1. A… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least seven artists that go by the name of Dennis.
1. A three-piece from Oakland/San Francisco
Find more info about them on fieldofdumb.bandcamp.com
2. A Dutch pop artist. Real name: Denise ten Donselaar. Born January, 3, 1984.
"Some just call it music, to me it’s like a drug." This is not just a line from Dennis’ debut single No Can Do. The Dutch singer knows what he is talking about. With a smashing debut album, this brand new pop star expresses her unconditional love for music with a remarkable string of potential hits. Dennis has always been surrounded by music. She grew up in her dad’s recording studio, where musicians came and went all day.
Young Dennis kept her eyes and ears open, storing all the information she gathered over the years in her head. She started taking singing, piano and dance lessons at the age of 10. A few years later, she formed her own band, did a lot of backing vocals for other artists and, basically, seized every opportunity to perform on stage. "But I was too wild and too young to be serious about it. I wanted it all: lots of girlfriends, even more boyfriends, hanging around in bars, going to dance events… I didn’t get serious about music until much later", she says. The turning point came after a trip to the US, where she worked with kids from the ghettos of New York, who had little or no future. "There I saw the other side of the coin. I realized how lucky and safe my life was and how grateful I should be." Back home, Dennis decided to turn her life around and pursue her true calling: writing and singing her own songs. That decision was reinforced by a serious car accident she had upon her return in the Netherlands.
A combination of a busy schedule, jet lag and fatigue was nearly fatal when she fell asleep behind the wheel. "Suddenly, I knew what to do. I decided to spread my wings and do what was in my heart." The tattoo she got of a dragonfly is a constant reminder of that defining moment in her life, about which she sings in Dragonfly, one of the few ballads on her debut album Her Name Is Dennis. The record is a mixture of rock, pop, dance and soul. It sounds rough, smooth, experimental and commercial, all at the same time. Dennis: "First and foremost, I make pop music. But I have an eclectic taste in music - ranging from Nelly Furtado, Pink, Gwen Stefani and Gavin DeGraw to Dinah Washington, James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt. My album is a mixture of everything I like." The songs on the album are accessible, smart and original. Whether it’s pop, rock or funk, Dennis sings it with ease and conviction, blessed as she is with a powerful and versatile voice. She compares the diversity of the album with a typical street in Amsterdam, "where one house is slanted and the other tilts over, one has a garden and the other has a balcony." Her music has a similar diversity: sometimes edgy and weird, at other times poppy and girly. Besides a powerful vocalist, Dennis is a talented songwriter. On this album, she co-wrote the majority of songs with up and coming Finnish producer Mikko Paavola in his Stockholm-based studio. It was a very fruitful collaboration, says Dennis: "Mikko and I have a similar style of writing and we hit if off immediately. We are a golden match. Mikko came up with beautiful combinations of chords, and I wrote the melodies and the lyrics." Lyrically, Dennis is inspired by all the things that a woman her age is interested in: being in love, physical attraction, friendship, shopping, joy and sorrow. She has a great sense of humor, in the form of self-mockery, double entendres and puns. Just listen to the sassy seduction on Thirsty and Dennis’ entertaining view of a shopaholic on Money. But Dennis is not afraid to show a more serious side of herself either: Song For Bas is a very personal song about her nephew, who died at a very young age. From raving party girl to rising pop star – Dennis is one of a new breed of talented and edgy young singers.
www.thisisdennis.nl/
3. A German contestant to the talent contest "Multimediaxis sucht den Superstar".
Most of Last.fm's playlist is made up by this artist. More info on www.multimediaxis.de
4. A German jazzy Krautrock band.
An enigma of Krautrock, Dennis existed on the Hamburg scene for some 30 months as a collection of musicians from Tomorrow's Gift, Thirsty Moon, Kravetz and Xhol, playing free-rock to enthusiastic festival goers.
In charge was Frumpy drummer Carsten Bohn (the band was named after his son, see picture). It seems that Dennis were never a proper band, and really existed in two different line-ups, thus their LP was a collection of jams and impromptu encounters, remixed and compiled at a later date.
All the musicians in Dennis were also involved in various other bands at the time. Carsten Bohn and Hans Pape both worked on the Uli Trepte "Inbetween" sessions, a project that eventually became Kickbit Information. Carsten also established the "Voll Bedienung" percussion project along with former Tomorrow's Gift drummer Zabba Lindner. Various others also worked in Achim Reichel's "AR" series of sessions.
Dennis, exuded the talents of the musicians' backgrounds, and the album HYPERTHALAMUS comes across as a collection of extracts from acid-jams and freak-outs, with a hybrid of progressive, psychedelic and cosmic styles, notably elements of late Tomorrow's Gift, Thirsty Moon, and even hints of Embryo and Guru Guru: a musical melting pot of surprising diversions and fusion sounds. All told, it's a little-known classic.
Discography...
