TIMELINE - 1990's
How we got to where we are now...
1990 - Armed with a degree in Communications from CMSV, Dennis moves to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to try to break into the booming film production industry there. He finds work on the production crew of the comedy and musical variety show, "The Super Dave Osborne Show," where he is introduced to the Canadian band The Northern Pikes and singer/songwriter, Luba. He also witnesses one of Celine Dion's first performances in English. While living with relatives, he becomes an avid watcher of the Canadian music video channel, MuchMusic, which is how he says his love of Canadian music really began. He starts spending lots of time at the Sam the Record Man's flagship store on Toronto's Yonge street and buying up tapes and CD's by the likes of Scott Merritt, Luba, Mae Moore, Tom Cochrane, Cassandra Vasik, Blue Rodeo, Joni Mitchelle, Neil Young, Luc DeLarochelliere, Mitsou, Patricia Conroy, Colin James, The Band, and The Rankin Family. He also attends his first rock and roll concert ever: Fleetwood Mac at Toronto's Skydome on their "Behind the Mask" Tour. The #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts on his birthday this year is The New Kids On the Block's "Step By Step."
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1992 - Dennis moves to Chicago, Illinois to continue pursuing a career in TV production. He lands a job at a video post-production company called Swell Pictures. He discovers 93.1 WXRT-FM. Billed as "Chicago's Finest Rock," it's here that he hears for the first time many of the bands and recording artists that begin to form the base of his musical interests: Peter Himmelman, Jude Cole, Sheryl Crow, John Hiatt, Bob Mould, John Mayer, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Wallflowers, and Chicago's own Freddy Jones Band. For many years afterward, WXRT becomes the standard by which he measures other radio stations. The #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts on his birthday this year is Mariah Carey's "I'll Be There."
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1995 - Dennis has a very difficult year. It starts with a car accident while driving home from Christmas break on January 2nd when, on an Indiana highway, a Camaro sideswipes the driver's side of his Honda Civic. He's not hurt, just really, really pissed off. Then, when he returns to work that week, he learns he lost his job at Swell Pictures. He spends a lot of time alone in his Lakeview neighbourhood apartment job hunting in the want ads, listening to the radio, and fretting about the future. It seems that Alanis Morrisette's new album, "Jagged Little Pill," was everywhere, and the songs from that album seem to fit his mood - particularly the angry and bitter "You Oughta Know" and the sarcastically world-weary "Hand In Pocket." Around this time, he learns about a new sub-genre of rock and folk music called "roots rock," which bands like The Dave Matthews Band and Hootie and the Blowfish are champions of. He becomes fans of both bands. Even his favourite band, Fleetwood Mac, is having a bad year: Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks left the lineup in the previous years and the remaining members - John McVie, Christine McVie, and Mick Fleetwood - recruit lesser-known musicians to replace them. They release the commercial and critical failure of an album, "Time." And even after the newly-elected US president, Bill Clinton, asks the original lineup (with Lindsey and Stevie) to play at his televised inaugural gala, the band brakes up again, seemingly for good. The #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts on his birthday this year is Bryan Adams' "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman."
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1997 - Much to Dennis' surprise, Fleetwood Mac reunited for an MTV concert special and tour called "The Dance." He purchases the live CD and his love for "The Mac" is rekindled. He also starts taking guitar and vocal classes at the Chicago Old Town School of Folk Music. And, he puts ideas of breaking into the TV and film production business to rest and begins working as a sales assistant for a residential real estate developer in Chicago. The #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 charts is Puff Daddy and Faith Evans' "I'll Be Missing You." (To this day, Dennis is still happy that he left television.)