Writers Tricks of the Trade VOLUME 8, ISSUE 4 | Page 20

S POTLIGHT I NTERVIEW
MIKE DENNIS
Mike Dennis is one of those people who does lots of things well.
From professional musician to professional poker player. From
author to audio book narrator. It seems as though there is nothing
that is too great of a challenge. Not even the “You Don’t Say” col-
umn that Mike and Morgan St. James wrote together for over a year.
WTT: Mike, I understand you've had a
variety of careers. Why don't you walk
us through them?
MD: Well, back when dinosaurs roamed
the earth, in 1973, I became a profession-
al musician, fulfilling a dream I'd always
had. It was a big jump for me, like taking a
fork in the road that led into darkness. I
didn't know what lay in store for me, I on-
ly knew I loved music and had an oppor-
tunity to play it for a living, so I took it.
For the next 30 years, I never held anoth-
er job.
WTT: How do you mean?
MD: I went to Nashville in 1979 not
knowing a soul in that city. As you know,
it's called "Music City USA". It's the center
of country music and it's a very unforgiv-
ing place. I still remember how intimidat-
ed I was the first day I rolled into Nash-
ville in my van. I actually slept in my van
for
WTT: What instrument did you play?
MD: I played piano and sang. I did rock &
roll, rhythm & blues, and country music.
Not all at once, of course. I was heavily
into country for the first twelve years or
so, the first six of which I lived in Houston
and Memphis, and the last five years in
Nashville. It was during those five years
that I developed a lot of confidence in my
abilities.
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE
With Fats Domino
the first couple of nights until I lined up a
place to stay. Then, after going out every
night to check out the music scene, I got
myself some work after three or four
more nights. That led to bigger and much
better
things.
P AGE 15
W INTER 2019