Adventure Guitarist
Member Profile of Moe Dixon
By Voni Glaves #13337
(November '05 Owners News) |
April 12, 2006 |
Moe Dixon. The name brings a smile to the face of anyone who has had the of pleasure of being in the audience of this gifted musician.
From his team’s website: “Moe Dixon is one of the top solo artists in the country. He specializes in finger-style and ragtime guitar. Standing room only shows demonstrate his ability to reach out to all ages. His connection to the audience is highlighted during his remarkable and energetic guitar solos. Amateurs are dazzled; professionals come to learn!.” More here: http://www.alsterentertainment.com
Moe is also an extremely accomplished skier, kayaker, windsurfer, golfer and mountain biker, and has wonderful stories to share from each of these high intensity sports.
What I know is that Moe is a BMW MOA member and long time rider. A man who lives life fully and with great energy. My sister Elaine and her husband Steve urged me to meet them at the Pray For Wind benefit concert for windsurfers in Hood River, Oregon in July. Steve had had the pleasure of skiing with Moe in Colorado with fellow ski instructors and of seeing him perform his musical magic in several different venues. He told me that Moe teaches and practices a level of skiing that is way beyond belief and that I had to see him in person to really appreciate his energy. After the concert – playing and telling stories for more than 4 hours with only one short break - Moe suggested meeting us the next day to show us the back roads to Mount St. Helens. That is, after he finished his commitment to play in a charity golf tournament at 6 AM the next morning!
What a ride that was! Though he and Eric Sanford had planned only to show us the starting place, the adventure soon had them leading us further and further. Even the rain and sleet that finished the day didn’t slow this guy down.
Not long after, I phoned Moe to find out more about this unique fellow MOA member.
What have you been up to lately?
The festival called Guitar Town just finished – the people I played with were guitar gods in my eyes – my idols – Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, Lee Ritenour, Sonny Landreth, Robin Ford, Larry Carlton, Mark Selby, and Scott Goldman. In this situation I was honored and humbled. I’m still doing a lot of the festivals. I just did a deal for next summer with the West Suburban Symphony Orchestra of Chicago. May even do a trip to South America in November.
How long have you been riding motorcycles?
I’ve been riding for 41 years. During the average year, I ride about 6,000 miles around here. A lot of it is on dirt. My favorite riding partner is Trish, my soulmate since we were kids.
What was your first bike?
My first bike was a Honda 305 scrambler. I really had no formal motorcycle training. My first road bike ride was to Laconia, NH. At the time, it was the most insane thing I’d ever seen in my life. The same year we went to Grafton, VT – famous for motocross.
How did you get started riding?
I started riding because I had dirt bikes as a kid. I had a Bultaco that never ran, but it did result in me learning a lot about the mechanics of a bike. I couldn’t afford a car so I got a motorcycle. The hard part was to carry a guitar on a motorcycle.
What bikes do you own? Your favorite? Why?
I have a Yamaha dirt bike, a Harley Davidson, 2 F650’s and an R1150R.
My favorite right now is the R1150R which I’ve owned 4 days. I might have to get another one because my wife likes it. The power band on it is endless.
Where do you like to ride?
Behind my house, perched on a hill overlooking the Columbia River. There is really nothing between here and Canada. It goes forever and ever - wilderness from here to Alaska and there’s nothing there. I love having the option to go both ways to connect the dots of dirt and street. That’s why the F650 is good here in the Northwest. But I wanted to go further, and still stay on curvy roads, so I got the R1150R. And the riding is just as good in our other place in Copper Mountain, Colorado.
What is it about riding that compels you to view the world from two
wheels?
The zen of it all. I hear music. When I’m riding I hear music the whole time. So it’s a great way for me to write music. It reminds me of jogging long distances - your mind drifts in and out of all of these different things.
A lot of people plan rides. I like to be spontaneous. Last night my wife came home from work and we just rode 100 miles. Not anywhere. Just around here.
Tell me about the scariest adventure you've had on two wheels.
I was 17 years old and I had an XLCH Sportster with a Bates solo seat and pillion pan. And one day I decided to ride across the country. I rode from Massachusetts to the West Coast and back - with no money, nothing. I was only a mile from my mom’s house coming back and I got run over by a car! They said the reason I did OK was I had so many clothes on. I had 3 or 4 old flight jackets –all the clothes I had. I remember I was under the front of the car and I thought “Boy, this car is dirty”, and THEN she put it in reverse to see what she hit!
And the funniest?
I was going to the hundredth anniversary of Harley Davidson to do a show in Pewaukee, WI and everywhere around there they had things going on for the big deal. Very early that morning while I was still in the Gorge, I decided to go white water kayaking, and I fell down a cliff with my kayak and hurt my leg so my leg was bleeding – quite a bit. Luckily the man who talked me into going was a doctor. So we duct taped my leg and we kayoed the rest of the river which had a class 5 waterfall at the end. By the time I finished I couldn’t move my head because my neck was all seized up. And I couldn’t walk without a limp. So then I went to the airport and flew to Milwaukee. I was on stage in Pewaukee and a bee landed on my glasses – a yellow jacket – and stung me in the eye. So now I’m limping, my head is tucked over to the side. I can’t move my head and my eye is swollen up to the size of a baseball. And it’s purple. As I walked out on the stage I said “Boy, am I having a good time here!”
If you could do anything with your life what would that be?
Exactly what I’m doing right now. I wouldn’t change a thing. But the one thing I want to do - I’ve been wanting to do this since I was kid. I’ve always wanted to ride my motorcycle around the world. Because then I could write music the whole time. And I plan on doing that - for a fact.
And I would love to play at the International Rally. I’ve always wanted to play at a rally and I’ve never been to one. I’ve been to the HD one, but I just didn’t get it.
Now they have breakdown guitars, so it’s even more doable. I was on my way to do a Neon Nights – a show with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I was riding my Harley Davidson and I had my guitar strapped to my bike. My friend passed me in a car and gestured at me. I looked over to put my hand up to wave, and the guitar swung around and suddenly I couldn’t see anything! Definitely need a breakdown guitar.
In your own words, who is Moe Dixon?
He’s a person that wakes up every day and hates to waste a minute of it. I mean, even a minute I hate to waste. I try to do at least three sports in a day. And if I don’t I feel like a slacker. And it’s been like that forever, as long as I remember.
And the rest of today?
I’m off on my motorcycle. Nowhere in particular. It’s a beautiful day here. It’s beautiful every day here. The last time it rained was on Mount St. Helens, riding with you.
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