Never Forget Steve Denison (ChiliD)

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by John Run

His Pre-1975 knowledge of Fleetwood Mac was unparalleled. For me though it was our long conversations deconstructing and piecing back together Out of the Cradle which he adored at the apex of song-craft and production hierarchy.

02-23-2015, 02:03 AM
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chiliD chiliD is offline
Addicted Ledgie

Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: In the backseat of a Studebaker
Posts: 9,702
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I don't really consider "Out of the Cradle" to have individual tracks...to me it's one MASTERPIECE of work, beginning to end (like "Smile" or "Sgt Pepper").

Offline. I really like saying it like that.

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Susan Denison has informed me that Steve Denison passed away last week. You veterans know what an integral part of this board chiliD was. I believe some of you even met him before The Ledge, on newsgroups.

Susan reminded me that she and Steve met on The Ledge back in 1997, in a chat room, back when we used to have those. I remember him mentioning that as well.

No one knew Peter Green and Bob Welch's history like he did and he took us to school. He was funny, scathing and so knowledgeable. He told us a lot about FM and also about music in general and gave us firsthand tidbits too. Christine's laughter. Lindsey riding shotgun in a car.

Such sad news. As long as there is a Ledge, I will remember his contributions to it and will miss him, as I do wetcamelfood.

Michele

Oh nooooo! I knew he was in the hospital but I didn't know he had passed on. Steve was quick to school me in those early days of the pre-Stevie/Lindsey era of the band. We later connected on Facebook through our mutual love of guitar (I think he persuaded me to finally get that Model 1 I had been wanting, and he might've even had a Model 1 too)... he was a pleasure to chat with, and even when we disagreed we still had our love for the music in common. Godspeed, chiliD, godspeed.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

Oh nooooo! I knew he was in the hospital but I didn't know he had passed on. Steve was quick to school me in those early days of the pre-Stevie/Lindsey era of the band. We later connected on Facebook through our mutual love of guitar (I think he persuaded me to finally get that Model 1 I had been wanting, and he might've even had a Model 1 too)... he was a pleasure to chat with, and even when we disagreed we still had our love for the music in common. Godspeed, chiliD, godspeed.

He did have a Model One.

[jmn3]

What sad news to hear. When I was a teenager developing an interest in Fleetwood Mac during The Dance era, folks like Steve (and many others who may or may not still be around!) were such an incredible source of information on the band and its many members at a time when the internet wasn't nearly as resourceful as it is today. The days of alt.music and The Ledge before I even made an account. If it wasn't for the in-depth knowledge shared in those spaces back then it's unlikely I would have ever gotten as thoroughly into the Mac or any of the member's music in my life.

Rest in peace, Steve

[Street_Dreamer]

Steve was a great guy. I owe my fandom of Billy to him because he was the guy who thoughtfully sent me his entire album collection to me on CD-R years ago. You all have already summarized how knowledgeable he was about the band better than I ever could. Thank you Steve. I owe a lot to you.

[David]

Thank you for posting about this, Michele. My memory is jumping around pretty wildly. Steve was affable, generous with time and knowledge, and a profound dog lover. He was also a musician’s musician — he knew the history of rock, blues, and other genres, he knew instruments, he knew biographies, and he knew catalogue like nobody else. Whenever you had a disagreement with Steve about which track appeared on which B-side, not only was he always right, but he let you have your pride and convinced you that you were “almost” right except for that pesky little aside that “you were probably thinking of instead.”

I started chatting with Chili (I always hated that nickname and told him so) in 1994. He was in Southern CA and I was in Northern CA, itching to move back down here. He bugged me over and over, “If you move down here, you need to join my band.” Sure enough, when I moved down here and got resettled, I had to pack up my Korg X5, stand, and 40-watt practice amp and haul everything over to his longtime friend’s garage every Thursday or Friday night for months to practice with one of his groups (he always had half a dozen groups going at once and, quite frankly, I don’t know where he found the time to hold his day job for the City of Long Beach). Those were great times, and he insisted (I did not want to) that the band practice “Dreams” and “Say You Love Me” and several other Mac songs. He was a great guitarist, natch, and he played these warhorses his way, and it rocked. He used to nag me, “You need to get rid of that practice amp and get a full size,” and he dragged me to Guitar Center and Sam Ash a bunch of times to shop. Now THAT was fun, hanging out in a music store with Steve as he test-drove guitars, keyboards, basses, and drum kits, and schooled all the employees there.

