right. By that time (1986) I had gotten into surf and 60's garage stuff and figured (correctly) that all those bands like the Pyramids, Count V etc. were made up of 17 year old guys who couldn't play very well. This was something I could do! I basically taught Mace how to play bass and we got Doug Walker and Joel Trueblood out of our high school band.

The Continental: How many bands have you been a part of?

Deke: Here's a list, if you wanna good laugh: Aces & Eights (OUCH!), Paradox (DOUBLE OUCH!), The Rockin' Tailfins, Freddy & the Wingtips (don't ask), The Untamed Youth, The Beatnik Bandits, The Dave & Deke Combo, The Sprague Brothers, The Go Nuts, etc.

The Continental: Tell me about getting The Untamed Youth together and perhaps go through a brief history of the band.

Deke: I capped a little bit before about how we first formed...basically when we formed the band I had no interest in being a "hobby" band...I wanted to be a rock star! I was too dumb to know that you don't get to be a rock star by playing rockabilly, surf, & 60's garage! Anyway, after the Youth had been together a few months, I lied out my teeth to get us booked for a few gigs in New York City. We went out there and Billy from Norton saw us and we signed to Norton Records. We spent the next few years (1988-1990) touring the country and making records. It was a blast! As far as member changes go, we went through a million, so check out the liner notes to UNTAMED MELODIES if you care that much. Around 1990, Mace and I found ourselves without a drummer and facing the possibility that we might have to go to college! We moved to California to avoid the horror, and had a west coast version of the Youth from 1991-1993, which never really caught on. We could never really find the right guys to play with out here either. It's too bad. We broke up right before the whole PULP FICTION revival thing came around. Mace moved back to Missouri in '93 and the band was dissolved for a couple years, until Estrus put out the Live in Las Vegas album and we decided to get back together, which we have continued to do a few times a year since then.

The Continental: What shows stick out in your mind?

Deke: Geez! There are so many. In the early years, our first gigs in New York City really stick out, because we were so young and starry eyed and the people in NYC really ate us up! Those shows were WILD! Then I also remember all the "extravaganzas" that we would put on locally at the Blue Note in Columbia, Missouri. We had a fashion show with these custom built ramps and all the hottest chicks from the local all-women's college modeling. We had a garage sale where we sold a bunch of junk in the club and then performed amongst a pile of junk on stage. We had an experimental filmmaker come show his movies before we played and that gave us a lot of cred with the "art" chicks, whom Mace was tryin' to make. We did lots of junk like that, to make us look bigger than we really were! That's the Youth in a nutshell right there.

The Continental: Tell me about the UY's hearse that you used to have -- was it a good investment?

Deke: Well, the 1959 Cadillac hearse on the first album cover was a bad investment because it never ran, but I got my money back out of it and a cool album picture, so I guess it wasn't that bad. Then we had a 1968 Olds Hearse that was really cherry and ran great, but for a 4-piece band, they're not that comfortable to tour in. We paid $1200 for it and drove it 20,000 miles before it crapped out, so it was a good investment. Besides, man, you're investing in your IMAGE, and you can't put a price on that! Shit, we were touring in a hearse years before the Mummies, Makers, Swingin' Neckbreakers or any of 'em! I know it wasn't our idea (kudos to Sam the Sham) but we were the first NEW group to do it.

The Continental: What gear do you use and how does it vary from band to band?

Deke: It took me years to figure out the ultimate rig for the Untamed Youth, but I finally figured out that nothing but a Fender Dual Showman with 2 15-inch JBL's would cut through. I wouldn't part with mine now for a million bucks. I use a stock old Fender Brown Reverb from '63. For years I used a Fender Jaguar and it's the guitar people remember from the Youth, but to tell you the truth that particular guitar plays like dogshit! I'm much happier now to play my '67 Gibson ES335 (modified by turning the humbuckers into single coils) and only use the Jaguar on the songs where we throw beer around. On the Planet Mace album I use the ES335 almost exclusively, but I use the Jaguar on Ghost Wave, a 1954 Telecaster on Fire Breathin' 32 and an old Supro on I'm More Punk Than You. With the rockabilly setup, I use a variety of guitars including a 1954 Fender Telecaster, a 1962 Mosrite Doubleneck, a 1958 Stratosphere, a 1965 Standel, and various other "junky" guitars. I began a quest for the ultimate rockabilly amp and I came up with two. For a clean sound I use a 1955 Standel amp, custom made in very small quantities for guys like Joe Maphis and Merle Travis. They use a 15-inch JBL speaker and are loud, clean, and tight! For a raunchier tone, I use a 1958 Ray Butts Echosonic amp, which is another obscure custom made amp that was used by Scotty Moore and Chet Atkins. It has a built in tape echo in the amp and it sounds like manna falling from the heavens. To be truthful, even though I enjoy searching out bizarre guitars and amps, when I plug into any quality combination of Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, etc. there is good tone to be had. You don't need to go through the headaches I have to have a hip sound.

