Dale Henry Geist
The Music
I write songs, sing them, and play the guitar to accompany myself. I've been doing it since I was 13, and that means I've been chipping away at it for well over 30 years.
My music has been called "folk poetry with a rock'n'roll heart." It's been called that by me, actually. It's reasonable shorthand, but you should listen for yourself, and call it what you want. Influences are numerous and diverse, but the one that casts the biggest shadow is Bob Dylan. After that, it would be something like Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, and The Band. Followed by great songwriters like Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, and revered ancestors such as the Stax crew, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Hank Williams, and Muddy Waters. Never forgetting that I am a certified product of the 1970s, with the Styx scars to prove it.
The Past
I was born in Germany to an enlisted man and his young bride, and grew up in different towns in upstate New York. Went to Northwestern University on a Navy ROTC scholarship, dropped out and bummed around Boulder, Colorado, went back to finish up at Hampshire College in Massachussetts, then wound up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I've been since '85. Now I live in Kenwood with my wife, Laura, and our son, and a bunch of animals.
I've kept up a persistent, low-key musical career since the early 80s. Cassette releases, real bands and party bands, a slick CD, open mics, Cur-ville, and always the songs, sometimes just one or two keepers in a year, but brother, they add up.
The Present and Future
The birth of my son last year seems to have set off a period of prolific writing. I'm competing regularly in the WCS Songwriters' Competition, rehearsing a duo act called The Jackdaws with fine singer/guitarist Cris Puder, and making glacial progress on recording newer tunes. My writing's better than ever. Sez me.
DHG CD
American Stray
CD, 1999
Produced by an honest-to-God producer (Johnny Harper) and recorded at a serious studio (Sharkbite Studios), this disc is chock-full of Dale Henry Geist originals, eleven of them, including such favorites as "Another American Stray," "Two for the Price of One," and "Woman Like That." I'm proud of it.
You can buy the songs individually right here, or send me $10 and I'll send you a shrink-wrapped CD.
American Stray
aka Dale Henry Geist
361 Lawndale Rd.
Kenwood, CA, 95452
MySpace Page
All the cool kids are doin' it.
Check out the Dale Henry Geist MySpace page. And if you've got a MySpace page too, maybe we can be friends.