With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Deke Dickerson explains why his latest disc is self-released on the curiously named Major Label Records imprint.

"I've done all these other things so I could tell my grandchildren that I've had a 'Number One Hit Record' (an allusion to his facetiously titled 1998 HighTone album) Ü I might as well tell 'em I had a Major Label contract."

Speaking from his home in Burbank, Cal., Dickerson also offers a diplomatic explanation of why "3-Dimensions!" isn't on HighTone, where he released three highly regarded albums.

"Well, my deal with HighTone is up. I'm a big fan of the label. I think they put out great stuff. But I had a three-record deal with them, my contract was up, and I wanted to put something out on my own before signing with another label for a two- or three-album deal."

The fact is, in recent times, HighTone has suffered the same financial woes as the rest of the recording industry. In 2002, they severed ties with their outside publicity firm, cut label staff and are concentrating on only a few releases for 2003.

"3-Dimensions!" is the 34-year-old Dickerson's second self-released LP in a row.

Although there exists a loss of prestige of not being with an established label, taking charge of one's own discs has its up side.

"I've already made more money in the first four months selling this record on my own than I made with all three of my records combined with HighTone. But career-wise is it going to do me any good? Probably not. Right now, everybody from the smallest guy on up to the major labels seems to be having a hard time selling records."

The lack of label support hasn't hurt the quality of Dickerson's efforts one iota. Recorded at three separate venues and tied together with the post-production skills of Mark Neill, "3-Dimensions!" proves to be a zesty blend of New Orleans style rock 'n' roll, bass-slappin' rockabilly and free-wheeling western swing. According to the Missouri-born songwriter, the varied approach came about accidentally.

"I did this tour with (electric guitarist and steel-player) Dave Biller and Jeremy Wakefield back in December (2001). We had a couple of days off in Denver, where a friend of mine was just putting together a little home studio (Wormtone). I honestly didn't have any plans for it, but I thought, 'We're not taking this line-up out to California, and I want an audio record of what they sound like.' So, I recorded a bunch of stuff, and it turned out so well that I kept listening to it and thought, 'I really should try and put this on my new record.' But there were really only seven or eight songs I thought were good enough to actually be released."

Fresh renditions of Eddie Noack's "Too Hot To Handle," Merle Travis' "Gambler's Guitar," Red Foley's "Pinball Boogie" and Faron Young's defiant "I'm Gonna Live Some Before I Die" accentuate the singer's tremendous rapport with his fellow musicians. Indeed, Dickerson sounds right at home egging the sidemen on with his un-scripted comic asides, though he makes a point of not flat-out imitating the western swing icon who made that technique famous.

"I really hate it when there's a western swing band and the guy's up there doing all the Bob Wills things Ü 'Ah Ha' and all that kind of stuff. Because in my mind Bob Wills is like holy ground. You don't touch it. I think it's disrespectful, as well as totally unoriginal. So, my only conscious thing is to not say any of the things Bob Wills actually said."

Dickerson's next step was to book a session of sax-honking rock'n'roll with one of that genre's true pioneers, Earl Palmer. A major influence on generation's of rock and soul drummer, Palmer pounded the skins on Little Richard's greatest Specialty sides, Fats Domino's massive string of Imperial hits in New Orleans during the '50s.

After moving to California, the legendary black sideman enlivened countless sessions including those featuring Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, the Beach Boys and one of Dickerson's primary influences, steel-guitar virtuoso Speedy West.

"When I got the idea to do the thing with Earl Palmer, finances kind of dictated, because you have to hire Earl through the musician's union, and he's very expensive," recalls Dickerson. "I've gone to see him do this jazz trio gig many times. I went there to get some of my records signed, and I was blown away at how great a drummer he still was at 70-something years old. He's still got all of his chops, he's really strong, and you would just never ever think of him as an old guy. But I didn't know if he was still willing to play rock'n'roll."

"So, he showed up and I was really on edge thinking, 'Man, what if he can't play in that style any more?' I just told him, 'We're looking for that New Orleans second-line feel like you did on the Little Richard records,' and bam, it was there. It was unbelievable, we were all looking around at each other and we couldn't believe this was happening live in the room with us."

Recording at Powow Studios, owned by Pete Curry of Los Straightjackets, Dickerson and crew felt pressured to get five songs recorded with Palmer in the union-dictated three-hour session. As a result, they didn't have much time to plumb stories of Palmer's legendary sessions. However, some of the drummer's incidental reactions delighted the singer-songwriter.

