Coming to you from the studios at the Illinois rock and roll museum on route 66. It's the rock and roll Chicago podcast Hey everybody, it's Ray the roadie and this is Hollywood Mike. I have no idea what's gonna happen right now.

Oh Why what's wrong? I don't know. We're already joking around. I know we are gonna be a lot of fun It's gonna be a lot of I mean we've gone to the porn jokes early We did we did before the before the mic was even hot We went right to this mutt and that was a poor choice of words We're talking about porn and you're the mic is hot.

Well, yeah, I guess this mic is always hot. You know, I mean No, this is the Internet So who we got here tonight, I don't know who we got here tonight we got the Dixon band We're gonna let these guys introduce themselves. Yes.

We are the welcome bandits. See that's also a porn joke Dixon bandits So, yes, we we are the Dixon bandits I'm Doug and I'm Mike I'm Dean I'm Pat I'm the keyboard player And we have a couple there actually a few other members that could not make it here tonight our sound guy And Bobby right and our bass player Bobby and our bass players Paul Paul is a Phenomenal bass player you guys got you guys got six guys on stage and a sound guy six guys in the sound guy Yes, okay. Well, sorry, they couldn't all make it but thank you as you can see you with us.

We're very space And our sound guys name is Jeff I just want to get that in there because he'll say you didn't say my name All right. Hey, yeah, there you go. Yeah, you gotta do that.

How's the sound? How's it? How's it sound Jeff? Let me know Yeah, so who started this this this this this band so this started actually it started like 30 years ago Maybe a little longer. It was actually me and him with another guitar player a bass player and a singer and We played for maybe eight nine ten years But we picked up head along the way the keyboard player and then I had a truck You know and sometimes that gets you the job And then and then we picked up the guitar player from Marshall Tucker who Amazingly enough we were looking for a guitar player and he calls and he says yeah, I play with Marshall Tucker I'm like, yeah, well like with the record. What do you mean you play with Marshall? Grove yeah, and he comes out and he plugs in his amp turns it on.

He's like, all right, I'm ready to go I'm like, you don't want to warm up or nothing. He's like no, I'm like, all right, cool Let's play we played like Sweet Home, Alabama Maybe we played Crossroads. No, it wasn't Crossroads.

It was Call me the breeze. I think it was yeah, he played phenomenally. He was a pro.

It was like, oh my god We get done playing say well, what are you doing, man? You'd welcome to play with us anytime you want so so that was the lineup back then that was like I said 30 years ago Oh, don't don't breeze over that whole thing Was this just a road guitarist or he was he was the Marshall Tucker man, he was in Marshall Tucker Yeah, he was their slide guitar player an original member of the no not an original member So when Marshall Tucker the one day when the original members kind of split up So I called well, I believe it was toy No, he when he wanted to put the band back together He went back to Spartanburg and he wanted to get players from Spartanburg. Okay from his hometown He wanted to get players from bitten and was that North Carolina? South Carolina Spartanburg Stewart came from South Carolina and he grew up listening to Marshall Tucker man, okay, and and they invited him into to fill in the space after Some people passed away, okay, and He went on the road with him. He was with them probably 15 or 16 17 years.

Oh, no kidding. Okay. Yeah He wasn't that original member, right? I mean, but he was in the band.

He was Yeah, yeah, he was just like guitar player for Martin Bucker for okay for many years I didn't believe him Right, I mean You know, he had a girlfriend. He lives in Elk Grove Village So he moved up for Spartanburg to Elk Grove Village. He was looking for a job Okay, he was reading the Entertainer we were at that time.

We're looking for a slide guitar player Stewart play slide, right? There's no doubt about that professionally So he answered the ad so we you know, we had him over for an audition and I was like Hello This guy's like is like Why wouldn't we we hired? You know and this guy in you know, and our bass players like well No, how long is he gonna be with us? I mean, he's been on the the main stage for so many years Right now yeah, you know, so I mean how long was he with you he was with us a year and a half and He had to go back to Marshall Tucker right to make money to make money, right? When when he did that, you know Doug decided he you know, he would go to Raise a family. Yeah. Yeah, so So this was a while We're going back a while ago in this.

This is 20 was his name was playing. Yeah, so about 24 years ago Okay, and then I was like, you know I was going to rehearsal and my wife was playing with the kids on the living room floor They were like one in three and I'm thinking what am I doing? I'm I'm missing it, you know, so I'm like, yeah I'm gonna raise kids. I'm not gonna be in the band anymore.

