Our man Dan Hicks.
There was probably no artist that we worked with and presented more than Dan Hicks. It would be an understatement to say he was a stylist. He was a stylist’s stylist. Beloved and deeply respected amongst his peers, he recorded with many, including Willie Nelson, Bette Midler, Ricki Lee Jones, and Tom Waits, to mention a few of the more recognizable names. He never achieved the popularity of many half as talented. His music was such an eclectic mix of Western Swing, Folk, Jazz & Blues, American radio just couldn’t get a handle on it. It was a genré he called “Folk Swing”.
We have several concert recordings dating back to 1979 at a very special hilarious night at the Bay Area’s Keystone Palo Alto (a quonset-hut shaped grocery store turned nightclub), which Dan dubbed as ‘America’s most successful airplane hanger conversion’. Most of our recordings are from Reno venues. Ever since his early days with the Charlatans at the Red Dog Saloon up on the Comstock (Virginia City, NV). Dan had an affinity for Reno, and Reno had one for him.
We’ll start off with the recording of his engagement as “Dan Hicks and Deux Messieurs” at Barry Rivlin’s Hacienda del Sol on April 29, 1986. More to come.
Dan Hicks & Deux Messieurs Hacienda 29apr86: