Dennis: Post Bambu-----1979-1983

[jeremylr]

Hi everyone,

Can you believe it, it's almost been a year since Legacy re-released Pacific Ocean Blue & Bambu.

After Dennis finished his tracks for the BB's "LA" in 1979, did he give up studio sessions?  I know Brother Studios was sold.  I've read about the "Cocaine Sessions" he did with Brian in 1981; is there any promise or spark to any of these recordings?  I've also read that he recorded with Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, perhaps in late 1979.  I wonder if Dennis's creative juices had been diminished by his vices at that time.

Here's a thought:  did Dennis have the equipment available to work on home recordings during his final years, maybe with just vocal/piano?

I'd also like to get some insight into the possibility of more Dennis circa 1976--1983 ever finding an official release, or has it virtually been all released on the POB/Bambu Legacy Reissue?

 I haven't been a fan for very many years, so there's a lot I can learn.  Any discussion about those last 4 or 5 years of Dennis's life would be greatly appreciated.

[Ed Roach]

He recorded a lot of stuff directly on 1/4", although it was usually at other peoples homes.  Garby Leon had a couple of reel-to-reel decks set up at his home in Venice, and both Dennis & Brian recorded stuff there.  I have lots of interesting demo stuff he was working on on cassette, and I know Garby still has tons of those reels...

[Sheriff John Stone]

He recorded a lot of stuff directly on 1/4", although it was usually at other peoples homes.  Garby Leon had a couple of reel-to-reel decks set up at his home in Venice, and both Dennis & Brian recorded stuff there.  I have lots of interesting demo stuff he was working on on cassette, and I know Garby still has tons of those reels...

Excuse me!!!???

[jeremylr]

To Ed or someone else who knows,

Who is Garby Leon?  A friend of Dennis's?

[JB Wilojarston]

Would that be Mad Dog? I recorded there a couple of times. As I recall it was a studio in back of a house. They had cheap rates and the environtment was loose.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Not Mad Dog.

[Ed Roach]

(I had a feeling I should never have opened this can of worms...)

Let me start with Garby Leon; I'm a lot clearer on who he is then I am on which studio was where, especially in Venice!
Garby isn't  a stranger to a lot of people here; in fact, he's very much featured on the recent BBC radio doc. on Dennis -
the one that Daltry narrates.  Garby was a music professor at UCLA, who happened to have a fabulous little bungalow
on Horizon, right down the street from the Sidewalk Cafe, a favorite of Dennis'.  (And a few doors down from Zero's place,
for Manson aficionados).  Anyhow, I'm sure I've once again forgotten how Garb' first entered our circle - however, if you
lived that close to the beach, and you played piano in the middle of the night, there was a good chance Dennis would walk
right up & knock on your door.  And if he did, there was a damn decent chance you'd  'get on the bus', at least for awhile...

Again, my memories of certain things that didn't directly involve me are much more vague than things I was completely
a part of creating, such as film, video & photos.   However, the studio experience for me, from my first moment of stepping
into Brian's Bellagio studio, right on through the recent mixing of Bambu in House of Blues Studio, has been a totally surreal experience for me, often almost a religious experience.  Heck, who am I kidding?  It's most often been a religious experience; 
and for me: a non-musician, who seriously doubts that his heart would beat without the sound of music!

I'm am sure that Garby co-wrote some things with both Wilson brothers, and I'll leave that open for discussion.  Some of
those Brian/Dennis boots are definitely things from his house.  However, Andrew is correct:  Garby's house definitely wasn't
Mad Dog Studios, http://maddogstudio.com/dusty.html , although Dennis definitely did record at Mad Dog!  And when he did,
I believe Mad Dog was located from off the boardwalk in Venice, in the back of a house.  (I've never been able to ascertain if
this studio was the original site of Mad Dog, or if this was someplace else.  Nor can I recall at all what he was working on there. 
Perhaps something with Baron Stewart...  Pretty sure this was the original MadDog, though, 'cause this was where Morrison
recorded the poetry & riffs that later was used to create "An American Prayer").

Whew!  You guys sure do a number on my memories...   ER

[Jon Stebbins]

He recorded a lot of stuff directly on 1/4", although it was usually at other peoples homes.  Garby Leon had a couple of reel-to-reel decks set up at his home in Venice, and both Dennis & Brian recorded stuff there.  I have lots of interesting demo stuff he was working on on cassette, and I know Garby still has tons of those reels...

Excuse me!!!???

The Cocaine/Hamburger sessions stuff is from Garby's where Dennis and Brian jammed and wrote together in '81. He had a grand piano and a hammond organ in his Venice home and as ed said a 1/4 inch recorder. This trio subsequently went into Village Recorders and recorded the demo for the song Stevie with Garby co-producing...Before anything more came of it Brian and Dennis were financially cut off and forcibly separated because of the substances involved in these collaborations...i think its all in my DW book somewhere. Garby still has all the tapes and the stories. He is a pretty private guy though.

