Richard Reeves 09.12.1950 – 10.04.2011

WHEN Richard Reeves (aka Dik Martini) passed away suddenly last Sunday, our community lost a fine man and terrific entertainer.

Dik has been lost when he still had so much to offer, as a talented, every-man’s musician, and a great contributor to our local community – the “sound man” at countless local events and the promoter of great toe-tapping blues in South East Queensland.

Dik Reeves was born in Brisbane in 1950 and moved to Allora as a child.

Although he returned to Brisbane for high school, he always loved the Darling Downs.

After various outdoor jobs including wool classing and nurseryman, he bought land in the foothills of the ranges at Gladfield.

From this base, over the past 20 years, he developed the stage persona of “Dik Martini” – wildly eccentric dress, booming and gravelly voice, powerful harmonica riffs and exuberant performances.

As the front man for his band “Martini 66”, Dik called his style of music “the happy Blues”.

Even off stage, Dik stood out in the crowd. His intimidating height, big voice, and rather bohemian looks made first encounters a bit overwhelming.

But he knew his stuff, and was renowned across the region for his event staging.

Dik’s technical skills, combined with his helpful and easy going nature were always on show.

Often one would go to an event – whether it was the Warwick Show or the Stradbroke Island Blues festival – and bump into Dik.

He would be backstage running the sound and PAs, tweaking dials and testing mics to ensure events ran well.

I first met Dik when he was doing the staging work for some classical music events at our property in Killarney in 1998, but it was in my day job running a national company based in Sydney where our friendship developed.

Dik, ever the music promoter, realised that I was basically a frustrated musician trapped in a corporate executive’s suit, and so he put the hard word on me to give up the classical and start sponsoring his blues events.

Dik’s enthusiasm was hard to say no to and I saw an opportunity, anyway.

Here was a man with a band with regular gigs, something I had dreamed of ever since giving up playing the drums in my early 20s to pursue a corporate career.

I offered him sponsorship, in return for a seat behind the drum kit during one of his sets.

I don’t know how he explained to the band that, sight unseen, a corporate executive who hadn’t played for 25 years was going to be joining them on a part-time basis.

Maybe it was a case of “the things you have to do for money?”

But this small step from Dik allowed me realise a long held dream of getting back on stage with a professional band.

We kept up this funny arrangement at local gigs.

Dik would give me the outline of the three songs I would be allowed to play, then at the right moment during the gig, Dik would introduce Martini 66’s guest drummer, like I was Charlie Watts just dropping in for a couple of songs before jetting off to join Mick and Rolling Stones back on tour.

And did I enjoy my 15 minutes of fame!

After a few successes like this, I decided it was time to take things up a notch or two.

We organised a corporate Christmas event at The Basement in Sydney in 2007 and Martini 66 was the headline event.

Martini 66 (Then Dik, Chris Jack, Tony Vella and Bryan Love) were in their element, belting out Big City Blues, Boss Man, Let the Good Times Roll and their other hits to a room full of bankers and lawyers in Sydney’s most famous live music club and they brought the house down.

Martini 66 has been back by popular demand for all our end of year events since then.

Every year we flew the band down, with limousine pick up from the airport (in true “rock n roll” style).

The exception was Dik himself, who never went in a plane, preferring to take the overnight train from Brisbane to Sydney Central Station.

Those nights at The Basement, where Dik kept up his bargain and I still got to play one set, were the highlight of my year and will never be the same without Dik shouting out “hello” to all those suits in the audience every year as he launched into that trademark opening number.

Dik was rightly proud of what he had built with Martini 66.

He was the consummate professional entertainer – giving it his best irrespective of who or what was in the audience.

Martini’s original songs and fantastic performances will live on in the great live recordings we have of those nights, and in all our memories of the terrific nights so many of us have had listening to the band at so many concerts over the years.

I can only hope Dik knew how much giving me the opportunity to play music after all these years has meant to me.

Apart from his music, we will remember Dik Reeves as a friendly and generous fellow, loyal and fun with his friends and caring and supportive at home.

Dik has given his daughter Toya a great start, he has encouraged his wife’s Kim’s artistic career at every turn and he put in a tremendous effort supporting his mother-in-law as she became frail in her old age.

Dik’s big presence clearly hid a soft and compassionate side.

Vale Dik Reeves – a man who has left us well before his time.

Mick McCormack, of Killarney, is CEO and managing director of APA Group, Australia’s national gas transmission and distribution business, headquartered in Sydney.

For a copy of Martini 66 Live at The Basement contact Mick at mick.mccormack@apa.com.au.