Dale Hauskins

(REVIEW BY TOM KARR of PROGRESSIVEWORLD April 2005) Switzerland’s best symphonic prog band of any consequence,FLAME DREAM released its third album,“Out In The Dark”(Vertigo Phonogram)1981.Recorded at Refugee/Yes/Moody Blues keyboardist Patrick Moraz’s legendary "Aquarius" studio in Geneva and surpassing 1979’s excellent “Elements”, it is a classic of European progressive rock. Amazingly, in continental Europe, brilliant, classic progressive rock music was still being produced with little regard for the prevailing winds of disco, new wave and punk. Flame Dream had hit it big in Europe with release of “Elements”,and were mounting huge, headlining tours of the continent every year for months at a time, hitting the road in five semi trucks and a crew of eighteen. The band had even commandeered the Eden Hotel in Weggis, just across the Statter See from Lucerne, and set up for rehearsals in the historic building. Before hitting the road to promote “Elements”, the band decided to add a guitarist to their line up, and, on the advice of Brand X keyboardist Robin Lumley, Flame Dream picked up young Los Angeles guitarist Dale Hauskins. After finishing high school in California, Dale decided to jump into the deep end of the pool and set off for London and its burgeoning prog/fusion scene. He haunted jam sessions at Rod Argent’s keyboard shop for two years and had struck up friendships with Lumley, Peter Gabriel and Allan Holdsworth, among others. He had obviously paid attention to Holdsworth, as Hauskins also displays the same fluid, legato style as his mentor, with phrasing that owes a strong debt to Coltrane.

The music on “Out In The Dark” continues in the same vein as on their preceding albums, with rich, keyboard heavy compositions by vocalist/wind instrument player Peter Wolf (son of the noted Swiss classical pianist and brother of classical/avant-garde composer and pianist John Wolf-Brennan) and keyboardist Roland Rockstuhl. The album is divided into the first, the "Sun Side," and the second, the "Dark Side," and, although lyrically the "Sun Side" does deal with warmer, more upbeat sentiments, the music that accompanies the lighter side of the album is, with the exception of the opening tune, "Full Moon," overall the darker of the two sides. Side two, the "Dark Side" overflows with up tempo meter and bright themes.

The music begins with "Full Moon," a cross between UK,Supertramp,Van Der Graf,Gentle Giant;& Genesis and the most poppy sounding track the band will give us this time. It is followed by one of my favorite cuts, "Nocturnal Flight," five and a half minutes of absolute symphonic joy. The tune favors the late 70's style of Genesis,with keyboard work reminiscent of Tony Banks, and features a wonderful guitar solo by Hauskins. Side one ends with the brilliant title track,“Out In The Dark”. Beginning with a melancholy theme, we segue into a lovely melody on Peter Wolf’s flute that sounds much like the intro to Hackett’s guitar solo in "Firth Of Fifth." This turns onto some of the most nimble piano lines ever recorded and the piece develops an almost Italian flair before returning to it’s opening motif.

Side two begins with "Wintertime Nights," which boasts some more great Tony Banks-like keyboard work. "Strange Meeting (Part One)" is another Genesis influenced tune, moving moodily across its stark landscape and exploding into brisk lines from Ruckstuhl’s synthesizer. It is chased by "Caleidoscope," a herky-jerky instrumental that bursts with syncopated keyboard and sax lines, and at times comes across as Gentle Giant-lite. The album's final track, "Strange Meeting (Part Two)," is not a separate track at all, but a continuation of "Caleidoscope" with the imposition of the two main themes from "Strange Meeting (Part One)."

This is a great album, with high caliber musicianship constantly grabbing your attention, very well conceived and developed themes and wonderful production by John Acock,who handled most of Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett’s solo albums. The similarities to Genesis are, with the exception of a couple of synth solos, entirely compositional, and no one is trying to emulate the "sound" of Genesis, as many other bands have certainly done. Coming late to the game as they did, Flame Dream were,perhaps, not the most innovative band that ever was, but they carried on with true symphonic progressive rock long after many of the genres innovators had turned to pure pop sounds.

For anyone curious about what the members of Flame Dream are up to now, I can tell you that bassist Urs Hochuli, who also produced all the album artwork for Flame Dream, is building sailboats in Switzerland, Roland Ruckstuhl is working in Europe for Roland Keyboards, drummer Peter Furrer runs his own drum shop and is the author of several instructional books for drummers, and guitarist Dale Hauskins is in LA, recording and performing with a number of artists.
- Tom Karr of Progressiveworld.net

Dale is absolutely one of my favorite guitarists. He has an uncanny sense of rhythm and plays sweet, harmonically complex, clean riffs up and down his ax. His specialty is in Afro-Caribbean music although he crosses over into Pop, Rock and Acid Jazz pretty swiftly. One thing I KNOW about Dale is that he is one of the most cooperative musicians to work with...I do hope he'll release a solo album soon. Friends, if you know anyone needing a guitarist who can burn email Dale at: reggaejazzguitar@hotmail.com or (714) 444-6951 and leave a message for Dale Hauskins.Anna Fisher: Reggae World/Jazz Artist L.A.,Ca. June/2001 http://www.annafisher.com
--Anna Fisher: Pro Reggae World/Jazz Oboeist/Artist
L.A., California
6/16/2001 - Anna Fisher: Reggae World/Jazz Artist L.A.,Ca. June/2001 http://www.annafisher.com

