"Dangerous" Dan Toler R.I.P.

[Jim Price]

Former Allman Brothers guitarist "Dangerous" Dan Toler passed away last night at his home in Sarasota, Florida. He was 65, and had been battling Lou Gehrig's disease.

Here is the story from a Florida newspaper: http://www.ticketsarasota.com/2013-02-2 ... -sarasota/

I got to see Dan perform several times when he played in the area, including as a member of Dickey Betts & Great Southern. Here is a photo of Dickey Betts and Dan during a 2002 concert at Ace's Lounge in Johnstown. This was a fun night and a great concert, and the jams were ferocious! A great way to remember Dan and his talents!

[m2helmet]

Can't believe it.... so much talent gone forever. RIP bro...you will be missed.

[moxham123]

I got to jam at Ohio Street Lounge with Dan's brother, drummer David “Frankie” Toler, who was also in those groups, when he lived in the Johnstown area. Frankie was a fantastic drummer and a nice guy when I spoke with him several times.

[whitedevilone]

I have a home made copy of one Dan's albums.Not even sure what it's called but alot of it was about his son.Trail of Tears maybe?Felix gave it to me many moons ago.His exact words were"this guy has more taste than any guitar player i've ever heard".It always knocked me on my ass.Time to give it a spin tonight.RIP Brother.

[Gallowglass]

I was lucky enough to see Dangerous Dan a few times over the years and was super lucky enough to open for him as a special guest of the Hurricanes (thanks again, guys) once when he was touring with Dickey Betts. I was too young to go, but I was told that it was Dangerous Dan on guitar when Gregg Allman played at Cisco's in the '80's...maybe some locals got a chance to see him then and didn't even know who it was.

Dan always seemed like a really nice guy and was a fantastically gifted player. I have a video of him performing with the Allmans from the mid-late '70's and that video really opened my eyes as to what a guitar player could do within that context. Dan was ahead of the curve, spinning complex fusionesque lines over jams that set the stage for modern players like Jimmy Herring...or he could turn around and burn up a minor pentatonic like nobody's business. Dan's tone was amazing and I can still hear a bit of his attack in Warren Haynes' tasty growl.

R.I.P. "Dangerous" Dan Toler, you will be missed.

[ZappasXWife]

I saw Dan Toler play with Gregg Allman that night at Ciscos and I will never forget that show. He was very engaging with the crowd (unlike Gregg haha). I still have Gregg Allmans guitar pick he tossed to me after playing Sweet Melissa it was great!