[Ed Roach]

He is a pretty private guy though.

Ahem...  So was I, when ya' first tracked me down...
And what did you do???  The same thing ya' did with Garby:
ply us with a drink or 2, &, the next thing you know...

[the captain]

ply us with a drink or 2, &, the next thing you know...

For the record, I can be had the same way. Granted, there's nothing I know that makes me worth tracking down or interviewing ... but hopefully you'll be out a few drinks before you figure that out.

[jeremylr]

Ed,

Thanks for your recollections.  You sound like a cool guy who I'd enjoy sitting down & talking with one of these days.

To Jon Stebbins:  I'm waiting for your book on Dennis to be reissued this year with updates (then I'll finally get it), so forgive me for asking questions that everyone probably already knows.

Thanks for all the discussion so far.

[MBE]

The stuff Brian was cutting with Dennis in 1980-82 was surprisingly good considering the shape they were in. It's hard to ascertain exactly what Dennis did at these sessions because as you may know he really couldn't sing any more by early 81. .I assume drums and Keyboard, and perhaps co-writing a few things. The demos of "Stevie" "Night Blooming Jasmine", "Oh Lord", and "City Blues" are all very entertaining. Brian put a lot more into his vocals then  (with a handful of exceptions) he really has since. I am sure music never completely left Dennis mind but I would argue that most (if not all) of his major work was done from 68-72 and then again from 75-78.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Brian put a lot more into his vocals then  (with a handful of exceptions) he really has since.

I didn't think Brian's voice in 1981 was that bad, including the infamous July Long Beach TV concert.

[TdHabib]

(I had a feeling I should never have opened this can of worms...)
Whew!  You guys sure do a number on my memories...   ER

Perhaps, but I really enjoy every post you write Ed.

[Jon Stebbins]

He is a pretty private guy though.

Ahem...  So was I, when ya' first tracked me down...
And what did you do???  The same thing ya' did with Garby:
ply us with a drink or 2, &, the next thing you know...

The next thing I know I'm on mushrooms in Venice and your dog is tie dyed Dr. Seuss, while the Rastafarian palm trees are laughing at me. And that was just a Tuesday.

[MBE]

Brian put a lot more into his vocals then  (with a handful of exceptions) he really has since.

I didn't think Brian's voice in 1981 was that bad, including the infamous July Long Beach TV concert.

I don't care for his live vocals myself, but in the studio he really was going for it.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I for one would put in the comercial suicide recommendation of a 2 cd release. Adult/Child sessions on the first disc, Cocaine/Hamburger sessions on the other!

[grillo]

I for one would put in the comercial suicide recommendation of a 2 cd release. Adult/Child sessions on the first disc, Cocaine/Hamburger sessions on the other!

I've always found the '75-'82ish era to be my personal favorite as far as BW songwriting and presentation goes.
The interesting chord changes, often strange sounding instrumentation, very unusual subject matter, and wheezing and barking vocals really fascinate me for some reason. The shear number of really good unreleased songs from this era is surprising. So, I one-up you MTR , and call for a four CD boxset from the Caribou sessions straight through to cocaine session stuff.

[Jason]

Apparently, if I remember correctly, the released version of All Alone is from '79. There was a misconception that the so-called "electric piano version" was the '79 cut, but was actually from '78.

[Jay]

So, there definitely is more of the so called "cocaine sessions"? On the version I have, there are many cuts, and split second excerpts of songs. Right after "I Feel So Fine", there is a very short excerpt of Brian singing in what I would call an "Elvis voice".

[adamghost]

I've heard at least two separate people who should know tell me there's Dennis stuff up through '82.  Supposedly he's even in decent voice for some of them.  I found this stunning news to say the least, but as I said, a couple of different sources said the same thing.

[jeremylr]

We've talked about Dennis solo during his last few years.  Does anyone know the last time (approx. date would be great) Dennis was in the studio for a Beach Boys' session?  Wasn't he on one song or so on "Keepin' The Summer Alive" from 1980? 

Lastly, was this Dennis's decision to quit appearing in the studio with them?

[Jon Stebbins]

Dennis was on one or two KTSA tracks as a percussionist, but he was essentially out of the band during the KTSA period...not by his choice necessarily. After that... there wasn't any BB's studio product for him to be on before he died. Next LP was BB's '85.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Dennis drummed on the 10/15/79 Western session for "Johnny B. Goode" and contributed percussion to "Endless Harmony" at Jardine's Barn on 11/11/79. That's all.

[jeremylr]

Thanks, Andrew.