I don’t know about you, dear reader, but when you see on social media or on the news that a band “became famous overnight”, you LOL, for real. You laugh out loud, even snort as you laugh, because you know better. No band or musician worth listening to just becomes a huge success overnight! I am sure you have gotten into this very argument at a frat party you crashed, a wedding or prom you crashed, like many of us have. I am sure, if you are like me you spent many valuable minutes trying to school a Tswift or Jbeibs fan in what constitutes real music. I am sure you pulled out the pie charts, the PowerPoint, the memes, the ancient sea scrolls, to explain that true musical talent takes time to develop. I am always titillated when I get the chance to pick the brain of a “from the womb” musician. In late November I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with a beyond amazing musician by the name of Christopher Dean.
I know I have gushed before about musicians and rock stars I have interviewed and have labeled a few “the nicest person on earth”, but I think I found the grand poohbah of super nice musicians. I mean it, Christopher Dean is the real deal, genuine as they come. I found myself feeling like I had known him for years as we chatted. Okay, I bet you are wondering what is making me say all these Wunderbar things – read on and I will break it down for you.
After Christopher – who answers to “Dean” – and I exchanged pleasantries and small-talked a tad, I jumped right into the hard-hitting questions. I first wanted to know who wrote his press release. I read oodles of press release a week, so it takes something creative to really grab my attention. There is a line in the official press release from TAG Publicity that states, “In 2013, all of those countless hours disassembling, painting and Frankenstein-ing of his arsenal of Amps and Axes, Dean landed his first 6-week full US tour as the guitar tech for Darrow Chemical Company.” I had never seen the term “Frankenstin-ing ” used like that, or actually ever. Dean laughed and explained” Tracy and Tom at TAG put that great press release together, but the “Frankenstin-ing line was all me. I love to take parts of other things and create new things. My favorite guitar is a transparent orange beast I cobbled together that I painted flat black. The more I played it, the flat black paint started to get rubbed off in spots and the cool orange showed through.” Dean went on to tell me that he is a “tone whore” and loves to tinker with different ideas on how to make instrumental tones the purest as possible at all times.
I was dying to ask about Nita Strauss and the tour, so I jumped to that next. Dean explained that “The Guitar Collective” tour was his first “Bus” tour. For those of you playing along at home, most newer bands or mid-level bands don’t get a bus for their tours, they use cargo vans, box trucks or the like. Dean went on to tell me that about the amazing team that everyone on the tour has become. Dean went on to gush a little about his tour mates, “We have a great tech great team, I believe we have built a really effective and efficient show. If u have a great team there is nothing u can’t do. We are all important cogs in the wheel, as long as everyone realizes that there are no divas. Got to have a positive mindset, no negativity allowed.” Dean paused and then added, “Be humble or go home”.
I had read in Dean’s bio that he credits picking up the guitar as the defining “a-ha” moment in his life. I swear I could hear Dean smile as he told me, “On my 13th birthday I got my first guitar. I was able to realize I was gifted with the tool to work through my troubles and express my feelings through songwriting. I fell in love with guitars, and it saved my life. I am all self-taught, I learned how to build instruments and all types of amps and gear on my own, my first amp was a radio that I rigged up.” I thought it was the perfect time to bring up his project titled Rockstar NOW. “That is a music school I’m starting. I was an instructor at School of Rock, so starting my own school made sense. Getting everything up and running is a slow process, but I am excited about the future. Music saved my life a thousand times over, and I want to share my knowledge with kids and adults alike. I want to set a good example for my son.”
At that point, Dean asked me to hold on a minute so he could make sure he didn’t miss a sound check. Dean popped back on the phone and explained that he has about a minute to wrap our interview up before sound check. I always make sure I ask the person I’m interviewing if they have anything they want to make sure my readers and the world to know, this interview was no different. “Dean is also now a brand including music, skateboards, tattoos, Beard Oil, T-shirts, characters, guitar pickups and more. If you really want to support music and up-and-coming musicians, buy merch at a show or from the band’s official site. Pay for music, go to shows and spread the word about local shows. This is how musicians pay our bill, pay for gas to get from show to show, and sometimes the money we make from show merch sales guarantees we can eat that night.” Dean stated passionately. At that point, I could hear guitar playing in the background, which was super cool, but I also knew my time talking with Christopher Dean was up.
So, there you go my ravishing rock and rollers, I hope you now understand why I think Christopher Dean is one of the most AMAZEBALLS musicians I have had the pleasure of interviewing. Please make sure you check out his music, go to show, buy something cool from his merch site and spread the word. Dean is not just a multi-instrumental playing badass, he is also a very beautiful soul, how can you not want to invite his music into your life? I implore you, nay, I demand that you do!
https://www.deanmusicofficial.com/welcome
https://www.becomearockstarnow.com/
