Iconoclast Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 Pre pandemic I had a Kansas tribute band (which died during the virus). Back then (2016?) I had hired a very young kid to play keyboards in the group and I have to say, he was monster player. He was only 19 or 20 when he started with us but very mature and motivated. Such a quick learner...and really just an all around killer musician and a really good kid. He's got great parent that really support him. I always described him has having the curse of too much talent, as music would have to be his career. We became pretty good friends despite our huge difference in age and we've kept in pretty close touch. I'd like to say I've tried to mentor him, but musically he's been well beyond me since the day we met, but I'd like to think there's still things old guys can teach young kids. So he's been really slogging it out, doing the right things, playing every gig that came his way and working his way up and making contacts with some near famous musicians like Ron Thal, Marco Minneman etc. He got to play with Pattern Seeking Animals for a couple shows they did. Actually got on the 1st round American Idol but wasn't their cup of tea. Working hard, but as any of you pros know...probably not putting much in the bank! But I've been following his career very closely. Anyway, last week, by luck he was passing through my town and stopped in overnight and told me that he'd just gotten a text out of the blue where he'd been recommended for a pretty big well known touring band. We thought about putting some songs up on his social media from that band as maybe an influence so we worked on learning and programming a pretty complicated song from said well known touring group. In the end, we needed to do some video editing so he wasn't going to get the video up for a couple days. Jump forward a day and he calls me and says, "Dude, I just got off the phone with Steve Lukather and I'm the new 2d keyboard player for TOTO!" So yes: Meet Dennis Atlas, the new 2d keyboard player for Toto. All round great kid and monster musician. Couldn't be happier for him. And I can now always say that I taught the Toto keyboard player how to play Rosanna! In truth he learned it in just a couple minutes of watching me, but that's the way I'm going to tell the story. 32 1 2 2 7 Quote You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canoehead Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 Great story! I’ve been watching Dennis’ YouTube channel for the past few months and man, he is impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 This overlaps with the keyboard horns thread. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveNathan Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 He’s going to love playing with Shannon Forrest. 😍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodWichita Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 Dude has it all. Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motif88 Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 I went searching and was very impressed with what I found. God bless and good for him! 1 Quote Using: Yamaha: Montage M8x| Spectrasonics: Omnisphere, Keyscape | uhe: Diva, Hive2, Zebra2| Roland: Cloud Pro | Arturia: V Collection | NI: Komplete 14 | VPS: Avenger | Cherry: GX80 | G-Force: OB-E | Korg: Triton, MS-20 Sold/Traded: Yamaha: Motif XS8, Motif ES8, Motif8, KX-88, TX7 | ASM: Hydrasynth Deluxe| Roland: RD-2000, D50, MKS-20| Korg: Kronos 88, T3, MS-20 | Oberheim: OB8, OBXa, Modular 8 Voice | Rhodes: Dyno-My-Piano| Crumar: T2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still VanDerGraaf Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Amazing story, and well done Dennis! You must be proud of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.F.N. Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Checked his skills out on the internetz, great player, definitely deserves cool gigs and a stunning CV!!! Hat of for that - 🍾 !! Quote "You live every day. You only die once." Where is Major Tom? - - - - - Band Rig: PC3, HX3 w. B4D, 61SLMkII Other stuff: Prologue 16, KingKORG, Opsix, MPC Key 37, DM12D, Argon8m, EX5R, Toraiz AS-1, IK Uno, Toraiz SP-16, Erica LXR-02, QY-700, SQ64, Beatstep Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawai James Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Just watched a video of him playing "Come on Eileen" - all the parts sounded great, very impressed! I wish him well for the future! Quote Employed by Kawai Japan, however the opinions I express are my own. Nord Electro 3 & occasional rare groove player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Unbelievable. The right person for the gig, no question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuelBLupowitz Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Oh, that is beautiful. Thanks for sharing and congrats to him! Quote Samuel B. Lupowitz Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Not implying he lacks the requisite talent, but I think Toto is hoping to hitch their wagon to this guy's YouTube popularity. Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuelBLupowitz Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 On 5/20/2024 at 12:31 PM, Adan said: Not implying he lacks the requisite talent, but I think Toto is hoping to hitch their wagon to this guy's YouTube popularity. That may be the case; I'm sure he's grateful to hitch his wagon to Toto's mass audience and "actually getting paid!" 1 Quote Samuel B. Lupowitz Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 I agree with what Ken said, definitely the right person for the gig. Listening right now to the 11+ minute YouTube keys demo. The Kansas covers are are riveting...Wickedly good player. Quote 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.F.N. Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 On 5/20/2024 at 5:31 PM, Adan said: Not implying he lacks the requisite talent, but I think Toto is hoping to hitch their wagon to this guy's YouTube popularity. Yeah because nobody has heard of Toto.... 2 Quote "You live every day. You only die once." Where is Major Tom? - - - - - Band Rig: PC3, HX3 w. B4D, 61SLMkII Other stuff: Prologue 16, KingKORG, Opsix, MPC Key 37, DM12D, Argon8m, EX5R, Toraiz AS-1, IK Uno, Toraiz SP-16, Erica LXR-02, QY-700, SQ64, Beatstep Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yannis D Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 The great difference between this small community of musicians and the rest of the social media, is that here, people are not only genuinely kind but really want their peers to succeed, something you don't see too often on the rest of the social media circus. It's very sweet the way you have talked about this young, talented and skilled musician Kudos to both of you 4 Quote Be grateful for what you've got - a Nord, a laptop and two hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Monster talent is an understatement. Beyond a touring musician, Dennis Atlas will always be able to earn a living as a musician in some capacity. I can already envision him running his own Las Vegas shows. Sky is the limit for this young man.😎 Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Oh yeah I've seen Dennis on FB with a Styx and REO tribute and he is top notch from what I have seen. I know of him around LA. I am guessing that means Steve Maggiora is out? Or Greg P was just filling in temporarily? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EscapeRocks Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Mags band "The Effect" will be on tour opening for TOTO throughout Europe this summer, starting in Germany. Greg is still very much MD and keys player for TOTO tour. It will be interesting too se how Dennis works this since right now he has an entirely full slate of tour dates for his own project at the same time TOTO is playing in Europe. 1 Quote David Gig Rig:Depends on the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EscapeRocks Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 On 5/20/2024 at 11:31 AM, Adan said: Not implying he lacks the requisite talent, but I think Toto is hoping to hitch their wagon to this guy's YouTube popularity. what? In addition to being on the road with Journey the last few years, TOTO has an entirely full schedule this summer and fall while Journey embarks on their stadium tour with Def Leppard. I think TOTO does not have a problem with recognition Quote David Gig Rig:Depends on the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Thanks, Steve is a FB friend so sad to see him go, and glad Greg is staying. I feel with Greg and Shannon back the band is more the way it was a few years ago. And good for Dennis, top notch talent and well deserved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted May 23 Author Share Posted May 23 1 hour ago, EscapeRocks said: It will be interesting too se how Dennis works this since right now he has an entirely full slate of tour dates for his own project at the same time TOTO is playing in Europe. Dennis has been busy just getting spun up for Toto as they're going on the road next month. So he probably hasn't updated any of his future schedule online. That being said, anything that conflicts with Toto will get re-scheduled or cancelled...I'm pretty sure of that. He's supposed to call me later today so hopefully I'll have an update. 3 Quote You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EscapeRocks Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Very cool!!! what a great gig for him!!! Quote David Gig Rig:Depends on the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 On 5/20/2024 at 12:31 PM, Adan said: Not implying he lacks the requisite talent, but I think Toto is hoping to hitch their wagon to this guy's YouTube popularity. I can see my attempt at humor didn't land, but is it that hard to see it was meant to be humorous? Toto could go out with zero original members and still sell out shows. For all I know, that's what they do (but I really don't know). 2 Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobadohshe Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 So cool. He must be a bad dude! Quote Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37 My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.F.N. Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 1 hour ago, Adan said: I can see my attempt at humor didn't land, but is it that hard to see it was meant to be humorous? Toto could go out with zero original members and still sell out shows. For all I know, that's what they do (but I really don't know). 1 Quote "You live every day. You only die once." Where is Major Tom? - - - - - Band Rig: PC3, HX3 w. B4D, 61SLMkII Other stuff: Prologue 16, KingKORG, Opsix, MPC Key 37, DM12D, Argon8m, EX5R, Toraiz AS-1, IK Uno, Toraiz SP-16, Erica LXR-02, QY-700, SQ64, Beatstep Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyM Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 Wow, that's really wonderful. Can't wait to check him out on YouTube! it's always great to hear of a young (or older) player with amazing talent doing well and / or landing a dream opportunity. I've seen quite a few players on YouTube in different genres that have left me memorized with both their technical ability and arrangement skills. So glad that this young man got the call for this, judging from the other comments here, its extremely well deserved! Again, looking forward to checking him out myself. Warm Regards, Anthony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 On 5/23/2024 at 9:45 AM, EscapeRocks said: Mags band "The Effect" will be on tour opening for TOTO throughout Europe this summer, starting in Germany. Greg is still very much MD and keys player for TOTO tour. I guess Mags is no longer with The Effect either so something must have happened. They announced it on the 5th of May on their FB page. Dennis got the head up that he was being looked at about 8-9 days later. I have no idea what precipitated it but it looks like he was let go by both bands at approx the same time. Quote You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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