
DALE
Born
in the bustling village of Northport, Nova Scotia and raised
on Bluegrass and 80’s music, Dale did what most small
town, music loving kids would do…became an accountant!
However, during his studies @ Mt. Allison University to become
said “bean counter” he took his first steps as a
musical performer – he formed a group with some friends
in residence and called themselves “The Lasso Jacks”.
The group experienced local success (opening for The Skydiggers)
but it only lasted a few years – long enough to learn
some valuable lessons about the music industry though. They
managed to increase their fee from 24 beer a night to 48 in
a short period of time.
After
University he took a few years off from performing and tried
to focus on his career – he soon realized that accounting
isn’t all that exciting, so it was time for a change of
direction. He moved to Halifax to pursue his dream of becoming
a professional singer song writer / performer and started to
enjoy immediate success. There were a few bumps along the way
– the most memorable being the second billing to an all
you can eat roast beef special (Dale was a vegetarian at the
time and actually did the show for two months), but it wasn’t
enough to slow him down.
He
soon discovered his musical compliment, Jake Crawford and they
put together a show that would lay the foundation for what is
now Big Fish.
On
February 2, 1996 Sarah Stevenson, Andy Gallant and Dale played
their first show as Big Fish at the Tickle Trunk in Halifax
- a few months later they were joined by Jake and a few years
after that Peter Janes became the permanent bass player.
In
the 10 years that followed, Dale enjoyed success with this group
and on his own. Here are just a few of the accomplishments he
enjoyed as an artist and a business man outside of Big Fish:
He
released two solo CD’s –
West
Linden Rd. in 2001
Vacation
in 2003 (which is still available to be purchased)
He
starred in three musicals – “Joseph and the Amazing
Technocolored Dream Coat“, where he played Joseph
“Footloose
the Musical” where he played Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacons
character)
“Jesus
Christ Superstar” where he played Caiaphas
Most
recently Dale is enjoying success as a co-owner of the all male
gym “Slim Gym’s Fitness for Men” at the Westend
Mall in Halifax.
When
not playing with Big Fish, Dale can been seen playing solo or
once or twice a month with Peter Janes and their friend Jeff
Broussard from the group “Boys Next Door” at the
Split Crow. When they are at the Split Crow
they play Monday to Wednesday from 9:30-12:30. They call themselves
L'il Fish so keep your eyes out for them.