A Surreal Trip to Dietzen & Sons
Believe it or not, my Dad, Chris Dreja, in addition to being a world-class photographer, is a founding member of the British rock band The Yardbirds.

"The Yardbirds, perhaps more than any other group, brought guitar pyrotechnics to rock & roll in the 1960s. By introducing Clapton, Beck and Page to the world, and giving them plenty of space to create, the band set the template not only for Cream, the Jeff Beck Group and Led Zeppelin, but for virtually every rock group featuring distortion, feedback and in-your-face electric-guitar virtuosity."  

Recently, he was on tour in the U.S. and performed at The Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis. He had a couple of days off so we commandeered him and brought him up to Baltimore. He still lives in London and so the only time we really see each other is when he comes over to perform and this was the first time he would see our new house. He knows I like to 

write this Hon Fun blog and visit cool places, so we took a drive over to Dave’s (as my teenager refers to it). Located next to our local Costco on scenic Rte. 40. I’ve been dying to go in for years, but somehow those cold bulk items in my trunk take precedent and I pass it by.

We pulled up in our sexy used van and piled out, 3 kids in tow. The outside of Dave’s reminds me of a ranch or a saloon in an old cowboy movie and being 6’ my Dad had to duck entering. Inside it’s actually spacious (like Dr. Who’s "Tardis") with a really high ceiling and well-priced guitars hanging all over the walls. Dave repairs the used guitars himself so I figure they must be in pretty good shape.

Drums were behind us on the other wall and Marshall amps were stacked up all over. My Dad immediately recognized some that he seemed excited about. The Stones were playing on the stereo and it was all kind of surreal. Am I really in White Marsh right now or somewhere else and it's 1971? I quietly asked my Dad if he was going to introduce himself to Dave, who was looking at us kind of strange with an odd smile, which I’m sure meant “who the heck are these people?”. Being very British, he went about it in such a polite way, making small talk first and casually mentioning he was in a band (In a band? Ha, that’s an understatement). 

Dave said "Oh yeah? What band?” My dad replied “It’s a band called The Yardbirds.” Dave’s jaw dropped, however, his cohort next to him was immediately cynical – as if a tall 65 year old British gentleman who looks like a cross between Donald Sutherland and Liam Neeson would lie about something like that! My dad calmly dealt with the man’s challenges and told Dave about an old bass guitar of his that he would love to find again (last seen in a London pawn shop in the 70s) that had been played by every original member of the band and would have tremendous value both emotionally and financially.

By now Dave had a huge grin on his face and the tension had passed. Apparently his skeptic friend still wasn’t convinced and was busy in the back Googling The Yardbirds. Suddenly he came out grinning and holding up his iphone with a photo of my Dad and his current band mates. Seeing is believing for some people I suppose. After pulling my 4 year old off the tower of amps and saying our good byes we piled back into my mommy mobile.