So I actually did a thing with Stewart Pat and Mike and our bass player at the time and they played blues and Country some country stuff, right? Yeah Yeah Back in the old days Stuart and I And Stewart it Stewart's Ronald. He was the guy from Marshall Tucker him and I got a country band together it was Called the orbit ponies. Okay, and we played the dishes Texas Chicago country fest back in 1995 There's a big it was a big deal Okay, but As it turns out that was the last time the urban ponies ever played So, I mean, you know, he went back where Marshall Tucker and I just I waited for for Doug I could feel him waiting there for years Decided we would put up a recording project together So we put a recording project together.

It was it was basically called the tone generators We recorded a CD Mike was very much involved in that as CDs go right they don't go anywhere. No, you know, it's tough. It's a tough market We went from CD to Spotify to CD baby CD We're scratching the bottom now Germany was a big.

Yeah, you were big in Germany big Oh my god There the records and senior and I thought we're gonna be taken off You know, we're gonna be bigger than Taylor Swift. You know, you had the talent. That's for sure Well a stewardess is very good.

I'm sorry to say that in 2012 he passed away Oh, no kidding. Hmm. So now we're back here with With trying to put this this scenario back together with with Doug Mike and and Dean and We're trying to do the Southern Rock justice Yeah, yeah, so so we're not out.

We're not a tribute band We're not a we don't play all Skinner or all Almond Brothers or all Molly Hatchet or all ZZ Top We play all of those bands, but we try to do them as As true as they were played When they were played by those bands, right? So we're not really whenever we've had people we've had guys guitar players come out to audition and they think oh cool a jam band I always want to be part of a jam bands like, you know, that's not really what this is I can count on on one hand on two fingers how many opportunities I get during a show to improvise and I usually even know how I'm gonna improvise during that time. There's really no There's no surprises and that's everybody that sees us. They're like, wow, you guys are so tight.

I can't believe it I've never heard it played that great. It's like because we all know exactly What we're gonna do just like the bands did that played this stuff right on brothers and Skinner particularly Skinner They knew exactly what they were gonna play and how they were gonna play it and the whole band knew So there was that's they sounded tight they sounded great It's a big reason why I think that their music is still popular today because they were just so they played this Stuff that just seemed like it was so loose But it was so tight and they played it the same way every time every time they played it They played it that way and people like it sounds like the record like these guys But So guitar solos everything you guys are playing those things note for note are you are you pretty much? Yeah, pretty much. Yep Yeah, it's a lot of work.

It's it's a lot. It is a lot of work. I'm not willing to put in that kind of work When it becomes too much like work, I'm not doing And says every guitar player who joins our band That's what I got a battle But but they all eventually jump in they all eventually fall in when we're done with the show and people are coming to me And they're telling me how awesome of a guitar player.

I am it's really just because I'm playing The way they played it and the other guitar player whoever that is in the band. We've gone through a few now They see that and they're like damn I got to start playing this stuff the way it goes because I want to get that right, right So yeah, so at the three of us, we've been around again Dean is actually the second newest member And I have to tell this story and here you need a microphone D Because I am gonna tell this story. So Dean Dean don't know what you're gonna say Dean calls up calls us to audition and I'm talking to him like so have you done any been in any bands? What kind of music do you play? What have you been doing? He's like, well nothing actually said I think it was in a band when I was 18 I think he said he was in a band when he was 18 and I'm like really and and and how old are you now? So Well, I'm like, do you like Southern rock? Is that something that you listen to a lot? He's like, well, yeah I like so I got like a lot of different kinds of music, but yeah, like Southern rock.

I lied. So So I'm thinking. All right.

Well, what the heck we there's not many people that are responding not a lot of singers Want to sing Southern rock because it's not I mean there we had guys come out to audition who could sing and they could sing Journey our real speedwagon they could sing, you know, Boston they could sing But they couldn't sing this it's like it's a different animal singing Southern rock is a it's a guttural. It's a it's a thing So yeah, we were we had nobody I'm learning a lot here after after we saw like four or five guys None of those guys were gonna work and then the night the night he comes out the audition So you guys get to see what he looks like people that are listening this they don't get to see you You got to go to our website. Yeah, he is but you got to go to our website or look us up on YouTube Dixon bandits And you get a look at what Dean looks like because this guy gets out of his car Outside of Mike's house to audition and I see him and I'm thinking oh god, here we go Okay, so if you put it if you put a wolf beanie on his head he looks like Billy Gibbons He crossed the T's and out of the eyes and we're thinking really this guy hasn't been playing in band like Ever since 18 really you haven't been singing because he hasn't played since they invented the guitar And our big concern was Just like with Stuart our big concern was how long is he gonna stay with this? Is it gonna be three months and he's gonna say wow, this is a lot of work This is a lot more than I thought it was gonna be and I got three kids in high school, and I can't really Do this.

