SEGAS: What got you started on the path to being a Guitar tech?
LEE: The fact that you weren’t required to get up too early, for one … And a love and fascination with the guitar that has truly never ended. That, and the fact that I wanted to tour and work in the music business and got to do a job that I truly loved!
SEGAS: What do you love about guitars?
LEE: The sound, the smell, the feel when you have the right one in your hand. The shapes, the passion… just like women, really… And, of course the great players and the music they make, which can truly change your life, and surely changed mine.
SEGAS: What do you feel makes for a good working relationship with an artist?
LEE: Personality, and being able to do a good job. Knowing their loves and hates, being able to make them feel secure with you, being able to make them laugh at will, knowing when to step forward and when to step back a bit, honesty and conscientiousness.
SEGAS: What is the hardest-earned advice you can give for someone wanting to be a Guitar Tech?
LEE: #1 Prepare to make sacrifices in your life that may reap no rewards at the end of the day
#2 Just do the very best you can each day, and always double check your tuning!
#3 Never steal the guitar player’s girlfriend!
#4 When you hand your artist his guitar, always make sure the strings are FACING the audience!
SEGAS: How do you handle touring? What is the best part of it for you, and the worst?
LEE: I always loved touring, and the whole “on the road” thing.The worst parts are when you have any kind of relationship, whether it’s wife/girlfriends, kids/pets, etc… these can suffer badly in most cases when you’re away year after year.
Oh yeah, and it really messes up the soccer season too! The best parts are the satisfaction of being part of something special that everyone is enjoying and meeting some of your musical heros.To have that great feeling when the band hits those special nights where it just seems to be off the planet, and if you’re lucky to travel to many different countries and see this great world we live in and experiencing different cultures, music, sights and sounds.
SEGAS: How has your job changed over the past 20 years with respect to technology?
LEE: Wireless stuff has improved drastically, and we have strobe tuners, electronics everywhere, etc… Nowadays everyone on the entire tour has a laptop, and it’s hard to imagine life without them. The world and all it’s knowledge at your fingertips, on the road! Most big tours now have a ‘boffin’ or someone who is there to do any kind of repairs that may arise.
SEGAS: What’s the worst screw up you will ever admit to onstage?
LEE: I once tripped over a main power cable, which caused the entire wireless system to cut out for a few seconds, during an ENCORE!
SEGAS: Does your work prevent you from enjoying the guitar in your time off, your personal life?
LEE: No, not at all. I love them wherever I am, or whatever I’m doing. I just wish I was a better player and had practiced more, instead of … having fun!
SEGAS: What person has left the strongest impression upon you, in all the people you’ve met over the years?
LEE: Two people actually, George Harrison and Ian Clews.
SEGAS: There’s an urban legend in the Guitar tech community, that you actually refretted one of Eric’s Strats DURING a break between sound check and a live show that same evening. Any truth?
LEE: It’s a very long story, with a reasonable fret job at the end … (laughs…)
Join Lee Dickson, Rene Martinez, and a host of other guitar centric celebrities, at the Southeast Guitar and Amp Show, in Raleigh,North Carolina on September 25th and 26th, at the New Raleigh Convention Center! Over 100 Vendors, including famous Amplifier, Guitar and accessory manufacturers as well as Vintage Guitar Dealers from all over the United States will be there! Live concerts by Michael Landau, Jonny Hiland and Unknown Hinson also will be held in conjunction with the show’s events. Free Clinics and Demos will be held throughout the weekend as well!
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