Dennis Wilson is a part of Australian music history, from his earliest 1960’s recording sessions with the Bee Gees, and as lead guitarist and vocalist with progressive rock legends Kahvas Jute in the 1970’s, as well as writing most of the songs that made their ground breaking album “Wide Open” one of the world’s most collectable records. He has also been ranked by a reader’s poll in the top five Australian guitarists of the era.
He has played and recorded in England and in the USA, where he recorded an album of his songs with musicians from Aerosmith and Robert Palmer’s band, and played with music legend Bo Diddley on a national tour which ended at a concert to celebrate the opening of the Sydney Opera House.
Dennis has also been one of Sydney’s top session guitarists and has recorded with Olivia Newton-John, Swanee, Steve Gilpin (Mi-Sex), Jacky Orszcaczky’s Jump Back Jack, Air Supply, Alan Caswell, Mark Holden, The Bee Gees, Kahvas Jute, Chariot, Electric Pandas, Screaming Tribesmen, Ol’ 55, and a great deal more.
To quote Ian McFarlane from “Freedom Train” magazine - “Wilson cemented hs reputation as one the country’s most innovative guitar players “ - and his consistently dynamic and inspiring live performances have added to this reputation in subsequent years.
Dennis spent four years as lead guitarist with Swanee, then a period as lead guitarist with Chicago bluesman Doc Span’s band, before moving away from his home town of Sydney to live near Byron Bay in northern NSW. He remained in demand as a live performer and session guitarist, and has worked consistently in NSW and Queensland, until moving back to Sydney where he is living at present.
Dennis has made several appearances in recent years at the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival at Byron Bay, and re-united with his old pals from Kahvas Jute for a one-off live concert at The Basement in Sydney, where they were joined onstage for a number by Jimmy Barnes. This resulted in a live DVD, "Then Again - Live At The Basement" which has been highly acclaimed locally and internationally. He has also composed and recorded musical scores for the Crocodlie Hunter (Steve Irwin) and other TV shows and films.

The current Dennis Wilson Band lineup includes drummer Mark Marriott and bass player Daniel Blaze, who also form the rhythm section of well-known Sydney band The Nevilles. Mark Marriott was also musical director and drummer on the Footy Show, on Sydney’s Channel Nine TV network, and was the drummer for Kahvas Jute on their live DVD at The Basement. The band plays a mix of high powered classic and original blues-rock. with featured performances from all the musicians.

History:

After making his first record at age 16 and his first TV appearance at 17, and recording with the Bee Gees and other Australian artists, Dennis formed the band Mecca with bass player Bob Daisley, and recorded a single, "Black Sally" in 1969. This song was covered by the Human Instinct in New Zealand, and has recently been part of the soundtrack of the movie "Rain", which features music by Neil Finn.

Dennis and Bob Daisley were joined by guitarist Tim Gaze and drummer Dannie Davidson to form Kahvas Jute in 1970. The band recorded the album "Wide Open" shortly after they formed, with Dennis writing and singing most of the songs, and playing dual lead guitar with Tim. “Wide Open” now rates as one of the top five most collectable Australian records.At the age of 21, while with Kahvas Jute, Dennis was voted Number 5 Rock Guitarist in Australia in a national magazine poll. Bob Daisley was voted Number 6 Bass Player.

In 1973 Dennis moved to England with Dannie Davidson, where they played as Kahvas Jute, with bass players Mick Smith and David O'List (formerly guitarist with the Nice). During this time Dennis also worked as a sound engineer with the famous English blues band Chicken Shack.

In 1974 Dennis returned to Australia and played with Kahvas Jute for about a year, during which they played with Bo Diddley, as his backing band for a national tour, after which he co-founded Chariot, a band which toured constantly for four years, releasing two singles, and becoming a well-known act nationally, during which time Dennis furthered his reputation as one of Australia's foremost electric guitarists.