It's what we thought we had. Nobody else. Let's give him a shot And if he takes off he takes off and we'll just ride his coattails I'm so glad I had to fight all those great singers To get this gig, but he's phenomenal and and really he's phenomenal I didn't it worked out great and and the longer he stays the better he gets and Then I know we're all really hoping that he stays here until his kids get married and have kids and I was gonna try to make it to the podcast and I was So this so this is a fairly new formation then Yeah, so with Dean and our new guitar player Bobby that is so Dean came on last year and Bobby came on Just a few months ago.

So yeah, that is Yeah, this this summer is gonna be a Dixon bandit band that I don't wanna say that Nobody's seen this because they've seen us and we really are the core of the band, you know It's like the music doesn't really change and I'm kind of a stickler with the other guitar player You know if you play it how it goes man play it how it goes and and and they he's coming around He actually is getting better and and Dean's great. So really and there's not really a new Version of the band. It really is just the band just carrying on.

We've replaced parts as they as they Move away or wear out Now are you guys are you guys based out of Dixon or is that just the name? That's just the name Yeah, although I wish we could say, you know, and I should have I should have just said no we're from Dixon Absolutely, we're from but no, no, it's so small. They would have known After like a Mason Dixon thing and somebody wanted bandits in the name it might have been me and then yeah So we just came up with that. I Pulled it off a lot of a license plate.

Oh, no kidding on the Kennedy So that works, so where are you based out of where you mostly located my prospect, okay All right, so up north. Yeah, right that explains all you know, our former guests All right. So you have you guys played any shows? Is it that new word? Oh Recently like this year.

Yeah. I mean this calendar year. Yeah, so it's like you guys are so new So we did 25 we did 25 shows.

Okay summer. Yeah, so we're playing every weekend for during the summer good Festivals a lot of a lot of bars a lot of outdoor events So, yeah, we were pretty busy probably the most busy that we've been since we put this back together. Okay, you take the winners off Yeah, you know so so Since we had to break in a new guitar player.

We specifically took this time off We don't we don't really try to take the winners off, but it just ends up turn turn out that way The reason why we're breaking a new guitar player is because Our last guitar player decided that you want to do a solo act in Florida So you wanted to do that's a big thing. Oh, I got I got a lot of friends doing that Taking off he's fantastic. I mean, I mean he does this this this thing and he holds the fish in his hand Not at the same time He's probably he's got a he's got a CD out with a bunch of Island songs, right? Who's Scott Sinclair Scott Sinclair? Yeah He's a fabulous musician.

Mm-hmm. He is he plays he plays guitar. He sings he He's very familiar with looping.

He'll have a keyboard with him. Yeah Machine, that's what that's what they're doing the keyboard and start playing his guitar and singing Really is quite phenomenal Yeah If we let him he'd be a lead singer in this band, but sure we we didn't let him Not that that's crazy that I've got Four friends that I used to see all the time and all sudden they're gone and I'm seeing them on Facebook They're living in Florida now They just packed everything up went to Florida and they're doing that the looper thing with an acoustic guitar and they're playing on the deck By the beach and hey, if you can make if you make 300 bucks a show and it's just you yeah You get three shows a week. That's a living.

Well, they're doing they're actually doing a little bit better than that Yeah, I mean, especially during the summer with the tourists and stuff and they're just like Flipping $20 into a tip jar, right, right. There's no dental in that And there's no 401k But every every week you get a new crowd though, right every week you get a new audience. Yeah.

Yeah, that's exactly right Wow, well you go down if you go down to Key West they started some bar like 11 in the morning And they'll play a couple hours there bounce over to another bar Sure, if somebody knows that that bar comes to this other and they just hit all the bars every day Make their money and go home. Yeah, right. It's great.

You're listening to the rock and roll Chicago podcast I'm Christy from crime cave podcast I've had a huge interest in true crime since my days of watching marathons of snapped back in the mid 90s I needed an outlet to talk about the cases that have haunted me for a very long time With each episode under 20 minutes. I shine a light on some of the most bizarre cases in the last 50 years Join me in the crime cave Hi, I'm Rick Anthony I'd like to thank my radio brothers Ray the roadie and Hollywood Mike for allowing me to tell you about my podcast The someone you should know podcast We spotlight musicians authors and interesting people and we like to say we're making a difference one artist at a time The podcast is heard twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays And you could check it out on your favorite streaming platforms and on the web at someone you should know podcast calm That's the someone you should know podcast with me Rick Anthony making a difference one artist at a time Tell us about some of the places that you guys are playing. Do you play mostly up around the Mount Prospect area? No, so we play up north a lot of Antioch shows We play we did the Lake County Fair and we did we did the Villa Park Festivals this summer.

We played in Roselle I'm from Roselle. So we play it though. Okay, we'll do the either taste a Roselle or they have a Rose fest We still living in Rosa.

I still live. Where do you live? Are you familiar I grew up in Roselle, I live right by Lake Park West Campus. That's where I graduated from high school So did I no kidding? That's where we end up No liquor like no liquor it happened one time the president of the place found out about he's like No, I went I went to st.