"When were doing "I Get So Lonely," which is an old Johnny & Jack country song, I wanted to do (it) with a New Orleans feel. So, I played Little Richard's version of 'Baby Face,' which has a similar feel. It was really cool because when I started playing the record he got this warm smile on his face. And when the sax solo came in he said, 'Aw, Lee Allen man, I miss that cat so bad.' Then he talked about all the other guys who played on those sessions and how much he loved them as musicians and brothers. You could tell that just hearing it made him really happy."

The "3-Dimensions!" rockabilly sessions were held at Mark Neill's Soil of the South studios in San Diego. Neill used his sonic expertise to coax a Johnny Burnette Rock 'n' Roll Trio aura from the Dickerson-penned "Wear Out The Soles Of My Shoes" and the Roy Orbison Sun-era flavor from his cover of Johnny Horton's "Take The Long Way Home." These tracks are the sort of high polish roots-music that typifies Neill and Dickerson's in-studio partnership. Yet, the set's most riveting moment comes from an archival ballad that could best be described as rockabilly noir, "Bitter Tears."

"When I was growing up, I was tracking down all these artists from Missouri that recorded back in the '50s and '60s," remembers Dickerson. "There was a guy known as 'St. Louis's Elvis Presley Ü Rodney Scott.' He cut a couple of really good rockabilly records and 'Bitter Tears' was the B-side of one of these cult rockabilly things called "Granny Went Rockin'. I was actually doing that song with Dave & Deke during our very first incarnation back in '91 and '92, and I had all but forgotten about it, but Bobby Tremble of Big Sandy & his Fly-Rite Boys kept bugging me, 'Hey, you need to do 'Bitter Tears,' I love that song.'"

The obscurity's sonic reinvention necessitated that Dickerson make his debut as a session pianist playing the song's moody, icy high-note piano fills.

"I was trying to make 'Bitter Tears' like a Link Wray song in a real haunting minor key. A lot of Link's records have this completely distorted grunged out guitar and piano at the same time. So, when we recorded it, I thought, "Damn this needs a piano." But Carl (Sonny Leyland) had already come and went, so I said 'It's just two chords, I can figure it out.' I literally played it like a typewriter, but I got it on the record."

The deftly executed blending of genres on "3-Dimensions!" is what Dickerson has been all about from his days with the surf/garage combo Untamed Youth, tenure with the hillbilly bop of the Dave & Deke Combo, up to his present status as western swing maestro and rockabilly. Though such diversity is artistically satisfying, the double-necked guitar-slinger finds his image occasionally frustrating.

"I think that rockabilly is kind of a double-edged sword. Once you get identified with that rockabilly tag, it's good in the sense that there's this really hard-core crowd that will always come to see you and support you. However, to a lot of industry type people rockabilly is the ultimate dirty word."

Dickerson has found this to be particularly true when it comes to getting Americana airplay.

"When those people hear stuff that's supposed to be '50s or rockabilly, man they hate it! They just won't give it the time of day. In '98, HighTone was pitching both us and Hot Club of Cowtown to the Americana people. There were certain stations who said, 'Hey, these are both great bands Ü we're going to play both of these.' Then, there was a lot of what I term the bearded, '70s folkie-type guys that were just like, 'We love Hot Club, but we hate this Deke Dickerson stuff, and we're not going to play it.' What cracks me up is if you look on the Americana charts, they play Junior Brown all day long, and he's doing Hendrix medleys. So, somehow Hendrix medleys are okay, but '50s rockabilly is not acceptable."

Refusing to give up hope, Dickerson foresees a time when rockabilly will be played unreservedly by the Americana crowd. He also believes that within 20 years, it will be as popular a festival attraction as folk, blues and bluegrass.

In the meantime, an instrumental LP with Larry Collins of Collins Kids-fame is in the planning stages, and he has a yen to record a Slim Gaillard/Harry "The Hipster" Gibson type novelty album with frequent sideman Carl Sonny Leyland. Dickerson even dares to dream of working with a "nice budget" and record a well-produced set of ballads.

Still, the accomplished veteran artist realizes that one can only go so far without sufficient backing

"When I was young and impressionable, I thought that all you had to do was just be really, really good at what you did, and people would sit up and notice it. Unfortunately, this far into my career I've realized, 'You're only as good as your publicist and the current music fad that's going on at the time.'"

At present, Dickerson is doing most of it himself while hoping the fads, and perhaps a genuine major label, will catch up with him.