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 bass player.
In the 12 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 owner of “Slim Gym’s Fitness” at the Westend Mall in Halifax.
When not playing with Big Fish, Dale can be seen playing with Little Fish.
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