Walters grade school graduated from Lake Park st. Walters is our church Yeah, yeah And I grew up the the house that I lived in was four houses away from coach light skating rink. No kidding Wow I'm right.

I'm Bryn Mawr and my first job. I was a DJ a coach late. Wow.

Do you play bongos? I can Now we have percussion yeah, so we started playing at places like the McHenry VFW the Queen of Hearts That was a one of our when we first started playing out there. We that was like one of the first places we play at Keeps reef and I love that place. Yeah, we've been I love playing right? All right.

Yeah And geez, where else have we been we've been in Mount Prospect, right? We've we play at Station 34 and at work sports bar in Elk Grove and we Brought back Lions Fest and in on the 4th of July. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, that was pretty nice. That was fun.

Very hot So you guys have done some festivals and stuff that's that's always yeah Yeah, so right now right now December in January. This is I'm gonna be very busy Booking and being getting in touch with people for festivals, right? And then we build the rest of our schedule around that once we get festivals locked in right come January come February Festivals are pretty much done. They're all booked.

So do you do you get a lot of gigs through or do you get involved in? That's bra organization. Is that how you we are involved in spra. I have gotten zero from spra Oh, really? Yeah, I don't so I don't know if there's so they they they didn't let people get together during kovat Yeah, right.

So and they never actually brought it back yet as far as I know So I do we show up in the book, right? But that's you know, she's First people get to open the book first, right? That's the right Oh, what's your what's your favorite? What's your I guess what's your favorite venue or favorite place to play? Is it more the outdoor stuff? Do you have an inside? Yeah, I think I think I'm gonna say tasty Roselle is our favorite all-time to play it because the crowd is just so Receptive and they're so into it. It's it's amazing We're and it blows us away because we play at a lot of places where some places, you know, you get a mediocre People paying attention other places you get a little more people are involved, but it tastes a Roselle people are in there Oh, yeah up by the stage dancing singing Clapping just going nuts and it's fantastic. And we just like why and we're like looking into the thing.

We can't believe This is great. Why can't every audience be like this because wow, yeah Yeah, no that that is a great festival. It always was a good festival.

So yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah keeps keeps reef that place Gosh I played there a few times and what a fun place that that is to play Summertime as one of my favorite places. Have you ever heard of that rare? I have I've never been there and the stage is like, uh, it's like a I think it's a pontoon But it's a pontoon boat. It's a pontoon boat, but then they like they cut like a trailer F2 so it's like the flat part of the stage is a pontoon boat and then the drum risers up by what looks like a Trailer or something.

It's so yeah The pontoons where the drums are and they just have a platform out in front of the pontoon and that's where you know guitars Guitar and I'm but I'm the lead singer of Cadillac roof. Yeah. Yeah So what's next for you guys, what do you look what are you looking to do this coming year? Well, I guess I guess what would have to happen? What would have to happen in the coming year for you guys to say? Now this is one.

This is a good year More shows, I mean, I think more just bigger shows just you know, every year we seem to it seems to roll, you know I mean every year it just gathers more steam And it's not really because people, you know, we put out videos all the time It's not because people look at the videos and say wow These guys are good most of the time when I contact people through email Those emails are never looked at, you know, I put our promo package in there and I know they're not contacting me It's because they just never even looked at it. You wouldn't write to trash or whatever. So it really is this diligence, I think and On our part to just you know, keep going after shows to keep you know to stay in the stay in their view And then the more shows we play the more people we know the more people I can actually call And that really kind of locks in we've got a couple of places that we play at Crossroads of Ivanhoe is one of them.

They just absolutely love us over there So we played there a couple of times last year and the guys like I want to get here like three or four times next year, so Depending on how many festivals we get, you know, I would prefer to play festivals But once with all the festival time is locked in then we book other places around the festivals So, you know, we're always after obviously just bigger places more money, right? It always comes down to that We do a few we'll do a few places that we've done, you know forever like at work sports bar We'll always play there and that's kind of kind of home for us. It's kind of our base. That was my next question Yeah, so and they're not they're not big enough to pay a lot of money Sure since they can't get enough people in but it's okay with us because we've just they were with us from early on and when we first started as a band You know, there was this guy that was calling me.

He goes when you guys gonna be ready When you guys gonna be ready, right and I'm like, yeah, I I don't know It was a lack of confidence in the entire group, okay, so he finally booked us at this at work place We we got there. We said all our shit up and it's like We blew them away Yeah, he's like He goes he goes you you fucker You guys smoked And and don't hold that back. I mean because and ever since he said that he's like the confidence and What we're doing right? It's been multiplied by Gazillions, yeah, he is he's one of our biggest fans.

