Dennis Exter

Dennis Exter, he was/is a very improvisational drummer. We would throw any type of phrase to him and he would respond with strong tempo and the perfect beat.

I jammed with him (and Mike and Ted) on a constant basis between 70 and 75 when I left for Berklee. I keep in touch with Dennis and saw him at Ted’s wake. I also keep in close touch with Jackie Exter his brother as Jack is the third drummer I ever played with (Joe Gazey the first and Dennis the second).

Jack now is a strong jazz upright bass player in NEPA. I see Dennis occasionally and keep in touch with Jack often.

THEN…it was these guys:

1973 Bob Rosencrans (Extreme Bass), Dave Cihockie (WIGGS) vocals and John Cenera (privileged but awesome rock drummer)

I learned to become a very strong rock guitarist in my area. Maybe I was the local “Guitar Hero” at the time and built my entire reputation on about 10 gigs that we played. Musicians from that area still talk to me about the jams we did then. This is where I learned the secrets of Hendrix and Page. John was an extremely versatile drummer who had a strong background in many different styles. Playing Carmine Appice was not a stretch for him. Bob was a former guitar player and strong overall musician with much more experience than my 16 yo ass.

He could cut Tim Bogart with no problem. I built my reputation as I had gotten my 100w Marshall Stack for my 16th birthday from “the Old Man ” and carved out a name locally that seems to still be remembered in NEPA after all these years. I dare not take the stage at any jam in NEPA in order not to dispel my mythology! Ha!

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