In 1979 the Dennis Wilson Band was formed, and meanwhile Dennis released a solo single "Bobby and the Space Invaders" which was also released in Britain and Europe. This was supposed to be a commercial which Dennis had written for the Space Invaders game, but the record company decided to release it as a single. In 1980 producer Charles Fisher flew Dennis to America where he stayed for just over two months writing and recording new songs for his album "Walking On Thin Ice." These tracks were recorded at the House of Music in West Orange New Jersey, and featured musicians were Mark Radice on keyboards, who had played with Aerosmith, and Leo Damien on drums, who played with Robert Palmer. Bass was played by New Jersey musician Richard Bunkowitz. Other tracks on this album were recorded at Trafalgar Studios in Sydney, produced by Charles Fisher and featuring Jackie Orszaczky on bass, Steve Hopes on drums and Cos Russo on keyboards.

Some months after arriving back in Australia Dennis formed the Deltoids, a band based on blues and rockabilly, which became very popular in the new pub rock scene. At the same time Dennis was playing on many sessions for other artists and producers,such as Alan Caswell, Loaded Dice, Electric Pandas, Screaming Tribesmen, Ol’ 55 and many others. He also wrote music for a scene in the Cannes award winning Australian movie "Going Down", and composed and recorded a song for the ABC TV series "Four Corners."

In 1982 Dennis joined Swanee, John Swan's band. Swan, older brother of Jimmy Barnes, had just recorded a new album and had formed a new band, which Dennis played with for about four years. Between touring and recording with Swanee, Dennis continued to play gigs with the Deltoids. While he was with Swanee, Dennis played on two albums, "Bushido", and "Ready For Action", a live album. Swanee recorded "Turn Away," written by Dennis, on the "Bushido" album. This song was also released by Swanee as a single. The Deltoids continued to play gigs, with a changing lineup, which included some of Sydney's finest rhythm sections; drummers Mark Kennedy, Hamish Stewart, John Watson, Loppy Morris, Brian Morris, Rob Grosser and more, bass players John Strangio, Jackie Orszazcky, James Rattray and sometimes Bob Daisley would drop in and jam when he was in Australia. Dennis also played with Le Bop, a band of session players, and played on Jackie Orszaczky's "Jump Back Jack" album. During this period Dennis's song "Walking On Thin Ice" was included in the repertoire of "My Old School", a touring band formed by ex-Steely Dan musicians Elliott Randall and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.

During the late 1980's Dennis joined the Doc Span Band with Doc on harmonica and vocals, James Rattray on bass and Mark Kennedy on drums. In 1990 Dennis joined ex-Mi-Sex singer Steve Gilpin's band Under Rapz. This band continued until Steve Gilpin's untimely death in 1992. Dennis also won the first North Coast Music Industry Association Award for Song of the Year for his composition “Calling You”, recorded with Steve Gilpin, who won the award for Vocalist of the Year for the same recording.

Dennis formed a band called Catch 22 in 1993. This band featured Swiss harmonica legend Pfuri Baldenweg, namesake of the Hohner "Pfuri" model harmonica. They played mostly original songs by Dennis and Pfuri, who also played assorted exotic and home made instruments. During the next few years Dennis played a re-union concert with the original Kahvas Jute lineup, and recorded some new material with Bob Daisley and Dannie Davidson. He also played lap steel and acoustic guitar on Olivia Newton-John's hit single "No Matter What".

During the mid 1990's Dennis began doing solo performances with an acoustic guitar. He has continued since then to perform both as a solo act and with a band. Dennis also played lead guitar with Brian Cadd on several concerts.

In 1999 Dennis composed, performed and recorded music for several episodes of Steve Irwin's Crocodile Hunter and Crocodile Hunter's Croc Files, which soon became the number one rating shows on Discovery Channel. Dennis did more Croc Files music in 2000, and also composed music for the film "Dancing On Glass". Dennis has since continued performing as a solo artist and with his band, and has also taught at the Northern Rivers Conservatorium and the Southern Cross University.

Dennis has also engineered recordings by Steve Russell, Jack Thorncraft, Margot Heidenreich, The Stingrays, So What, Steve Flack's Guitar Heroes and others.

Dennis has now recorded a CD of original songs, on which he plays acoustic guitar, lap steel and acoustic slide guitar. He is joined by Greg Lyon on bass and Alan Park on keyboards. Check it out here now...