Yeah. Yeah He's the owner of this Jim Fletcher. So he actually has he's been in a couple of bands He has a group now that he plays was called friends just friends And and is this guy the owner of he know he just he books fans for a handful of locations and gotcha Gotcha.

Jim Fletcher is the lead singer for The Fairlanes the Fairlanes and they've been around for years. Yeah, okay years I mean, I think I had an interview with them. Don't we? Is that what you're looking for? Yeah I Auditioned for them.

Okay, and I failed This is what you're doing, okay, so I was like, okay, so I mean it was it was a It was a great inspiration for us For him to to come up with that, you know And and I think that gave us the motivation to go on and on and on and on and on and on To different venues and I know Mike likes it Because he just likes to work So you guys seem to be you guys seem to be playing? Are looking to play a lot? Yeah, like yeah Yeah I think once a weekend or what's a week is kind of the I don't say that's the goal But during the summer once a week, okay It really is because yeah when you do the festivals and you can book put shows in between them Sometimes you can you know, you do a festival on a Friday night. You still got the weekend, right? No to be free, you know, we try not to book shows like we play on a Friday night We try not to do anything on Saturday or Sunday. Sure.

Sure one show a week Yeah, but you know, I know let's do three shows. I mean that could be 50 shows a year. That's right Yeah We can do that, right We've had a couple that were equipment failure We've had a couple of private parties, right No matter what right so we bent over backwards for it and we're able to provide The service sure, right, right.

So you guys are You guys are the older generation of musicians that are out there right now. What makes your first clue? No The fact that you knew that a Hammond b3 is not a digital keyboard Because I mean it's so funny because I had that conversation on Sunday night with a bunch of keyboard players are like, oh, yeah I love those mb3s. I'm gonna go out and get one and I'm looking at this 19 year old kid going.

Yeah, right Sure, you're just gonna go and get one. He goes what they have him a guitar center. Oh No And he was talking he was talking about the keyboard, you know that you go pick up for a thousand bucks the digital thing You notice he named the the first band that he was in after us the tone generators That is part of the Hammond b3.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, that's that's true Stuart Stuart and I We're back in a day and we're deciding on the band name And he says well, you know Tone generators the tone generator is the beef of the b3, right If anybody knows that nobody knows that So do you play a b3 I used to until I sold it you sold it We were all in our 30s, yeah, yeah that thing weighs about 500 pounds Yeah, you know. Oh, there's oh, I know. I know they're big 165 yeah.

So then what do you so then what do you play now? Cuz I'm assuming you want that tone. What do you play? I got a Leslie studio 12. Okay, which is a small version of the Leslie and I use a Nord Keyboard for the for the organs.

Okay. All right, which is pretty realistic These assholes Yeah, so the so I mean the I'm assuming you you've seen the b3 digital keyboard that I'm referring to I mean it looks I mean, it's got the sliders on it That's even made of wood. I mean, yeah, no, it's not if it's not 500 pounds.

He's not playing it Well, it's funny because From a local venue that we used to play at and I dragged the b3 there. Mm-hmm And after I got it there I actually broke my ankle oh wow So this is two blocks away from his house and you wield it. Yeah.

Yeah It was Three down the sidewalk Wow How'd you get it to the back of your pickup truck We're not friends with him anymore cuz that asshole calls us over to live three and in the back of his truck all the time Had an opportunity to play with a Kevin Purcell in the late burners, I actually know Kevin Purcell I went to school with him Back in the old days we played a He I don't know how this happened. Oh, we got a gig at the House of Blues opening up for the credence clearwater revisited Yeah, yeah, so I Got the Hammond b3 in the back of the truck and the guy says to me, you know We got a b3 up on the stage very Okay, I'll use that one, okay Yeah, so I left mine on that. I'm not like my pickup truck It was a great gig you left your Hammond b3 in the pickup truck underneath.

Yes Underneath the street at the House of Blues I Guess I mean who's gonna steal it? I mean you can pick up a Hammond b3 and run down the street and I can't catch you you deserve it For guys, that's all it takes for guys. Yeah, so what do you what are you playing something smaller nowadays? You asking me? Yeah. Yeah, so, you know back then we did Marshall's Half-stacks and I still have a Marshall half-stack, but our sound guy won't let me play anymore because it's too freakin loud Guitar players, I hate guitar players that crank their amps up like that.

God forbid guitar players want awesome tone, right? So So I had to get a Mesa Mesa boogie, it's a triple plex So it's getting you know, there's three three channels very nice kind of covers all the bases I'm not a real pedal guy. So I don't really have a you don't really use any kind of you Really don't need him for something. Oh, right, right.

Yeah, go for the twang. Yeah. Yeah, it really you know and according to the Southern Rock guitar players Dickie Betts and Gary Rossington.

