Quick Facts
Biography
Dennis "Denny" Dias (born December 12, 1946) is an American guitarist, best known for being a founding member of Steely Dan.
Career
Dias was working with his own band out of his basement in Hicksville, Long Island, when he placed an ad in The Village Voice in the summer of 1970 that read: "Looking for keyboardist and bassist. Must have jazz chops! Assholes need not apply". Donald Fagen and Walter Becker responded to the advertisement. They joined his band and immediately began playing their own material. Dias fired the rest of the band, and the three of them moved to California, adding drummer Jim Hodder, guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, and vocalist David Palmer before recording for ABC/Dunhill Records as Steely Dan. Dias recorded as a permanent member of the band on 1972's Can't Buy a Thrill (with an electric sitar solo on the song "Do It Again"), 1973's Countdown to Ecstasy, and 1974's Pretzel Logic. Following a tour promoting Pretzel Logic, Becker and Fagen decided to break the band up and use session musicians on future albums. Though no longer a member of the band, Dias continued to work with them as a session guitarist, appearing on 1975's Katy Lied, 1976's The Royal Scam, and 1977's Aja. In 1991 he joined Toto on their Summer Festival Tour. He also recorded with Wayne Shorter, Wilfrido Vargas and Pete Christlieb. Some of Dias's original material was recorded on a 1999 CD called Matter of Time, with Lisa Jason (Vocals) and Andy Bergsten (Bass) as the core of the band.
As of 2012, Dias was playing with Spanky and Our Gang. In 2014 he was playing with Denny Dias and Friends, a Boston-based band formed with Lisa Jason and Andy Bergsten with session musicians from around the country. In 2015 they planned a tour that included the Iridium in NYC.
Dias is now a computer programmer living in Los Angeles. Along with Rich McConnell and Basil Hosmer, Dias has been an architect of Nantucket's Clipper 5.x xBase compiler.
Discography
Albums
- Can't Buy a Thrill - Steely Dan (1972)
- Countdown to Ecstasy - Steely Dan (1973)
- Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan (1974)
- Katy Lied - Steely Dan (1975)
- The Royal Scam - Steely Dan (1976)
- Aja - Steely Dan (1977)
- Tribute to Jeff Porcaro - David Garfield (1997)
- Hoy - Wilfrido Vargas (1997)
- Matter Of Time (1999)
- Round the Gum Tree: The British Bubblegum Explosion! - Various Artists (2004)
- Apogee [Bonus Tracks] - Pete Christlieb (2004)
- Footprints: The Life and Music of Wayne Shorter - Wayne Shorter (2004)
Video
- Classic Albums - Steely Dan: Aja (2000)