Deke Dickerson

If you've ever wondered, "When does retro get old?", you're probably not going to see Deke Dickerson and then eat at the 5 & Diner after the show. Dickerson's albums look like the kind of lost late '50s/early '60s artifacts you almost never see at thrift shops anymore because eBay resellers snap up anything that looks even remotely kitschy. And Deke's got some of the most cornball covers, each one harking back to a time when a great guitar picker could put out multiple albums holding the same damned "trademark custom double-neck Mosrite" without someone in marketing complaining. His enthusiasm for all things roots rock, be it country swing, rockabilly, surf, boogie woogie or doo-wop, and his panache at pulling them off, both show no sign of waning. Last year's Deke Dickerson . . . in Three Dimensions album had him pulling off an American trilogy of rock 'n' roll, rockabilly and hillbilly, calling in many of his musical heroes, from Bill Haley and the Comets' saxophonist Joey d'Ambrosio to drumming legend Earl Palmer to Jerry Scoggins, who sang the Beverly Hillbillies theme. Someday, when it would be retro to sit in with one of the Libertines or maybe duet with Liz Phair, you can bet Dickerson would rather have the unlisted number of one of Sam Butera's Witnesses.