It's like you want to improve your tone Practice. Yeah Right, and there really is they're right because you know, I in the 30 years before this I played my guitar once or twice a week and I used to sweat when we had shows I hope I don't blow any parts And now I play my guitar two or three hours a day every day And when we have a show I am dead certain that it's gonna be difficult for me to not play this, right? Yeah, you know it's just so it becomes so you can make it sound so much better when you know exactly what you're doing You've done it a thousand times. Absolutely.

Absolutely. I mean, I love Southern Rock, but you know, that's that's You can't play it wrong, right? Yeah. I mean, I I absolutely love Southern Rock.

That's That's what my father listened to. That's what I grew up listening to him a little bit and and As a young guitarist, I was looking for the greatest sounding gain right because that's what you know I grew up in the 80s, right? I was listening to you know, Guns and Roses and stuff like that. Yeah, and then as I matured as a guitar player I wanted the most inconspicuous Overdrive that I could find I wanted to sustain without the transistor buzz.

Yes Yeah, absolutely. So I went from Marshalls to Now I have a Fender 68 custom deluxe, which is the cleanest amp you can buy Yeah, right, right and a tube screamer if I need it. Sure But a great example is the sustain that you're talking about Really after you play enough that sustain just happens, you know, your fingers are strong enough and you're shaking it and it's just Smooth and it's like wow, right? We don't need a pedal anymore, right? Yeah, it's pretty cool I wanted to say so the only formal music lessons.

I've ever taken in my life were organ lessons I wanted to play the guitar, but not my mother said nope. You're gonna play organ in church. He wants to play And you know and I wasn't convinced but then I was in third grade and my friend Ricky Got called up to the stage during the school assembly and he starts playing this organ, right? And he played the marine hymn and I was like, oh my god, Ricky can play the organ So I went home and I said, okay mom.

Yeah, you're right. You know, I want to play the organ. I was so young I don't remember exactly the time frame but it seemed like the next day there was an organ in our dining room and And I was taking organ lessons and it was a it was bought secondhand.

It was a 1969 Wurlitzer spinet organ I mean, it's got it's got the WAP. It's got the vibrato pedal in the WAP pedal Pedals on the floor and the built-in speaker and the double, you know keyboard in the whole bit and I still have it I still have it and and I need to get somebody to come in and kind of go through it because each one of the contacts Ain't worth shit anymore. No doesn't matter but it sounds Freaking awesome.

It really does it really does and it's not heavy. That's the thing I can pick the thing up and if it I mean, it's about this wide But it's only about that that deep but I can pick the thing up. It weighs maybe about a hundred pounds Yeah, I carried it down into my basement by myself Wow So I mean it's and I keep telling the keyboard player in my band that I'm gonna get it fixed one day and I'm gonna Show up with it in the back of my truck and I would say here This is what you're playing for the for the gig because I want to hear it It's got the direct outs in the hole, but it sounds great.

It really does. Yep Interesting. So how many of us I also had to play an organ when I was a kid, you know I begged my parents for a guitar like we get an organ right here My parents had a Lowry but it had the wah on the pedal and the effect box them all the different Yeah, and yeah, I did that for about a year I never could get my head around it that was terrible I practiced all the time couldn't do it.

Mm-hmm. And then eventually my parents gave in and let me buy a guitar Yeah, but you know what? I'll tell you what what I loved about the lessons is I had this my teacher was a guy named Norman Lesser Norm Lesser and he was and gosh, I took lessons for five years and His big thing was don't look at your feet because I was playing the bass pedals and everything too, right? He's like don't look at your feet and he smacked me on my knee. Don't look at your feet, right? I've never taken drum lessons and I am NOT a drummer.

I will tell you this. I am I am NOT a drummer I'm the worst drummer you've ever heard but because of that I can sit behind a drum set and you know, I can do that, you know, yeah, right You know I can I can play a drum set because I'm used to not looking at my feet and my feet are doing something that my hands Are doing differently in the whole bit and that's that's the way I learned how to play music Interesting I've seen our drummer do that to the whole Colony So what makes the you know for the younger listeners that are out there who I Encountered all the time. They hear a southern rock song and they say oh, that's pretty cool.

I like the blues Right, which which makes total sense, but for the young listeners out there. So what makes the southern rock sound? What makes southern rock different than? Classic rock and roll from the same era. What makes it different? It what is what is it? Well, you know what? I think it has more of a you know, there are definitely Southern rock songs that are just 12 bar blues, right? I mean absolutely so many of them could just be blues, right? but you know, there's a certain in fact, we had a One guy coming out to audition playing guitar and there are certain things that southern rock guitar players do all the time that and it makes it sound like a southern rock song and The guy that I'm thinking of and I can't remember his name But he was having a hard time doing that thing that thing that I do 200 times in a night and you don't even realize yeah, right and it's like and he was like, this is so hard It's like yeah, this is not gonna work.

