Dennis 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, New York Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population of the CDP was 41,547 at the 2010 census. History Valentine Hicks, son-in-law of abolitionist an ...

, when he placed an ad in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' 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 Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...

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 An electric sitar is a type of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the sitar, a traditional musical instrument of India. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditiona ...

solo on the song " Do It Again"), on 1973's '' Countdown to Ecstasy'', and on 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 ''The Royal Scam'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan. It was produced by Gary Katz and was originally released by ABC Records in 1976. ''The Royal Scam'' features more prominent guitar work than the prior Steely Dan album ...

'', 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 Pete Christlieb (born February 16, 1945) is an American jazz bebop, West Coast jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist. Biography Christlieb was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is the son of bassoonist Don Christlieb. 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 Spanky and Our Gang was an American 1960s sunshine pop band led by Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The band derives its name from Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies of the 1930s (known to modern audiences as ''The Little Rascals''), because of the s ...

. 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 Iridium is a chemical element with the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, it is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium) with a density of ...

in NYC.

Discography

With Steely Dan * '' Can't Buy a Thrill'' (ABC, 1972) * '' Countdown to Ecstasy'' (ABC, 1973) * '' Pretzel Logic'' (ABC, 1974) * '' Katy Lied'' (ABC, 1975) * ''

'' (ABC, 1976) * '' Aja'' (ABC, 1977) With others * Soundtrack to '' You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat'' (1971) with

and Donald Fagen, credited as Denny Diaz * David Garfield and Friends, ''Tribute to Jeff'' (Intercord, 1997)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Denny 1946 births American rock guitarists American male guitarists Living people People from Hicksville, New York Guitarists from Philadelphia 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians