At first glance, it can be hard to take Deke Dickerson seriously. When a guy adorns his website with pictures of himself in a wrestler's robe, his reputation as a joker seems well earned. Chuckles aside, this West Coast roots-rock specialist earns his rep as a world-class practitioner of the art of rockabilly, Western swing, and country by way of his formidable fingerpicking. A top-notch, often tongue-in-cheek crooner besides, Dickerson and his band, the Ecco-Fonics, attack these forms -- and throw in some doo-wop -- most recently on
Rhyme, Rhythm and Truth.
Dickerson's discography totals 16 releases. He initially made waves bouncing his riffs off a Farfisa instead of a boogie piano in his '80s surf/garage outfit Untamed Youth. Two discs with the early '90s Dave and Deke Combo, which mixed the music with cornpone personality, preceded his three solo efforts. However humorous Dickerson's countenance may be, though, the joking stops at the fretboard.
