Meet Dennis Bradley

We recently connected with Dennis Bradley and have shared our conversation below.

Dennis, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I discovered music at a young age thanks to my mother, who encouraged me to learn an instrument. She was a self-taught keyboardist, and I took up the saxophone but quickly changed to guitar. The more I learned about music the more I loved it. It’s been a life-long passion for me and has given me a purpose in retirement. I’ve had numerous interactions with people at shows during breaks or after we get done playing, and some tell the guys in the band about how bad their day or week was, and that just listening to some familiar songs from our cover band helped cheer them up a little. The most heartbreaking occurrence of this was a gentleman who was sitting at a table directly in front of the band with his family at one of our gigs. He came up on a break and requested a song that we knew, so we played it for him. After the gig was over, he came up and thanked us and explained that his son had taken his own life earlier that week. He had only intended to stay for a little while during our show, but enjoyed the songs so much, that he stayed for the whole gig. He said it was one of the few bright spots in his week. That made me realize that I may think that I’m just playing some classic rock standards and having fun with my friends and bandmates, but what we do can have a bigger purpose than just entertainment to our audience.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I play guitar in two local cover bands. Mimic are a classic rock cover band that play the greatest hits from the 1960s through the 1990s at summer concert series, festivals, and the local bar circuit across the Front Range. We’ve been together for over 3 years, and we stay true to our name – attempting to mimic the bands and solo artists that we cover. As the lead guitarist I do my best to replicate the guitar sounds of the bands that we cover so our audience get an authentic experience. I am also half of the guitar duo for a local hard rock and heavy metal cover band, Voodoo Mountain. Myself and my partner in crime, Jeff Papenfuss, make up a guitar team that try to replicate the best guitar duos throughout the history of heavy music. Although there are hard rock and heavy metal bands playing original or very specific cover music in the area, we play heavy music from across the decades, which is an untapped market in our area.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The most important quality to possess as a musician is self-discipline. No one (unless you’re in a music school or have strict parents) is going to force you to practice. You have to make time, every day, to devote to your instrument or voice. Practicing for a little bit every day is far better than trying to cram numerous hours of practice in on the weekend. You have to put in those “10,000 hours” to get good. There are no shortcuts. I think another quality is humility. If you’re looking for a gig in a band or backing up another musician, you have to be willing to adapt to what they already have in place and bring skills that will enhance the group without the ego. Musicians with egos are a disease that tear bands apart – don’t be that guy or gal and avoid those that are. And the third, I believe, is another aspect of self-discipline, and that is being prepared. Don’t show up for an audition, rehearsal, or gig not knowing the material, and not having your gear in order. That’s selfish, and it’s also a good way to get replaced quickly. Losing the ego and being prepared go hand-in-hand with developing emotional intelligence (EQ). Do some research on that and apply it to your trade as a musician. As far as practicing, find something that inspires you every day. A YouTube video of your favorite artist, a deadline hanging over your head, a gig that you want, etc. Use those to drive you to improve every day. Practice isn’t always fun, but it’s absolutely necessary.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

I’m currently in my 4th semester at Berklee College of Music (Online). When I got serious about music in the 1980s, my goal was to attend Berklee in Boston and graduate with a degree in guitar performance. Unfortunately, I wasn’t good enough or disciplined enough to succeed at that time, so I kept music as a hobby and pursued a different career for 30 years. By the time I retired, I definitely possessed the self-discipline needed to succeed academically and had already earned a few degrees. I also improved over those 3 decades as a musician, so I auditioned for Berklee and was accepted about a year ago. Since I’ve started classes there and private lessons with Professor Julien Kasper, an amazing guitarist and educator, I’ve seen my musicianship grow more in the last year than it has in decades. The faculty there is world class, and that helps. But – here’s that self-discipline part again – I have to have the drive to apply what I’ve learned and study everything to succeed. Formal music education, learning music theory, studying under an instructor – they will all help you “up your game.” If anyone says otherwise, don’t listen to them. They’re just trying to get by on 3 chords and their ego.

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