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| ..1960's rock & roll reunion - miami, fl. march 20. 2010 |
Born in Havana Cuba on Dec. 04, 1952, Dennis moved to miami in the late 50's with his parents and two older siblings.
The family house in Cuba was a musical conservatory, housing 5 pianos and a fully equiped ballet salon.
Early musical
influences included George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter and the likes, since his mother
was a classical pianist and a teacher, he was always exposed to those types of composers as well as Elvis
in the rock categories and of course, in the 60's, the Beatles. Music was always in the forefront and escalated
from that point especially after learning how to play the guitar from his father in early 1964 who
taught dennis and also played himself as a non-professional, taking him thru the 60's into the British invasion
and the psychedelic Woodstock era which produced a number of great influences for Dennis, in addition to his parents
of course.
In the 1970's, Dennis played with a top rated local band called the World of Matter which lasted
about 4 years and in 1975 joined and began touring with George McCrae (Rock Your Baby)
of disco fame along with the NewBorn Band and later recorded the "Diamond Touch" (1976)
in a Soho New York studio called the "Basement", produced by the late Gregg Diamond of "More ,More,
More" (The Andrea True Connection) fame. later that same year, the band performed at the Disco
Convention at the Americana Hotel in New York City. The following year (1977) saw another album release called "George
McCrae", recorded in Miami, Florida at the famous TK Records which produced great
disco era artists such as KC and the Sunshine Band, Betty Wright, Timmy Thomas
and Bobby Caldwell (What you won't do for love),and many others, and once again returned a
second time to the disco convention in New York, this time with The Commodores, featuring Lionel
Richie.
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Dennis+Sierra
http://www.discogs.com/George-McCrae-Diamond-Touch/release/1150925
The early 1980's came and again saw another radical change in a different kind of music in punk rock that
also spawned a new wave of british bands bringing about new sounds with mostly keyboards and synthesizers. During that
period Dennis played in a couple of local bands including "Nasty Kids" and "Superfunk", had
several other recording ventures including @ StudioKNet with good friend and owner Carl
Catalano who along with his much appreciated support also co-wrote much of the material. Then in 1984,
Dennis joined "KC and the Sunshine Band" thru 1992. Toured with " Kool and the
Gang " in a US tour that included playing Radio City Music Hall and the Worlds Fair in New Orleans. Traveling
was abundant in the US and over seas.
TV shows included the hit series " Miami Vice"
(1985), " The Arsenio Hall Show " (1991), variety shows in Sydney, Australia
(1985) and Santiago, Chile (1991), all with KC and the Sunshine Band.. also a variety
TV show in Italy in 1976 with George McCrae and the Newborn Band that
was actually filmed in Miami after returning from a 13 week European tour late in 1975.
In the early 1990's thru 2001 Dennis has performed locally in south Florida with other
local classic rock bands predominantly doing more 50's and 60's bringing it to the present..
Composing has always been
in the forefront throughout the years and recently began rehashing and tweaking some old compositions as well as new
ones in the works.
dennis' goal is to put forth the effort and dedication to the art of music
from the talent that has been instilled within, and to continue to improve through yoga practice that has
helped maintain the discipline and good health that it takes to succeed in life!
GROUP HISTORY
1964-1965.. The Mustangs..
1965-1966.. The Modds..
1967-1968.. The Mirage..
1969-1974.. The World of Matter..
1974-1975.. The Newborn Band..1975-79..with
George McCrae..
1979-1980.. Flame, Superfunk..
1981-1982.. The Nasty Kids..
1982-1984..
ViVa....
1984-1992.. KC and The Sunshine Band.. www.kcandthesunshineband.com
1992-2002.. ViVa..
2002-2003.. Coyote, 90 Degrees.. (same Group)
2003-
C.O. Jones... www.cojonesrock.com