I met Quinn's mom early in my time in New York when we were both waiters at Around the Clock in the East Village. We were married on the set of her first film called "Squanto" in Nova Scotia on a tall ship in the harbor. We lived in my apartment in the East Village for a time and then moved to Hollywood.

 

We lived in the Hollywood Hills in a little place where Marilyn Monroe once lived. Hollywood was entirely bizarre. NYC was a time of enlightenment for me; art, music, and culture revealed some of its secrets. I realized that the genius of artistic expression was done by regular people, often with no pretention. Although I was entirely naive when I lived in New York, it was an inspiring place to be. Hollywood was the antithesis of New York. At first I was enamored, after a time I couldn't take it.

 

My ex-wife enjoyed success in the 90's. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and invited to many Hollywood events. I often went with her, although I never felt comfortable there. I think this was a time of existential crisis for me. I was reading Nietzsche, and Dostoyevsky, having dinner at the Playboy Mansion and attending red carpet events.  I learned how reviews and press were often bought or exchanged for favors, and really got the reality of art and commerce. I never belonged there; I was just accompanying my then wife. There are many wonderful people in L.A., but I couldn't take the life. We bought a place near Santa Barbara and moved after a few years.

 

While I lived in Hollywood, I put together a different version of Little Rooms. We got signed to an indie label in Hollywood and released 2 albums. The label was called Highland Sounds and was owned by the guy who owned the coolest coffee bar and restaurant on Highland Ave, called Highland Grounds. I enjoyed playing with that group; we shared the strangeness of Los Angeles. We played some shows with Chuck E Weiss, he played percussion with us. Chuck E played with Tom Waits, who is one of my all-time favorite songwriters. The music of this band reflects my thinking at the time.

 

I scored a few more indie films, one of them was entitled 5 years, later re-titled The Hidden starring Michael Buscemi and directed by Brett Wagner. It won the Best Feature Film - Victoria Film Festival, Best of the Fest - Sarasota International Film Festival, and Best Screenplay (Le Prix SACD) - Avignon Film Festival. I enjoyed working on that film.

 

After we moved to Ojai, near Santa Barbara, I started playing some with Jonathan McEuen. Jonathan is a gifted singer songwriter and musician. He sang harmonies on many of the tracks I have listed on this site. We collaborated on a few of my favorite projects, one of which was a Slam Grass collection. It was traditional bluegrass with a mix of electronica, and drum loops.  I played many shows with Jonathan, he recorded some vocal tracks in Nashville with us while he was there recording his own album. I may have played more with Jonathan except I heard the news that after 10 years of marriage I was going to be a father, and my life took a different turn.

 

Janice Mautner Markham played violin on these tracks. Janice is a remarkable violinist and artist. She played on many of my recordings over the years. Adam Levy is playing bass. The rest is me.  The picture on the top of this page is Janice, Adam, and I.

 

After we moved from Hollywood I recorded many new songs. The player below has songs I was working on right before I found out I was going to be a father. Jonathan McEuen is singing harmonies on Lotion, Had Enough, Mad, Generation Landslide, Sunshine, and playing guitar on Mad. Adam Levy is playing the bass. Helen Taylor is playing lead guitar on Lotion, Had Enough, Empty, and Generation Landslide. The recording of Sunshine was done for the film 5 years. The violin on Sunshine was played by a guy from Tucson that I can't remember, but he was great! The rest is me.

 

 

All songs by Denny Wilson copyright 2015, except Generation Landslide by Alice Cooper (Jonathan was playing guitar with him when this was recorded).

 

 

The songs are free to download, but if you feel compelled to contribute, please donate to the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance so the arts may flourish in Dayton. A community cannot thrive without the arts! You can contribute any amount of money through the link below.

 

https://daytonperformingarts.org/give

 

 

Here are links to all the music on this site, there are many songs on different pages

 

Music

 

Early Singer Songwriter

 

1st Bands

 

New York

 

Songs From ID

 

The Fair Shakes/ The Rude Boys