In reality I know he was quite ill and only touring to pay medical bills. And unfortunately, I never got a chance in my schedule to make the trek to the Coachhouse in Dana Point where he always seemed to have a show. I love his music and what it represents - two of my uncles were original SoCal surfers in the sixties, and even my dad (a music fan but not a surfer) always mentioned seeing him in the Rendezvous ballroom on Newport Beach. I only dabbled in surfing, but it's a part of California culture that I think unfortunately lost emphasis. I know the Hendrix quote is something along the lines of 'So you'll never have to listen to surf music again,' but sometimes I imagine a world where virtuosos like Dick Dale continued to take over pop music instead, and I do not hate that world.
I pretty much honed my tremolo picking on Miserlou and Nitro; I built the guitar below partly in his inspiration (to have a sparkle gold Strat, though my iteration has Lace Sensors.) Will miss another legend.
