Deke Dickerson: Super Fonic.

Deke Dickerson plays Greaze-Fest at the Fishbowl, Redcliffe on Friday and Saturday.

Missouri-bred entertainer Deke Dickerson loves to revel. Hand him a Mosrite 1959 TNM Custom built double-necked guitar and free reign of a venue then watch him soar into a set of tantalising vocals to the liberating sound of swing, jump blues, hillybilly boogie, country-jazz and rockabilly.

Deke’s passion and entrepreneurial ways keeps him centre-stage at least 250 gigs a year. He has a huge reputation on the American West Coast scene and his globe trotting tendencies extend throughout the USA to Europe, Japan and Australia.

Dickerson has enjoyed various levels of success during his career however he would be the first to admit his hunger for it became obvious in his teens: “I grew up in Missouri, and there was no promise of a better life. People either worked on farms, or in factories, and it was pretty bleak. I remember when I was first playing in bands we opened up for the Fabulous Thunderbirds. The place was packed (at ten bucks a head!) and I remember Jimmie Vaughn pulling out a wad of bills and just thinking, you know what, this looks way better than working in a factory or on a farm.”

Ol’ Deke didn’t look back in a sense and his music took off by the late 80s when his surf-garage band the Untamed Youth constantly hit the road. Five album releases later and a re-location to LA, Deke started kickin’ around in a hillbilly rockabilly band called the Dave & Deke Combo. By 1997 he landed a major sign with the prestigious American roots stable Hightone as Deke Dickerson and the Ecco-Fonics. His recordings were suddenly available in every music store in America and he seized the opportunity to build up his merchandising and own music label. What a guy!

Deke Dickerson also knows how to wack the ‘funny bone’ with plenty of humour. He developed the zany Snak Rock Superheros the Go Nuts and attempted to snag a movie deal. As Donut Prince, Kap'n Kornnut, Donut Hole and the Korn Dogg sing about their snack food fetish and overindulgence their amazing stage show climaxes into a Snak Storm extravaganza as various devices launch food into the audience. The band cut several 45s and CD’s but unfortunately though their efforts haven’t reached the big screen yet. Deke says, “We actually came close! We convinced some sucker to give us $10 000 for a one-year movie option, which funded a lot of our stage show, the snack cannons and the Nutwaggon.”