HYPERTHALAMUS
Do Your Own Thing / Others Do / Already / Grey Present Tense
LP Nova 6.22352 AO (1975)
Thomas Kretzschmer (guitar), Klaus Briest (bass), Jim Wiley (bass), Manne Rürup (keyboards), Michael Kobs (keyboards), Willi Pape (saxophone, clarinet, flute), Olaf Casalich (percussion), Carsten Bohn (drums, percussion)
5. A three piece Connecticut punk/emo-core band.
With the requisite brief lifespan and obscurity of output; a demo and a 7" EP surfaced, and another recording session went unused between 2005 and 2007. There were approximately 30 (including the infamous Operation Ivy cover set, Halloween 2007) live performances, and songs went unnamed, referred to only by the numerical order in which they were written. Members now perform in such rock ensembles as Dead Uncles and Ripshit.
http://dennis.eatyourguitar.org
6. A Norwegian one off rap-project
They released the single "Ja Ræpp" in 1994 to promote the "Yes" side on the Norwegian 1994 EU election. It's a well kept secret who was the artists behind the Dennis moniker, except it is revealed that one of Norways best known artists was involved.
7. A Russian rapper from the United States of America.
He used to go by the name "Balplaya" and also "Ekspo" with his friend "Element"
Everything Happens To Me
Dennis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until I'm almost mad
I must have 'roused the devil's wrath
Cause all my luck is bad
I make a date for golf and you can bet your life it rains
I try to give a party and the guy upstairs complains
I guess I'll go through life
Just catchin' colds and missin' trains
Everything happens to me
I never miss a thing
I've had the measles and the mumps
And every time I play an ace
My partner always trumps
Guess I'm just a fool who never looks before he jumps
Everything happens to me
At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me
That love would turn the trick to end despair
But know I just can't fool this head that thinks for me
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air
I've telegraphed and phoned
I send an "Airmail Special" too
Your answer was "Goodbye"
And there was even postage due
I fell in love just once
And then it had to be with you
Everything happens to me
The lyrics of Dennis's song "Everything Happens To Me" describe a life that seems to be plagued with bad luck. The singer tells us that black cats always seem to cross his path and that his luck always seems to be bad. Even when he tries to do something enjoyable, like playing golf or having a party, something goes wrong. He always catches colds and misses trains. The second verse of the song talks about the singer's failed attempts at finding love. He thought that someone he fell in love with could break his bad luck spell but it turns out that she too did not reciprocate the feelings. Despite his losses, the singer remains hopeful, knowing that he will always be okay in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
Black cats creep across my path
I feel like bad luck follows me around
Until I'm almost mad
It's wearing me down mentally
I must have 'roused the devil's wrath
I must have done something to deserve this constant misfortune
Cause all my luck is bad
I can never seem to catch a break
I make a date for golf and you can bet your life it rains
Whenever I plan something, something always goes wrong
I try to give a party and the guy upstairs complains
Even my attempts at enjoyment are thwarted by external factors
I guess I'll go through life
This is how it's going to be forever
Just catchin' colds and missin' trains
Dealing with constant ailments and setbacks
Everything happens to me
Life seems to have it out for me
I never miss a thing
I always seem to be at the center of it all
I've had the measles and the mumps
I've had all of the childhood illnesses
And every time I play an ace
Even when I'm in a winning position
My partner always trumps
Something always happens to prevent me from winning
Guess I'm just a fool who never looks before he jumps
I always seem to make bad decisions
At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me
I thought love would turn my luck around
That love would turn the trick to end despair
That love would be the solution to all of my problems
But know I just can't fool this head that thinks for me
I've come to the realization that things won't magically get better
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air
I've put all of my hopes and dreams into this relationship
I've telegraphed and phoned
I've tried everything to make it work
I send an "Airmail Special" too
I even went to drastic measures to show my love
Your answer was "Goodbye"
But it was all for nothing
And there was even postage due
I wasted time, money, and effort for nothing
I fell in love just once
I've only been in love once in my entire life
And then it had to be with you
And of course, it was with someone who would only add to my bad luck
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: HOAGY CARMICHAEL, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@willowstream
Matt was my stepdad from the time I was two years old. I love seeing people appreciate his music. He was a sweet human being. I was lucky.
@vaughndeforest6922
My uncle, Charles DeForest, who was a legendary NYC singer-pianist- songwriter, introduced me to this album when I was 12 years-old, but it's been years since I last listened. Matt Dennis' songs are so wonderful, and I love his unassuming and un-self-conscious playing and singing where it is all about the music, as opposed to being all about him. I am so happy to have been reminded of his glorious talent, so as to be listening to him, once again. Thankyou.
@cynthiahawkins2389
"Mortgaged all my castles in the air.." what a great line!!
@lovemypiano111
How great he was... so sad that he is forgotten. He is the only one who does all 4 wonderful verses to this song that neither Sinatra nor Nat king cole did. . And beautiful piano too. I have his CD, with all his beautiful songs, can't get enough of him his light touch and crooning voice.
@mackjay2
A forgotten, overlooked singer and GREAT songwriter
@mattydhd
I googled my name and found this how awesome is that
@longmanmusic
Matt Dennis 很喜歡此歌、特別是歌詞、謝謝你、Matt !!
@paisley73
I LOVE MATT DENNIS
@WarWarriorx
That last phrase, that falsetto is the best thing that I've heard
@goodboybuddy1
He reminds me a lot of Bobby Short. Humor, style, great pianism and complete ease. Great discovery for me. Thanks for posting!