Dave Dale doesn't claim to be the best singer or guitarist, and he certainly doesn't attribute his busy touring schedule to his skills in either area. Dale actually didn't even pick up a guitar with the intention of playing live until he was 38 years old. Dale busied himself in the corporate world for years, but when his day job came to an end he decided to pursue his passion full time.
Dale jumped on his motorcycle and just "ended up" in Greenville where he decided to settle there with his music. Dale said he attacks the business side of gigging professionally with the same tenacity he had as a professional in the business world. Booking his gig at the Dugout this week is the work; the performance is his reward.
"The hard part is setting it all up, but I'm picking apples off the tree before most musicians wake up," Dale said. "The three or four hours I get to play music is the fun and easy part."
Dale doesn't want to imply that he doesn't care about the performance aspect. He's spent years developing his approach to live performance just as much as his abilities as a singer and guitarist. Dale said he experienced an epiphany while playing on cruise ships in Key West when he realized the key to a great show was getting the crowd as involved as possible.
Half of this approach is performing songs people immediately know or want to hear. Dale will follow Jimmy Buffett with Billy Idol or the Commodores; whatever the crowd wants to hear is fair game. The other half of Dale's approach involves what he lovingly refers to as "suicide karaoke," the ultimate form of crowd participation.
"Of course I don't force anyone to sing," Dale said, "but it's easy to coax the right person up there. It's the way my show runs; I like to stop and start it and interact so I can engage the audience."
Although Dale plays shows with other musicians as a duo or in a four-piece band, he mainly tours the Southeast as a solo musician. He has actually made enough contacts and grown enough of a fan base to split the year between his home in Greenville and areas a little further south. When the weather is cold Dale is usually in Fort Meyers or Key West.
Most of Dale's sets consist of cover songs, but he allows a few of his originals to creep into sets, mainly because they fit so well alongside the laid back and fun material from Buffett. Dale's own music is definitely tongue in cheek, an obvious product of his surroundings. "Friday Night Drunk in the Middle of the Week" and the divorce and alimony ballad "Cheaper to Keep Her" are two of his most popular originals.
"I've got serious songs that have already been picked up by Nashville artists," Dale said, "but I sell the serious music so I can play the fun stuff."