Dave Malone:
Still Rockin’
By Meaghan Clark
“I want my birthday back!”
Singer, songwriter, guitarist and local
legend Dave Malone is upset that his
birthday has been, in his words, “hijacked
by Hurricane Katrina.” Born on August
29, Malone adds “It is hard to focus on
fun on a day that is associated with so
much loss.”
However, he is quick to count his
blessings and he knows he is very
fortunate to make his living doing what
he loves best.
One of the founding members of the
renowned band, The Radiators, Malone
comes from a musical family, with his
brothers and children playing and/or
singing as well. He has spent the past
50-plus years performing in a variety of
bands all over the world and is grateful
that so many people want to hear his
music.
“It’s amazing to me that so many
fans still come out to our shows,” says
Malone.
Raised in Edgard, La., on the west bank
of St. John the Baptist Parish, Malone
has deep roots in river towns. He’s been
moving to and away from various small
towns around Louisiana his whole life
and is back enjoying small town life after
decades living Uptown in New Orleans.
As he explained, “It wasn’t long after
Katrina that my wife, Beth, gave up on
the crime and the struggle to make our
lives sane in the city and we headed back
to her roots near Prairieville. She comes
from a long line of independent women
and a strong-working dad and she is the
one with the most drive," he laughed.
Music has always been his ambition.
Before there were The Radiators,
Malone and his brother played 45 RPM
records over and over, trying to learn
their favorite songs. “For me, it has been
and will always be about The Beatles,”
he said. He recounts watching them on
the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9,
1964, and how that moment changed his
life. It was right then that he decided he
wanted to make music for a living. He
formed his own band in high school,
playing wherever he could.
After his older brother went off to
Tulane University, Malone said, “I would
follow him on weekends, playing music
with him and his hippie friends. We
eventually became the unofficial house
band at the university. We called ourselves
Dustwoofie, a term of endearment from
my grandmother, used to describe what
happens when one doesn’t sweep under
the bed,” he laughed again.
Recounting the progression of his
career and how it evolved, Malone said
that he and his buddy, Reggie Scanlan,
had another band called Road Apple.
Then along came Camile Baudoin, Frank
Bua Jr. and Ed Volker for a jam session
in Ed’s garage. Though all of them were
members of other bands at the time, after
their five-hour jam everyone decided to
quit their other bands and form their
own. Thus, The Radiators began and it
became a journey that lasted decades.
Often described as “a traditional rock
band with hometown influences of funk
and R&B,” the band prefers to use the
term “fish-head music.” As Malone
8 | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | breakthrumediamagazine.com S E P T E M B E R / O C TOB E R 2 0 1 8
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JTP PHOTOGRAPHY
After
50
Years
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