He invited me to his and Susie’s wedding at their home, along with some other ledgies I had never met in person, and we all had a lovely afternoon. They were sharing self-penned vows and cracking jokes. Those two didn’t worry about starchy solemnity. Relax and party!

Steve the dog lover (as am I) called me in tears when his Rottweiler, Rudy, died still somewhat young. Rudy was such a good boy and loved his dad.

Oddly enough, Steve and I never managed to see a Fleetwood show together — either one of us bowed out or was with another group of pals — but we sometimes tried to arrange to meet each other before or after a show. I had so many wonderful times with Steve that his death is shocking me. My condolences to his family, his pooch, his friends, and the FM fan community. He was one in a million.

[justcrazylove]

This is sad news. I first came across ChilliD on FMLegacy as an excitable 15 year old when I was absorbing and learning about this band I loved. He taught me to love the whole band and look beyond the obvious. My love of Greeny started with Steve schooling me on what i'm sure was the obnoxious opinion of a teenager. I often think about how much this board has changed and how the loss of voices likes Steves has been/is detrimental to the fan community. He knew what he was talking about, was fair, funny and open to others opinions.

What a dude!

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by David

Thank you for posting about this, Michele. My memory is jumping around pretty wildly. Steve was affable, generous with time and knowledge, and a profound dog lover. He was also a musician’s musician — he knew the history of rock, blues, and other genres, he knew instruments, he knew biographies, and he knew catalogue like nobody else. Whenever you had a disagreement with Steve about which track appeared on which B-side, not only was he always right, but he let you have your pride and convinced you that you were “almost” right except for that pesky little aside that “you were probably thinking of instead.”

I started chatting with Chili (I always hated that nickname and told him so) in 1994. He was in Southern CA and I was in Northern CA, itching to move back down here. He bugged me over and over, “If you move down here, you need to join my band.” Sure enough, when I moved down here and got resettled, I had to pack up my Korg X5, stand, and 40-watt practice amp and haul everything over to his longtime friend’s garage every Thursday or Friday night for months to practice with one of his groups (he always had half a dozen groups going at once and, quite frankly, I don’t know where he found the time to hold his day job for the City of Long Beach). Those were great times, and he insisted (I did not want to) that the band practice “Dreams” and “Say You Love Me” and several other Mac songs. He was a great guitarist, natch, and he played these warhorses his way, and it rocked. He used to nag me, “You need to get rid of that practice amp and get a full size,” and he dragged me to Guitar Center and Sam Ash a bunch of times to shop. Now THAT was fun, hanging out in a music store with Steve as he test-drove guitars, keyboards, basses, and drum kits, and schooled all the employees there.

He invited me to his and Susie’s wedding at their home, along with some other ledgies I had never met in person, and we all had a lovely afternoon. They were sharing self-penned vows and cracking jokes. Those two didn’t worry about starchy solemnity. Relax and party!

Steve the dog lover (as am I) called me in tears when his Rottweiler, Rudy, died still somewhat young. Rudy was such a good boy and loved his dad.

Oddly enough, Steve and I never managed to see a Fleetwood show together — either one of us bowed out or was with another group of pals — but we sometimes tried to arrange to meet each other before or after a show. I had so many wonderful times with Steve that his death is shocking me. My condolences to his family, his pooch, his friends, and the FM fan community. He was one in a million.

This is quite a remembrance, David. Had no idea you had such extensive beyond-the-ledge contact with ChiliD—and that your way into FM was as musicians. That is special.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by David

Thank you for posting about this, Michele. My memory is jumping around pretty wildly. Steve was affable, generous with time and knowledge, and a profound dog lover. He was also a musician’s musician — he knew the history of rock, blues, and other genres, he knew instruments, he knew biographies, and he knew catalogue like nobody else. Whenever you had a disagreement with Steve about which track appeared on which B-side, not only was he always right, but he let you have your pride and convinced you that you were “almost” right except for that pesky little aside that “you were probably thinking of instead.”

