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Dan Phipes was born in an Arizona desert, the parched landscape serving as a harbinger of his lifelong thirst for knowledge.
No, wait…
Dan was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus rollin’ down Highway 41.
Well, not really.
Dan Phipes was born on the bayou.
OK, OK. That’s enough of that.
Dan Phipes was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, a few years after Elvis Presley and his parents moved from Tupelo to Memphis. In time, the music of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Ray Charles and the Beatles would have a major impact on the boy, prompting him to learn the guitar and experience firsthand the raw power of receiving an electric shock while onstage.
His early years as a musician were dominated by periods spent under the tutelage of some of the area’s musical elders: Dave “Hamstring” Gizmo, an ex-circus performer turned bandleader, William “The Louse” Loosinger, a crooner who lived on the couches of bandmates, and Shenkley Hoppingdoober, a tuba player with a penchant for long-forgotten pop songs and vodka-laced fruit.
“To be honest, I didn’t really learn much about music from any of those guys,” Dan admits. “But they gave me the chance to get up there and get jolted with an electric current, which I was really grateful for. I mean, it was just dives and frat parties and that kind of thing, but it made me want to keep at it.”
He did just that, making his living as a musician for more than 20 years. In the process, he honed his skills as a singer, songwriter and guitarist and proved his versatility by playing rock, pop, polka, country, folk, blues, rockabilly, R & B, disco, funk, punk, Cajun, zydeco, Tex-Mex, hip-hop, be-bop, swing, new wave, old-time and speed metal.