Yeah Yeah, but but there really is there really are just some things that make That take a blue song and make it sound I don't want to say country because it's not really country It's right they give it a just an edgy groove an edgy groove and just a biting kind of I think and if you add in Keyboards on top of that particularly piano for Skinner and and organ for for all my brothers But I think you know with all my brothers, it's kind of a mix of they get more into jazz, right? It's more of a kind of a fusion blues jazz kind of thing, right? Particularly with Elizabeth Reed, which we can never play I Don't know people know it it's just you know, it's so long. It's no vocals, you know Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. Yeah Not personally But but I think that it just has its own It has its own kind of Yeah, yeah that makes it and and we are dabbling a little bit I don't want to give away the farm too much But we're working up a new show for next year and we are gonna have some surprises and we are kind of moving around I'm trying to stay in the genre, but also trying to keep Make things more upbeat at particular times, you know, we build our sets so that it's more entertaining the audience.

Yeah, and You know, there's times when it's time to show off there's times when it's like we're going and we're this they're just watching They're not gonna sing. They're not gonna clap. They're not gonna dance and we're just showing off and they're going wow They're gonna want the cameras come out and everybody's taking the video and that's when we know we're on our way And then once we start getting this things where they can actually get up and that's we get a couple of girls up dancing and That's it.

They get a couple of guys come up. Next thing. You know, the place is just it we're in Did you see those girls at their last place? We're in? Before the show Oh No You see those girls over there by the bar They will be up there dancing I told him our mission is to get them up here dancing Do we get them up here? Then we own the place.

So who's your front man? Dean, okay, Dean. You're the front man. Okay.

Yeah. Well see that's the front. That's a front man's job, too I mean you have to you have to you have to look at what's going on in the audience Because I mean what's one of the greatest things that happened a bachelorette party shows up at the gig.

I mean Everything's just about to go off the hook at that point or a group of teachers teachers Shows up at a gig parties about they are hardcore You you you won't have to ask they'll tell you you I mean you'll find out real quick who the teachers are. Yeah Summer gigs go so well, there's more teachers Absolutely, that particular show was fire water and Edison Yeah, yeah, my wife was also at that show and these two beautiful women show up get they're wearing like crop tops yep, and I could sense something was going on in the audience because everyone stopped looking at me and started looking over at the Two women dancing. Yeah, and I refused to look over there because I could just Not looking over there, that's why you have to wear sunglasses Put that in the book when you write the book of rules, that's definitely gonna be in the top.

Yeah, we're sunglasses Don't wear sunglasses So what was going on I Know one of you other guys saw come on We didn't look we don't know what happened. We know that we know they came up by the stage. That's all we know Okay, we're saying anyway So we played this gig it was a private party We played we played this gig and it was a private party and They brought that Good and tell them what you see there.

That's a giant penis Inflatable penis. It's a it's a it's a fake penis. It's an inflatable penis.

There were two of them weren't there? Yeah, there was there was two of them. You know what? Why would you need two of them? Wait, did you see the size of those penises? There was there were children at that party there there were playing No, geez, oh no, and we're trying to play let me guess this was on the chain of lakes somewhere wasn't it? We're trying it was up north This is You're trying to play that smell while you're looking at penis it's bottoming up and down in the water Those are two things that you put together and we're back to the porn jokes Do the Dixon bandits have a good time at their shows fuck yeah, yeah We better cuz we're certainly not doing this for the money You know, so now that everybody knows all about the Dixon bandits, where can they find you socially? Oh You can find us on Dixon bandits calm. We actually got that that the name Dixon bandits calm Yeah, and we have our Facebook page.

That's me. I x o n bandits. That's right.

Not ICK s a and d You know what? I never think to point that out and you're absolutely right And then on Facebook Dixon bandits and we and you can also just google Dixon bandits and get see all our YouTube videos that are out there there's a ton and There's we're not ashamed of any one of those. They're all very good. And oh and there's actually some from this is going back for years when we played in Duluth, Minnesota, we did a You went all the way to Duluth The singer that we had back like two years ago in our previous singer He's from Minnesota and he had some contacts up there.

So we played at a tribute fest in Duluth, Minnesota I've heard of that tribute. Yeah for free. Yeah, so and we play we did a almond brothers Tribute wait, you went all the way to Duluth for free.

This gets better. Wow. Wow Yeah, so but we did all my brothers because they had a Skinner tribute bands lined up there every year these guys They live in Duluth and they just this is their gig to play Skinner there Before right, right, right, that's that's like that's a famous festival I mean people actually go to that from all over the beds That's why we went we went so we could get video We're all the videos are still out there and it was it was a great show and we were very professional and I Don't know if we actually got another show out of that But you probably had a great road trip story I am gonna tell this story So here we are we're on the front porch of this big house and we're all staying there the whole band lives were all Whatever the fuck it was 18th century 18th century colonial and there's some old buildings in Duluth.

