Dave Hlubek

Dave Hlubek
Background information
Born	(1951-08-28) August 28, 1951 Jacksonville, Florida
Genres	Southern rock, hard rock
Occupation(s)	Guitarist, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1975–present
Associated acts	Molly Hatchet, Southern Rock Allstars, Skinny Molly
Notable instruments
Custom Hamer solid bodies, custom "Flying P"[1]

David Lawrence Hlubek [pronounced LOO'-bek] (born on August 28, 1951) is the lead guitarist and founding member of the Southern rock band Molly Hatchet.

Early life and education

Dave Hlubek was born in Jacksonville, Florida.^[1] At the age of 5 or 6, Hlubek and his family moved to the naval base in Oahu, Hawaii, where he attended Waikiki Elementary School. From there, Hlubek's father was transferred and the family moved to Sunnyvale, California, then to Mountain View, and finally settling in San Jose. There he attended the same Junior High School as Wayne Newton. It was the South Bay that Dave called home during the next few years, before moving back to Jacksonville, Florida around 1965. There he attended and graduated from Forrest High School.

Career

Hlubek, along with Steve Holland, founded the band Molly Hatchet.^[2] Vocalist Danny Joe Brown joined in 1974, Duane Roland, Banner Thomas, and Bruce Crump in 1975. Hlubek was the original vocalist when they started, as well as becoming the band's most prolific songwriter—writing or co-writing the majority of the group's songs, including their most famous, "Flirtin' with Disaster". When at last they got their recording contract with Epic Records they got some help and advice from Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, who was originally supposed to produce their first album, but was unable to, because of his death in a plane crash in 1977. While most people tagged Molly Hatchet as "Southern Rock," Hlubek admits it was only because of the location. He considered Molly Hatchet, along with Blackfoot, to actually be metal bands from the South. In fact, he has also said that, although hard to talk about, it was the demise of Lynyrd Skynyrd—who were on top of the world at that time—that opened the door for Molly Hatchet.

In 1986, Hlubek left the band, to be replaced by lead guitarist Bobby Ingram.^[2] In 1986, Hlubek—by his own admission being "unbearable" due to rock star excess and substance abuse—left the band. "I had a horrendous, horrendous cocaine problem".^[3] Hlubek was replaced by lead guitarist Bobby Ingram. That same year, Hlubek found himself at rock bottom and unemployed. His close friend Mazz moved Hlubek out of Jacksonville to Port St. Lucie, Florida, and offered him moral support and many years of employment. Acting as Hlubek's personal manager, Mazz negotiated recording sessions, gigs, and tape programs and created bands featuring Hlubek including Hlubek & Friends, Southern Jam Band and the Southern Rock Legends, which included former members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackfoot. With his life back together, Hlubek also worked with other bands including the Dixie Allstars, renamed Southern Rock Allstars which he co-founded with Blackfoot drummer Jakson Spires. Hlubek also had a short stint with Skinny Molly with former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Mike Estes and Pontus J. Back bass. In January 2005, Ingram invited Hlubek to rejoin Molly Hatchet, where he remains today and in doing so became the only current member who was a part of the original band. Former Molly Hatchet touring musician (2000) and founder-guitarist for Soul Window Dony J Tusso was in attendance at "The Pineapple Festival" in Jensen Beach, Florida, which was one of the first live shows that Hlubek played with Hatchet since rejoining. Hlubek is the only remaining original member of the band.

In addition to writing the early hits Molly Hatchet is known for, such as "Flirtin' with Disaster", "Gator Country", Whiskey Man" and "Fall of the Peacemakers" among others, Hlubek is credited with motion picture soundtracks, including the feature films such as Monster starring Charlize Theron, The Dukes of Hazzard, Suspect Zero and Delta Farce. His music also appears on television commercials, on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Wrestling TV show, and on the soundtracks of the video games Rock Band, NASCAR 98 and others. As recent as January 2011, Flirtin With Disaster was the opening music on the pilot Super Natural.

According to TC PALM^[4] on September 30, 2010, Dave Hlubek was “traveling down the road” with his “pedal to the floor.” Hlubek was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail shortly after 7 am for driving under the influence. His blood-alcohol content results were 0.13 and 0.14, both above the state’s legal limit of 0.08. Hlubek posted bail and was released. The evidence was dropped according to WPTV:^[5] In an order filed May 9, County Judge Philip J. Yacucci ruled the deputy didn't have sufficient cause to pull over Hlubek and threw out all the evidence obtained in the traffic stop, including blood-alcohol content results.

Dave Hlubek has seven gold and platinum selling album awards with sales totaling approximately 24 million in album sales.

References