Dick Dale

My philosophy is the thicker the wood the thicker the sound, the bigger the string the bigger the sound. My smallest string is a 14 gauge.

I don't live with the 'right' people. I don't want to. I don't want to live with the rich in Beverly Hills or walk the streets of Hollywood. I want to go to K-mart and get good deals.

Every time I do an album, I say, 'That's the last one'.

I smashed my tailbone and couldn't sit for five years, and I broke my clavicle because I thought I was a great surfer, and of course, I could be a great snowboarder, too. Man, was I wiped out!

My philosophy is that on a scale of 1 to 10, I will go to 15. No matter what!

Kids don't see me as an oldies person when I go out on stage. They see me as an energy force.

Guitar Player Magazine says Dick Dale is the father of Heavy Metal, blowing up 48 amplifiers, creating the first power amplifier.

People ask about love. Real love. I was never in love; the people around me didn't love me. They were just along for the ride.

When I play, I don't cheat. I played for 490,000 in Berlin, and I'll play just as hard for 100.

I try to read the audience, see what they're in the mood for.

Springsteen — he's the Lord God.

That's what my music does for me. It makes people happy. When I play, I thank the Lord I've never seen someone walk away from a Dick Dale dance not having a good time. That's what it's all about.

I make jokes because humor is the greatest healing factor that there is.

As I'd go out learning to surf, I'd feel the power of waves coming over my body. It's like you're with God.

Every song is like a painting.

I was reading a magazine when I was a little kid, probably about twelve years old, and an ad said that if you sell so many jars of Noxzema skin cream, we'll sell you a ukulele. So I went out and banged on doors in the snow in Quincy, Massachusetts, where I was raised, and I sold the skin cream.

Whatever you do, don't take shortcuts. It's great advice to take and live by.

There's a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around.