By Bergan O’Connell
Executive Theme Editor
Most people know Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale as the leader of the school who wears a suit everyday; however, in Dale’s free time, he can be found writing his own music and performing anywhere from a local county fair to Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach.
Dale and his country band, Truckstop, have been performing together since 2006. Bandmates Jesse Anderegg plays the bass, and Joel Karahadian plays the steel pedal, Dale is the lead singer and guitarist. Truckstop also includes drummer Christopher Allis and guitarist Joe Corcoran.
“I do not have lofty goals as a performer,” Dale said. “If I did, I would not be a principal. But, I enjoy the art of it. The writing is what is the most compelling aspect to me, not necessarily the performing, although I enjoy performing,”
In 2007, the band released “On The Run,” its first album. After the addition of Allis and Corcoran in 2009, Truckstop recorded a live record and released its second album, “Eighteen Wheels.” The group toured various venues in the South Bay on this album for four years.
“Although every song is a team effort, I wrote without any partners for our first and second albums,” Dale said. “Writing is the best part of the song-making process, which includes lyrics, music and arrangement.”
After the success of its second album, Truckstop recorded its third album at Station House Studios in Los Angeles, the same recording studio where Shooter Jennings, country star and one of Dale’s idols, recorded. Truckstop will now be opening for Jennings’ Oct. 1 show at Sainte Rock.
“I have always wanted to do a show with [Jennings], so we contacted him,” Dale said. “Opening for Jennings is my dream show; I might just retire after that. To me, that’s the ultimate show to play, he’s an amazing artist, and I am beyond excited for this experience.”
Its third album, “Rebel Soul”, was released in April of this year. The band kicked off its first performance with “Rebel Soul” at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach.
“One of my goals was to play at Saint Rocke, so our album release there was a pretty amazing experience,” Dale said. “The crowd loved us, and the energy was amazing.”
In 2009, Truckstop sold its distribution rights to gain publicity. Now, it’s currently on iTunes and Spotify.
“The company [that sold] our name put it out everywhere,” Dale said. “They flooded all the media.”
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