From a young age, he loved drums. He was banging out a staccato beat before he could walk. He used to bang spoons on the table, said his father, Donald Latulippe of Randolph, Mass.

"Like Mozart played the piano at 3, he played drums," he said.

Father and son had different tastes. Dad loved classical. Dale loved rock and wore his hair long even at age 46.

"He wore his hair long, which we tried to fight many times." Did he ever win? "Never."

Dale, who was divorced, still lived with his ex-wife in Carver, Mass., and ran a used car lot in Wareham, Mass., his father said.

He had a 7-year-old son, Dustin, the "spitting image" of his dad. Dustin also plays the drums.

Dale was a fan of heavy metal rock, especially Aerosmith.

"He followed the bands and that was his life. He did it all his life, until the day he died," his father said.

Donald Latulippe, who used to work at WRKO radio in Massachusetts, said his son once stopped by the station with a group of friends, dressed up like the band Kiss, right down the wild makeup and skintight pants.

"I nearly died a thousand deaths," he said, laughing.

Donald Latulippe said he had no idea his son was in Rhode Island until Saturday, when his ex-daughter-in-law told him Dale had died.

He'd only recently found his son's birth certificate in a strongbox and had taken it out to send to him.

"He was a loving kid. He loved me, that's for sure."