It’s a Friday afternoon here at Starland and everything is normal. I have an interview scheduled with Mr. Dennis and he is, as always, running on what we all affectionately call Dennis Time. He walks through the door as boisterous and excited to be at Starland as he always is! “Howdy folks” he says, greeting everyone with a big smile! His smile is contagious, and try as you might you cannot help but smile back; even on a bad day! We walk back to his “office” together and settle in for a chat. Like most people sitting one on one with Dennis in this room, I learned a lot…
Dennis grew up in a music loving family. Many of his first memories as a child are ones that involve be
ing put to bed early so his parents and their friends could get together and sing in his living room. He would fall asleep several times a week listening to cheerful ukulele music, and the words to songs of days gone by, wafting down the hall. He can still sing most of those songs by heart to this day. As a young man Dennis frequently attended dance class, it was in those classes that he realized what he really wanted to do. He was fascinated by the bands hired to play as they twirled around the room and he made a decision right then and there to pursue music! Encouraged by his family, he tried several instruments including the accordion and the trumpet before settling on the guitar. “My first guitar teacher was horrible!” Dennis remarks. He was so bad Dennis almost didn’t continue with it! I think we can all agree what a travesty that would have been!
At the age of nineteen Dennis was drafted into the military. He turned to music to help cope with being so far away from home (along with the stresses of being at war) and spent all of his spare time playing in the USO bands. During those years is when his love of the guitar turned into a true passion! As soon as he was released from the military, Dennis began a lifelong pursuit of anything and everything he could learn about music. He enrolled at Cal State Hayward, with the intent of studying classical guitar. He reflects that, in the end he came away with more musical knowledge than he had ever expected. He was like a sponge soaking up all of the musical theory, styles, and instruments he could in his four years at Cal State. He was so determined to learn all he could in pursuit of his passion for music, that he even took oboe lessons for a little while!
After college, Dennis set out like most musicians to put all he had learned into practice and make a name for himself. He started a band with his friends and in 1975 they played their first gig at the Garlic Festival in Gilroy. After achieving some success in the music industry, including touring with the likes of Eddie Money, Dennis discovered that what he truly wanted was to share his love for music by teaching what had been so carefully taught to him through school and his own personal experiences. Dennis has made teaching music and learning how to be a better teacher his passion in life for the last 30+ years. His advice to young musicians just starting out? “Pursue the love of music, not the competition of being the best. It’s a lot of work to be a musician and the only way you will make it is if you truly love it.” Now a days Dennis can be seen teaching here at Starland Music, where he has been teaching for 25 years; playing the bass guitar in Circuit Breakers, just like he has done for the last 15 years; and playing the guitar in his own Randall Cole Band, they have been together for 20 years!
Q & A with Dennis
Kat: Do you have a favorite song of type of music?
Dennis: Nope. I consider myself an eclectic musician. I like it all!
Kat: What was your favorite subject in school?
Dennis: Auto-Shop. I learned how to trouble shoot life in that class.
Kat: What do you love most about teaching music?
Dennis: I love helping my students to fulfill their musical dreams as I fulfill mine to play and teach music every day.