I started chatting with Chili (I always hated that nickname and told him so) in 1994. He was in Southern CA and I was in Northern CA, itching to move back down here. He bugged me over and over, “If you move down here, you need to join my band.” Sure enough, when I moved down here and got resettled, I had to pack up my Korg X5, stand, and 40-watt practice amp and haul everything over to his longtime friend’s garage every Thursday or Friday night for months to practice with one of his groups (he always had half a dozen groups going at once and, quite frankly, I don’t know where he found the time to hold his day job for the City of Long Beach). Those were great times, and he insisted (I did not want to) that the band practice “Dreams” and “Say You Love Me” and several other Mac songs. He was a great guitarist, natch, and he played these warhorses his way, and it rocked. He used to nag me, “You need to get rid of that practice amp and get a full size,” and he dragged me to Guitar Center and Sam Ash a bunch of times to shop. Now THAT was fun, hanging out in a music store with Steve as he test-drove guitars, keyboards, basses, and drum kits, and schooled all the employees there.

He invited me to his and Susie’s wedding at their home, along with some other ledgies I had never met in person, and we all had a lovely afternoon. They were sharing self-penned vows and cracking jokes. Those two didn’t worry about starchy solemnity. Relax and party!

Steve the dog lover (as am I) called me in tears when his Rottweiler, Rudy, died still somewhat young. Rudy was such a good boy and loved his dad.

Oddly enough, Steve and I never managed to see a Fleetwood show together — either one of us bowed out or was with another group of pals — but we sometimes tried to arrange to meet each other before or after a show. I had so many wonderful times with Steve that his death is shocking me. My condolences to his family, his pooch, his friends, and the FM fan community. He was one in a million.

Thank you for posting this. I'm really moved. So good to hear that you guys were this close and had several moments. Your memories help with the sadness. <3<3

[GypsySorcerer]

Sorry to hear this. I always appreciated Steve's insights and perspective, even if I disagreed sometimes. He will be missed. RIP, Steve.

[louielouie2000]

I’m so sorry to hear of Steve’s passing. No doubt he’s rubbing elbows with Peter Green, Bob Welch, and the like now. I too interacted with him on the old FM Legacy board prior to joining the Ledge 21 years ago. I credit solely Steve for challenging me to venture outside of the Rumours years and discovering my musical love of Bob Welch & much of the many solo ventures from the entirety of the FM crew. May you rock in peace, Steve. Your knowledge and passion shall be missed!

[Dodfather]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I haven't visited The Ledge for a couple of years after about 5 years of prolific posting and interacting with you all - hi everyone! Steve was one of the first to make me feel welcome on here and we had some great conversations through here and then Facebook - incredibly knowledgeable and generous with this. RIP.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by David

I started chatting with Chili (I always hated that nickname and told him so) in 1994. He was in Southern CA and I was in Northern CA, itching to move back down here. He bugged me over and over, “If you move down here, you need to join my band.” Sure enough, when I moved down here and got resettled, I had to pack up my Korg X5, stand, and 40-watt practice amp and haul everything over to his longtime friend’s garage every Thursday or Friday night for months to practice with one of his groups (he always had half a dozen groups going at once and, quite frankly, I don’t know where he found the time to hold his day job for the City of Long Beach). Those were great times, and he insisted (I did not want to) that the band practice “Dreams” and “Say You Love Me” and several other Mac songs. He was a great guitarist, natch, and he played these warhorses his way, and it rocked. He used to nag me, “You need to get rid of that practice amp and get a full size,” and he dragged me to Guitar Center and Sam Ash a bunch of times to shop. Now THAT was fun, hanging out in a music store with Steve as he test-drove guitars, keyboards, basses, and drum kits, and schooled all the employees there.

He invited me to his and Susie’s wedding at their home, along with some other ledgies I had never met in person, and we all had a lovely afternoon. They were sharing self-penned vows and cracking jokes. Those two didn’t worry about starchy solemnity. Relax and party!

Steve the dog lover (as am I) called me in tears when his Rottweiler, Rudy, died still somewhat young. Rudy was such a good boy and loved his dad.

Oddly enough, Steve and I never managed to see a Fleetwood show together — either one of us bowed out or was with another group of pals — but we sometimes tried to arrange to meet each other before or after a show. I had so many wonderful times with Steve that his death is shocking me. My condolences to his family, his pooch, his friends, and the FM fan community. He was one in a million.

What wonderful memories, David. Exhilarating. Exhausting. Your descriptions evoke both the man and his era. And how could I forget his love of dogs. He had one in his avatar and spoke of them often.

Thank you for telling us more about the man behind the posts.

[vivfox]

Very sad news of a Ledgie Icon. RIP

[jbrownsjr]

It's remarkable how long we've all been here. Nice to see folks pop out of the wood work to offer some words.