Yo massive,just a quick note about Dale Hauskins,just to let you know he is a really great WICKED gitzy,full of vibes on stage,if you need a man for the job he can deal with the case.I have taken him all over the usa and he has not let me down.... peace&blessing tippa irie... http://www.tippairie.com
--Tippa Irie (aka Anthony Henry)
West Norwood, London
3/6/2002 - TIPPA IRIE

The last time I hung out with reggae singer Kyng Arthur, he was sporting the most impressive crown of dreadlocks I've ever seen, an elaborate network of oily coils he sometimes arranged into a turban, a work of art years in the making. But on his latest CD, "Prisoner of the Flesh", Arthur regal mane has been clear-cut. The suddenly shorn Kyng is wearing a black bowler hat and starched white shirt that make him look like a droog from A Clockwork Orange. Arthur patiently explained to me that God had told him to cut his hair. "Sometimes I was having fulminations and recurring dreams that I would be in a barber shop," he said in a Trinidadian patois thicker than Bill O'Reilly's forehead. "It keep happening all the time, consistently. When I didn't [cut my hair], something was always going wrong. I would have problems with headaches and stuff like that. Sometimes we have to go with the vision that God gives us. He always have a message for everything. Sometimes a tree has to be cut down for it to come back stronger and renew again. Sometimes you have to shake off the burdens you've been carrying for a long time." Kyng Arthur, you see, is one heavy dude, and I expect nothing less than an act of God behind any major decisions he makes in life. On Prisoner, a CD which is some kinda masterpiece, Kyng Arthur sings of demons and burning flames, of lost souls and alien beings, of 10,000 warriors coming down from the sky to open up a serious can of whoop-ass, most likely on spiritually retarded heathens such as myself. Kyng Arthur's debut CD, 1999 "Mister Master", was wonderful but flawed. His singing and songwriting were in top form, but the background music was mostly samples and snyths as opposed to live musicians. On Prisoner, that omission has been corrected. Bassist Fully Fullwood; guitarist Dale Hauskins; keyboardist Jawge Hughes; drummer Rock Deadrick; and backup singers April Weller, Aiysha Sinclair and Elizabeth Hangan weave a hypnotic spell of pulsating, deep-groove roots and dancehall reggae that showcases the Kyng holding court to marvelous effect. "The last one we did was mechanical, but this time, we used live musicians," quoth the Kyng, born Arthur Oracio Sinclair 40-some years ago in Trinidad. "When you do that, it makes it fatter and gives it more of that spiritual vibe. Most of the musicians, we've been playing together for a long time, almost 15 years." Kyng's live presence is as compelling as the new CD. A gnomish fella, Arthur bounds around the stage, more energetic than most of his reggae brethren, for many of whom a stoned-out skank passes as showmanship. It's as if Arthur's supernatural obsessions take possession of his earthly form and force his body to speak in tongues. And it is those bizarre obsessions that set him apart: rather than using the same old Jah/ganja/one-love imagery, Arthur is fascinated by forces the human eye can't see. "It's the reality of things and the way we survive in this world," he says. "There are always elements trying to pull you down and fight against everything that is positive, especially gifts that God gives you. There are a lot of obstacles. Every time you climb, someone tries to pull you back. There are forces from above, from other planets. Ever since we've been here, we've heard about alien beings. I was looking into Hebrews, chapter 1, verse 2. You have worlds here and worlds afar. I believe that God is a very massive God, and he didn't create just us; he created everything other forces and alien beings that look after us, forces that are superhuman, supernatural to man. There is guidance in the world." * * * Among the guiding forces in Sinclair's music is South OC resident George "Fully" Fullwood, who produced Prisoner of the Flesh and handled the bass chores. Fullwood can lay claim to being an actual architect of reggae music; he founded and led Peter Tosh's band Soul Syndicate, and he backed almost every other major Caribbean reggae star, including Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs and OC's other authentic reggae mensch, Rascalin. Fullwood spends much of his time on the road and is a very busy man indeed, but his belief in Kyng Arthur's gifts made him decide to find the time to oversee the Kyng's latest proclamation. "I've known Kyng Arthur for a long time and seen him playing at different clubs," says Fullwood. "I think he's a very good songwriter; he has a very good talent. This song, Prisoner of the Flesh,?EI like it very much. The lyrics for that and many other of his songs is something that is very touching, you know. And he is a very humble person, a unique person and performer, which is a very important thing in the music. You don't want to sound like somebody else. What he does is different; he has his own unique voice and style. And I also think he's a very nice person." * * * Nice, but dead-serious, a guy from whom it's hard to elicit laughter, a man who seems so genuinely seized by what he refers to in conversation and song as "dreams and visions" that he functions on a different plane. While heis deeply spiritual, Arthur's unnamed religion is benevolent and inclusive rather than rigid and dogmatic. He's no Bin Laden, no Falwell. "Being now in the western world, I have experienced that there is one God we all serve through different forms," Arthur says. "Some serve him through Christianity, some through Judaism, Islam or Hindu. You check all these things out, and it will come naturally to you where you stand. Whether you are a disciple of Christ, of Mohammed, of Krishna or Selassie I, it is an identity that you’re looking for. After a while, you come to realize there is no limit to God in definition or in color. God is God, and God is everywhere, in everyone." KYNG ARTHUR "PRISONER OF THE FLESH" IS AVAILABLE AT TOWER RECORDS, ANAHEIM, OR WWW.KYNGARTHUR.COM. Orange County Weekly Dec.5 2002
--Buddy Seigal (OC Weekly)
Costa Mesa, California
12/9/2002 - Orange County Weekly Dec.5 2002