Microwave Dave remains a living music legend in the Rocket City

When discussing the Huntsville music scene and its rich history, one of the first names you’ll hear is “Microwave Dave” Gallaher. Not only is he one of the most well-known musicians from the Rocket City, but he may also be the busiest, as he still plays regular gigs around town.

Microwave Dave’s bluesy style and cool stage presence have attracted fans all over the country. His band, Microwave Dave & The Nukes, has been playing since 1989 throughout the U.S. and Europe. If you have been fortunate enough to see him play, you understand why he truly is a living legend in the Huntsville music scene.

The life + success of Microwave Dave

I was a teenager when I first saw Microwave Dave & The Nukes in Tuscaloosa. I absolutely loved the show and even bought a cassette tape of the album Gotta Get A Cadillac after the show was over. I wore out that cassette during my freshman year of college, and tried to find more opportunities to see Dave perform.

It wasn’t until a few years later that I was able to catch him in Birmingham and the show was just as amazing as the first show I got to see. “These guys get up there and cook,” I said to a friend of mine who was with me at the Birmingham show. And they still do.

So, how did Dave Gallaher become Microwave Dave?

He was born in Chicago, but was raised in Texas. That’s where his love for music began. He started out playing the ukulele, then the guitar, trumpet and French horn. And this was all while he was still an adolescent.

His family moved to Atlanta, and he attended school at Georgia State College where he formed the Majestics to play horn-driven R&B. The band worked the college circuit and eventually landed a standing gig at Atlanta’s Royal Peacock. There, he and his band backed up Carla Thomas, William Bell, The Tams, Billy Stewart and an up-and-coming R&B artist named Aretha Franklin.

After being drafted into the Air Force in Vietnam, he returned to the U.S. and enrolled at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. There, he honed his guitar craft and joined a band called Cameron, with whom he would move to Florida and enjoy almost a decade of success.

His longing for blues and soul music led him to Huntsville in the mid-80s. Which is where he produced a local blues radio program as his alias, “Microwave Dave.” Microwave Dave & The Nukes were formed shortly after.

Some interesting facts about Microwave Dave:

• During his sophomore year in high school, he started playing drums in the school band and landed a job in the Houston Oilers’ dixieland band (the Supersonic Philharmonic) during the AFL’s inaugural season.
• Her served in Vietnam in the Air Force as an intelligence specialist.
• Novelist Stephen King is a big Microwave Dave fan, and even wrote the forward for a biography on Dave, “I’m a Roadrunner: Life and Times of a Bluesman.”
• Microwave Dave & the Nukes backed Jerry ‘Boogie’ McCain and Bo Diddley.
• Dave is an accomplished woodworker and had a woodworking business when he first moved to Huntsville.

The Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation

What makes Microwave Dave a true local legend is not just how he plays the guitar. it is also how much he has given back to the local community here and throughout the state.

On May 26th, 2015, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle officially proclaimed June 28, 2015 “Microwave Dave Day.”

A concert was held to honor Dave for his ongoing social, educational and musical contributions to the community, and to announce the formation of a music education project: The Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation.

Dave received a key to the city during the event. and since then, an annual celebration has been held in Dave’s honor.

His involvement with the Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation has brought music education to classrooms all over the area since the early 2000s.

The foundation works with local musicians, educators and music teachers to support and promote music education in North Alabama. 

MDMEF works with educators and musicians to develop lesson plans that effectively pair music presentations with academic standards. In addition to the education component, MDMEF also organizes special events where accomplished local musicians perform for the students.

Microwave Dave Day, which celebrated its 11th year over the weekend, is the premier fundraising event for the foundation.

Want to stay in the know about what’s new and happening in and around Huntsville? Follow us on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.