The Hitchhiking Guitar Man

Fort Worth-based country troubadour takes his music career one ride at a time

By Jeff Walker

The first time the phone rings, there’s too much engine noise in the cab of the 18-wheeler for Dean Strickland to talk. He asks the driver for a pen and jots a call-back number down.

Dean’s just been picked up by a trucker west of Houston on Highway 290, on his way to a radio gig later in the week. He’s grateful for the ride. It sure beats walking, especially with a hardshell guitar case and the 70 pounds of gear he carries with him all the time.

Strickland is a pure modern-day strolling minstrel — or as he likes to call himself, the hitchhiking guitar man. He gets to his gigs one ride at a time, carrying with him a Martin D28 guitar, 120 of his own CDs, a press kit, three big bottles of water and a tape recorder in case he wants to record a new song.

Since 2005, Strickland has taken more than 850 rides from strangers to gigs all over the state, and even to Nashville on several occasions. What started out as a desperate situation has turned into everyday life for the country singer. And Strickland hasn’t missed a gig yet.

“Being out on the road like that gives me a lot of time to think and pray,” Strickland said. “I’m always experiencing new things.”

After graduating from the Musicians Institute in Hollywood in 2005, Strickland went back home to Fort Worth to start a music career. He got a cheap apartment and a regular gig in Dallas. His brother mentioned a music scene worth scoping out in Austin, so Strickland gathered his tip money and bought a Greyhound ticket and hit the road.

“I went through about 20 venues (in Austin) over a two-day period, but no one would give me a live audition. I also had my regular gig in Dallas I had to get back to the next day, and I didn’t have the money for bus fare.”

A buddy of his recommended walking. Someone, after all, might give him a ride.

“I took a few rides along the way, and the next day I was in Dallas.”

So a few weeks later, he hitchhiked back to Austin. And Strickland’s hitchhiking trend has continued since.

“I just felt like, at the time, it was the only way I could get there. I know that sounds crazy,” Strickland said. “But I just prayed that I would be safe and took the risk... I’ve met a lot of good people along the way.”

People that have even made it in his songs. There’s the song about getting a gun pulled on him in South Dallas (though he mentions that as one of only two bad experiences he’s had hitchhiking), and his buddy Carmen Tasch that he met in Nashville, who eventually helped him get his CD out.

Strickland offers his new CD to anyone who pick him up at whatever price they seem fit. In his most recent tour from Dallas to Austin to Houston, he’s sold six copies in eight rides. Strickland also keeps a video documentary of his travels at deanstrickland.com.

Strickland has been playing since the age of six, taking in influences from his father (who loved Johnny Cash and Conway Twitty) and an older brother (who loved The Who and the Rolling Stones). He didn’t start writing country songs until he got to college, and now a lot of his tunes carry with them a gospel twist. He’s done a lot of praying since he first hit the road three years ago.

“Being on the road, the way that I cope, is I pray,” Strickland said. “In all honesty, there’s so much that I don’t know what might happen (on the road). I’ve let my faith grow.”

(Strickland will perform at 8:30 p.m. June 27 at the Gray Horse Saloon in San Marcos. From there, he’s hoping to actually take a Greyhound to his show in Handley the next night.)