Free as a Bird

The stress and pressures from the world today have left so many looking for an escape from reality–no matter how brief or small. This such case can be gleefully applied to one of our longest clients, Denny, who finds his escape from reality in the comfort of his own basement where his custom recording studio is located.

Before the pandemic, Denny\’s life was filled with long nights performing at bars, restaurants and other venues with his long-time partner in crime, Russ. The two have been playing music together since 1975, originally in a five-person band that also included his wife. Over the years since, members casually dropped off; but not Denny and Russ, who continued to perform mostly acoustic covers as well as homemade songs. In fact, some of his homemade music is so good, Denny even noted that some of the more musically acute members of his audiences will ask which band\’s song he just covered, to which he modestly replies that it was his own.

According to Denny, the duo performs about 70-90s gigs a year. At his age and well into retirement, this is a pretty impressive passion hobby to have. Unfortunately, Denny had to put a temporary pause on playing those shows in accordance with the pandemic guidelines, but he never had to put a pause on his passion. You see, music was already Denny\’s escape from the everyday stresses of life. In fact, he even uses music to help sooth his headaches, saying that whenever his head hurts, he simply strums a mellow tune on his guitar to alleviate the pain.

Music has been a guiding, free-flowing force in Denny\’s life like a melody from his guitar, showing way to lifelong friends and his lifelong partner (his wife). It all started when he was a boy. His father was a musician that played the trumpet. The trumpet was Denny\’s introduction to music, making it the first instrument he ever learned how to play. But Denny\’s real affinity for music–or more specifically, rock n\’ roll–started after he first saw The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was here that Denny made the decision to trade in his trumpet for a guitar, and roughly five decades later, he hasn\’t looked back since.

Despite having to pause his love of performing, he continues to write and record music in his basement, continuing to use music as a therapeutic escape.

\”It\’s a great escape,\” said Denny. \”Spiritually, it\’s helpful and calming, especially right now.\”

This year, Denny is looking to get back into the flow of live music.