ENDLESS SURF, CONTINUED FROM PG. 19

and stressing his body to the outer limits. “Sure, I’d love to stay home and build ships in a bottle and spend time with my wife in Hawaii, but I have to perform to save my life,” he says. “I’ve been living like this for the past 15 years, but I’m still here and opening my eyes each morning.” On this particular morning, Dale and I talked for a little more than 30 minutes, and in that time we didn’t really talk about his music. Not that we had to. Dick Dale’s place in music history is well documented and recognized.

THIS WEEK 7/31:

NEW RELEASES {BY MARGARET WELSH}

BRUCE IN THE USA + TIME TESTED Bruce Springsteen Tribute

8/7 The Outlaws + Sicksense

ROULETTE WAVES BLOWN OUT (SELF-RELEASED) WWW.ROULETTEWAVES.COM

proudly presents Dick Dale at the Harmony Park Ballroom in the early 1960s

Be B e immersed imm mersed in a live ve laser la light show that features animated graphics and 3D atmospheric effects!

Check out Laser MGMT & Laser Michael Jackson!

SHOWS & TIMES:

CarnegieScienceCenter.org

He was born in Boston and learned to play the drums and guitar. In his late teens, he moved to Southern California, learned to surf and began to replicate the feeling and rhythm of surfing in his guitar-playing. His staccato picking style and use of reverb created what became known as the surf-rock sound. He also inspired and worked closely with Leo Fender to invent the first 100-watt amplifier because he played so loudly that he blew out every amp Fender had made to that point. This innovation is often credited as the birth of heavy metal. Dale enjoyed a career resurgence in the 1990s, when Quentin Tarantino used Dale’s classic song “Misirlou” to open the soundtrack of Pulp Fiction. But we didn’t talk about any of that. We talked about what motivates a man to go up on stage, jump around and attempt to play just as hard at 78 as he did at 28. We talked about the rectal cancer he first got in 1968, and which reoccurred 20 years later; and about the fistulas, or leaky holes between his internal organs, that cause him even more problems. We also talked about the love of his life, Lana, who also struggles medically, and whom he credits with saving his life: “We’re just two sickies taking CONTINUES ON PG. 22

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 07.29/08.05.2015

Consciously or not, it’s natural to look for clues to an unfamiliar band’s sound in its name: Roulette Waves suggests a wild, dangerous emotionality, and wild emotion is something this catchy, grungy, slightly gothy release has in spades. Singer-guitarist Heather Donovan walks a thin line between clean pop precision (think: Metric’s Emily Haines), and visceral abandon. The record’s best moments come when she’s unleashing her inner Courtney Love. With the just-scruffyenough production, everything sounds full and close. When Donovan sings softly, it’s like she’s whispering in your ear, making the occasional warmed-over lyrics (“I want to feel you inside of me”) sound almost too intimate for public listening. ROULETTE WAVES ALBUM-RELEASE SHOW 9 p.m. Sat., Aug. 1. Spirit, 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. $5. 412-586-4441 or www.spiritpgh.com

SIX SPEED KILL SIX SPEED KILL (SELF-RELEASED) SIXSPEEDKILL.BANDCAMP.COM

It doesn’t take long to pick up on this band’s sense of humor — the band bio includes lines like “using a fine tooth to remove bits of week-old pizza from his beard.” But rest assured, Six Speed Kill is as sonically heavy as it is lighthearted (or as lighthearted as a band with a song called “Love None Hate All” can be). Featuring members of Silver Tongued Devil and The Atomic Drops, Six Speed Kill mines familiar territory and owes great debts to Lemmy (who doesn’t?) and Phil Anselmo. There are a couple throwaway tracks — I could live without the jokey “Hardcore Song”— but this is a solidly head-bangable listen. MWELSH@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

SIX SPEED KILL ALBUM-RELEASE SHOW 10 p.m. Fri., July 31. 31st Street Pub, 3101 Penn Ave., Strip District. $5. 412-391-8334 or www.31stpub.com