Dena Tauriello is a New Jersey–based

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

, educator, and author.

Early life

Tauriello grew up in

Montville, New Jersey Montville is a township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,450, an increase of 922 (+4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 21,528, which in turn reflected an ...

, and attended

Montville Township High School Montville Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Montville Township, in suburban Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school was founded in 1971 and serves students in ninth through twel ...

, where she played softball and earned 11 varsity letters. After seeing

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and early drummer of the highly successful duo the Carpenters, formed with her older brother Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard. Wi ...

play the drums during a live performance, she was able to meet with her. This meeting inspired her to begin playing drums. She took drum lessons as a child, and continued taking private lessons for eight years. Dena played drums in the all female cover band "Good Girl's Don't". GGD was a major attraction on the East Coast's cover band circuit drawing major crowds wherever they performed. They also opened for many signed artists like Korn and Fuel. In 1998, Dena replaced Kristen Henderson (guitar, bass), who originally played drums in

Antigone Rising Antigone Rising is a rock band based in New York City. The band's current line up is Cathy Henderson (lead guitar), Kristen Henderson (bass guitar and drums), and Nini Camps (lead vocals and rhythm guitar). The band formed a nonprofit called ...

, before taking up guitar. Dena was the only drummer to audition for the band at that time, having less than 24 hours to prepare. She joined the band a short time after her audition. Dena was also one of the original members of New Jersey's pop/punk/rock band "From The Desk of Sally". While in FDOS, Dena recorded the band's first demo and recorded all drum tracks for the band's first official release " Everything and Nothing". Dena departed before its release in 1999. She lists

The Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and

The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

as some of her musical influences.

Antigone Rising

The band released four independent albums before they signed with a major label.

Lava Records Lava Records is an American record label owned by Jason Flom, in partnership with Universal Music Group. Company history In 1995, Flom launched Lava Records in partnership with Atlantic Records. For the next decade, he continued to discover an ...

offered them a record deal in 2003, after Jasom Flom, the founder of Lava, saw one of their shows. Their major label debut ''From the Ground Up'' was released exclusively through

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

coffeeshops, in conjunction with

Hear Music Hear Music was a record label that was founded in 2007 in a partnership between Concord Music Group and Starbucks. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999. Concep ...

series. The band was recently released from its contract with Atlantic Records. They are now signed to Starbucks record label. They are currently recording their upcoming album tentatively scheduled for release in the summer of 2007.

Recognition

Dena is featured in the September 2018 issue of ''

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, columns offering advice on technique, and information for the general public. ''Modern Dru ...

'' magazine.

References

External links

Dena Tauriello's Official WebsiteDena Tauriello's Feature in the September 2018 Issue of Modern DrummerOfficial Website of Head Over Heels the Musical

Antigone Rising
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tauriello, Dena American rock drummers American rock guitarists Drew University alumni Living people Montville Township High School alumni Musicians from Morris County, New Jersey People from Montville, New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people) American women guitarists 21st-century American women