I've been Victorian house beautiful old houses Stayed there, right and you know, there was a pool table With some kind of animal laid out and underneath it. We don't know What it was But we Dead rotting corpse underneath the table. Yeah Oh, man, they had a porch out in front and they said no smoking on the porch and they said there were cameras out there I'm a cigar smoker And there was cameras out.

So so we're drinking we got beer We got a bottle of bourbon out there a bottle of bullet and bullet and so Naturally, we're halfway through the bottle of bullet and I'm like, I'm gonna spark up a cigar Steve our old singer. He's the guy that actually rented it was his responsibility to take care of this house but he already went to bed, so I Sparked up that cigar next thing. I know I'm in the middle of I'm in the middle of the porch sitting next to this guy We're killing the bottle of bourbon.

It's three o'clock in the morning I finally maybe later than that even so we finally go to bed I get into bed and there's a light coming through the doors are very big and there's a window on top of the door and There's a light from the hallway coming right through the window and I'm like, yeah I gotta find a way to turn that light off. So I go out and I'm in my underwear I go in the hall. There's six other couples right in this house I'm stumbling around the hall out of my mind blasted trying to find the light switch, which does not exist for this It's oh, they have to have this light on by rule My Wife finally comes and grabs me and says you're in your underwear in the hallway get back to bed.

Just go to sleep So three four hours later, I wake up Still hammered and it's time to go and I'm thinking oh god. I had that cigar out on the porch And I didn't get rid of the ashes and I run out there, you know in my hammered state and I passed this guy Sure sitting on a chair a little Ottoman couch thing by the front door Good morning, he looks up at me. He says go fuck yourself Feel the love Out on a porch and everything's been cleaned up already I go in the kitchen Steve's in there and I knew it was him I knew he cleaned it up and I go in the kitchen like, you know, I'm sorry, man I just want to say I wasn't trying to be a dick and he looks at me says you weren't even trying Well I'll tell you what guys I'm gonna try and get out and see you guys.

You guys sound like a lot of fun Yeah, do you have anything coming up? Do you have anything on the books for like February March April? We don't have any shows slated right now. Okay, that's what you're gonna be doing. We will we will February March March will fill up February might be a little dicey just because like I said, we're trying to put together a new show It's we're trying something a little different and it's gonna be a little more work than we usually do Or as when usually we're just adding two or three or four songs and that's it, right? we're doing something a little different this time and we're hoping that we're hoping that it makes our show more of a I don't want to say all ages show but all tastes show sure Well, some people just kind of get turned off by Southern Rock They won't come out but we can make it more of an entertaining Our goal is really just to be more entertaining to take something on rock and find a way to Package it so it can be as entertaining as any music you would hear right? So excellent.

Excellent Well, I say we I say we get to the end of this thing Ray and we go visit our friends next door They're bourbon drinkers, by the way Oh, yes our neighbors next door the the bourbon selection is there because of he and I we started going there after our podcast and they didn't have any bourbon over there and a Lot of the bourbon distilleries in Kentucky are my clients nice and I gave him a list said here You guys got to have some you guys got to buy some of these bourbons and there's some over there I heard a Dixon band that you're buying tonight I think All righty guys, thanks for coming out. Hey, thanks for having us. This is a blast.

We'll see you guys, right? Well, that was fun Dixon bandits Dixon bandits. Yeah, we have to say Dixon band Dixon. That's right Dixon man, that's right.

That would be pornographic that be going back to the porn jokes See, we went to the porn jokes early you start we started the podcast and we finished the project with it That's right. It creates a balance and they probably call it something in the broadcasting world to create a beginning and ending type balance Yeah, but we're not broadcasters. So I have no not really.

No, we're just a couple of mortars Hacks, but I wish they would have brought the instruments. It would have been fun to hear what they it would have But yeah, it would have but I'm sure we could a you've got plenty of videos out there So people can go check them out there. Yeah, and I'm sure Paul will find something in Post there to find a slip-in and let's people get a little listen to them, right? Right.

So my my friends back in my hometown of Roselle Go see these guys. Yeah, that's right. Roselle a lot.

That's right. You still got a you still got a House guest or your house gets gone. Oh, no.

No gone gone. Okay. Yeah, just checking in Like that semi-permanent residency said All righty then well as usual Thank you for listening to the podcast catch us every Tuesday for another exciting episode of the rock and roll Chicago podcast See ya The rock and roll Chicago podcast is edited by Paul Martin theme song courtesy of M&R Rush the rock and roll Chicago Podcast does not own the rights to any of the music heard on the show.

The music is used to promote the guests that are featured