The Continental: What's the story on your double-neck octave Moserite? Tough to play?

Deke: Yeah, it sucks! It is one of the first production model guitars Semie ever made (Serial no 103) and the necks are so thin that I'm afraid I'm gonna break the neck just by making a chord! However, the pickups are gold and with the combination of killer tone and killer looks it's hard to put it down.

The Continental: Tell me about Ecco-Fonic Records. Other than your solo recordings how do you decide which bands/individuals you want to work with?

Deke: If I think a band or a guitarist is really amazing, I try to put something out on them. But I am so backlogged with stuff that I have promised to do that I'm not saying anything to anybody any more, just filing it away in my brain for future reference. And as much as I love doing country/rockabilly instrumental discs, they have sold rather poorly in comparison to the vocal discs and being a businessman I'll probably do a lot more vocal stuff in the future!

The Continental: What do you think about CDs?

Deke: I think they suck, but they sure are handy. If they could invent remote controls for vinyl record players, a lot more people would play vinyl!

The Continental: Tell me a bit about The Sprague Brothers. Will they be recording/touring in the future? What is your role in the group?

Deke: My role with the Sprague Brothers is similar to Sam Phillips role when he heard Howlin' Wolf, who at the time was still pickin' cotton. Sam heard a talent so amazing yet unrefined that he knew there was something extraordinary there. So it is with the Sprague Brothers. They are phenomenally talented and can perform in every style from country to rockabilly to early 60's rock and roll to straight-ahead pop to heavy metal if they want! The boundaries are endless and unfortunately you can't rope the Spragues into any one kind of music, so they will probably never be fully accepted by any group. Plus they are completely insane, that doesn't help. I want to make a documentary about them so that people will understand the madness and the genius. In the meantime I play guitar & bass with them when I am available.

The Continental: Are The Untamed Youth going to continue recording and playing live, or is the current spurt of activity a one-time thing?

Deke: We'll keep playing as long as anybody will have us! We're having a ball! Southern Culture on the Skids wants us to tour with them next summer when Mace is out of college.

The Continental: What were the sessions like recording Planet Mace and your Go Girl Go/Hot Lips Baby single? To me these are the craziest Untamed Youth recordings yet!

Deke: To me, they were very fulfilling because they were the first ones done on my home turf with me in full control. Our first couple albums were done in New York City and I didn't even have a good amp to record with (you know how touring equipment is - it's mostly ducktaped together crap!), so I think the guitar tones on the first two albums are terrible. The third album was better but it was all cut live with no overdubs in a day and a half! On the PLANET MACE album I got to do things like play sax, have piano and organ on the same song, add out-of-control amounts of tape echo, etc. Plus I have been getting into vintage recording equipment and techniques and I can now safely record without having new wave damaged engineers screw up the sound.

The Continental: How do you get that outta control Trashmen tone on Whistle Bait & Hot Lips Baby?

Deke: Years of practice. Do not try this at home.

The Continental: Are you still gonna back up The Collins Kids in Vegas this year with the Dave & Deke Combo?

Deke: It does not look like it will happen now, due to disagreements between Dave, Lance, and the promoters. Too bad. I will probably still go, because it's such a killer lineup.

The Continental: You've done The Untamed Whirl & Show-Me Blowout - any plans to do another zine in the future?

Deke: No, it takes too much time and you don't make any money. But hey, I really enjoy it when people like yourself dedicate their time to making a nice rag. I plan to write liner notes and do music research when I am paid decently. I've done projects for Bear Family, Del-Fi, Sundazed, and others...

The Continental: Why Pabst? What made it your beverage of choice?

Deke: I hate to admit it, but it was the movie Blue Velvet that inspired us all to drink it. After a while you become addicted to the taste and the great value.

The Continental: Best Catwoman: Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt or Lee Meriweather?

Deke: Can't choose between Julie and Eartha...both great. I saw Julie Newmar at a swap meet last month and she looks great, for what that's worth...

The Continental: James Best's best role -- guitar picker Jim Lindsey on Andy Griffith, or Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard? Why?

Deke: James Best is simply a brilliant actor, whether it is on Andy Griffith, the Dukes, or in the movie THE KILLER SHREWS or THE GIANT GILA MONSTERS. He is a giant in the acting field. I don't know why he never won any awards.

The Continental: Do you have a favorite Sinatra song?

Deke: I can appreciate the Chairman but don't have a favorite.

The Continental: What do you have planned for 1998, for Ecco-Fonic or any of your current bands?

Deke: Complete world domination with my new band, Deke Dickerson & his Dekes of Hazzard!!! This is my new rockabilly band that should be rolling any minute now. I have several Ecco-Fonic releases planned including the Horton Brothers, Smiths Ranch Boys, Ramblin' James & the Billy Boppers, Sleazy Surf Volume 2, and a CD compilation of all the Ecco-Fonic singles.

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