February 2006
Born in Elkhart, Indiana, Denny Cannon studied classical piano for 15 years and picked up the guitar his sophomore year in high school. His Irish-American father, a singer, was Denny's musical inspiration, and his parents actively supported his musical interests and career. After graduation from the University of Hawaii, Denny moved to Chicago, where he played the local clubs as a single act, and eventually ended up touring the U.S. and Canada with several notable performers as either an opening act or as part of the band, gaining valuable experience performing in front of large audiences.
With family ancestry going back to counties Donegal and Mayo, Denny has always loved Irish/Celtic music, but never considered participating until seeing an MTV special The Corrs Live in Dublin. "The mix of traditional Irish music with contemporary was intoxicating," as Denny puts it. "I couldn't get it out of my head....especially the high whistle complimenting the fiddle. I was hooked, and knew this was something I had to pursue." So he bought his first tinwhistle for three bucks at Books-A-Million and began learning on his own through online tutorials. After a while...and after driving his roommate and her cats crazy...he got pretty good and the roommate and cats began associating with him again.
While reading the paper one day, Denny learned about a local Celtic session group, Good Fortune, scheduled to perform a free concert at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. He attended the concert, spoke to a couple of the players afterwards, and was invited to join their weekly Tuesday evening sessions. Denny was with Good Fortune for about two years, and soaked in traditional Irish/Celtic music like a sponge. In the course of those years and associating with a few exceptional Irish musicians, he learned a LOT of tunes, how to play the Irish guitar style in DADGAD tuning, picked up the bódhran (Irish drum), and improved his whistle playing.
Those same exceptional musicians asked Denny if he'd be interested in forming a band with him as the guitarist and vocalist, and the band SlipJig was formed as a five-member group consisting of fiddles, mandolin, guitar, banjo, high and low whistles, bódhran, and bagpipes. So for two years, until leaving the group recently, Denny was a member of SlipJig, gaining more valuable experience in the Irish/Celtic music scene. As part of SlipJig, Denny was lead vocalist, and played guitar, high whistle, and bódhran. Their crowning moment was opening a concert in Birmingham, AL for the famed Celtic band, Gaelic Storm.
But all things change, and Denny recently left SlipJig to join forces with one of the finest and most respected Irish musicians (fiddle, bouzouki, and guitar) in the Southeast, Larry Lynch of the band, Henri's Notions. Larry and Denny's music comes from the traditions of Ireland, Scotland, and other Celtic lands. It spans a range of styles, from high-energy jigs and reels to ancient airs and ballads, and combines tight melodies and rhythms with solid, tight instrumentation and vocal harmonies, along with original material. Denny and Larry use (mostly) traditional instruments in a (mostly) traditional style, and while they make an effort not to break tradition, they admit to bending it on occasion. The duo is based in Huntsville, AL.
Denny uses the K&K Pure Western and Pure Preamp: "After using LR Baggs LB6 pickups for years, when it came time to replace yet another LB6 because of electrical connection problems, I began doing some research and took the advice of many fellow musicians....'Try the K&K....you'll love it!' So I did, and I love it! Here's what transpired. I had a B-Band UST in my Martin OM16GT that sounds decent, so I decided to move the B-Band to my Guild and install the K&K in the guitar I use most on stage, the Martin in DADGAD tuning. By the way, I play in an Irish Celtic band. I only use the Guild for a few songs in standard tuning, so the B-Band does fine. The Guild is a 1970, and the Martin is nearly new. The Guild has a wonderful, clear, deep and ringing tone all the way up the neck. For a new Martin, the OM16GT is amazing with better bass then the Guild, and naturally, just an overall different character. Bottom line is they both sound great. BUT....when run through our sound system, the K&K is such an obviously better sound! ing system than the B-Band! Very strong, true acoustic sound and excellent balance, even without the preamp. It's amazing how good it sounds, and the volume it produces without the preamp. With the preamp, it just gets better. I run it in line with a Boss TU2 pedal tuner to cut the signal when tuning on stage, and I'm good to go. Excellent acoustic sound with the K&K. It took a few test runs to make sure I got the positioning correct before gluing, and I got one just slighty off, but it still sounds incredible and very well balanced. K&K says there's some room for placement error with no effect on performance...and they're right....thank God! If you want a truly acoustic sound that brings out the best in your instrument, do yourself a favor and try a K&K."
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