Dennis Cameron
by Tom Johns   Posted: 03/17/05
Well, this is not only the very first interview on "The Refinery", but it's my very first interview ever! Hopefully I've read enough interviews to work my way through this. I couldn't think of a better person to do my first interview with than Dennis Cameron, the Canadian Axe-slinger, formerly of Angelica and now with Cynical Limit. Well, let's rock!

 TJ -  So, how ya doin'?

DC - I'm a little tired today....Jeff and I were in the studio a little late last night doing vocals for the new album.

TJ -  What have you been up to since the Angelica days?

DC - Wow, that's been a long time...I've done much since then. Let's see if I remember it all: I went back to school after I finished the last Angelica CD "Time is all it takes". I did one year in an audio production school, and that developed my interest in electronics. From there I went back to college.

At the end of the first semester I got a call and was offered the Mike Sweet lead guitarist gig. I took it and toured the U.S. with Mike in '94. I left that tour in August of '94 and returned to school to finish my studies.

I graduated in '96 and started working in engineering for a company that developed nuclear electronics instrumentation. I left there in '98 to work for the company that I'm still with designing satellite terminals.

I built my studio in 2001 because I realized that I needed the creative outlet to keep me sane...haha. I started writing material and slowly pieced together the members of Cynical Limit. We had the CD released on Butterfly International in June of 2004, only to see the company go chapter 11 a couple of weeks later.

Which brings us to here....and CL is in production with our second album. I can't wait for people to hear this one, it's pretty fresh!!

TJ -  Can't wait! So how has the response been to Cynical Limit compared to Angelica as far as popularity? I remember you had a pretty big  following over seas, are they taking notice?

DC - We have been well received in Europe and North America so far considering that
the album was only released for a short period of time before the momentum halted. The people that have heard the first album have liked it.....we're hoping to jump start that momentum again with the new CD. When we first released the album independently, we were getting all kinds of attention from Europe...so Yes, I guess they are taking notice. We just need a new label to get behind us now.     

TJ -  So let's talk a little bit about the name "Cynical Limit", is that a name that just sounded like a cool band name or is there something behind it?

 DC - Hahah....it just sounded cool and the domain www.cynicallimit.com was available so we went with it.

TJ -  Very cool...So, the album has been out for almost a year, gotten some attention from the Dennis Cameron followers, and you're looking for a label. Have you done any touring?

DC - Touring at a large scale? No. We've pretty much kept it local while we concentrate on a record that will get us a lucrative deal...that's when touring is more feasible. We do open up for some of the bigger acts that come through this area though.

TJ -  Right on. This is probably the most asked question, but how long have you been playing guitar?

DC - Actually, you're the first to ask. Now I actually have to think about it ..... uh, 33 years!! The story goes that when I was six, I woke up one morning to the sound of my mother playing guitar in the kitchen. She tells me that within a year of teaching me, that she started taking lessons from me....hahaha.

TJ -  Wow! That's a long time. So having said that, is there a chance that we will ever see a Dennis Cameron solo album

DC - A Dennis Cameron solo album? I'm not sure that I need to do that.....if you mean an instrumental album, well, I think they are dated now....there are just so many great players out there doing it, I'm not sure that I could contribute anything new. I used to include a piece or two on the Angelica albums, but I'm more concerned about writing good songs these days.

TJ - So before we finish our chat, tell us a little about the new stuff you're working on.

DC - In my opinion, this is the best material I've ever written. The music is a little heavier and really matches Jeff's vocals nicely. We started writing this stuff in the fall of 2003 while we had all this time between contract negotiations and started production in October of 2004. I hope to have it wrapped up by the end of April, then we'll start shopping it again. We still have to decide whether we're going to release it independently before we get another deal....we'll see. Either way, we'll have some clips of this new material up on the site.

TJ - Man! Can't wait! You know I've always been a BIG fan so, please keep me up to date. Also let me know if you guys hit Seattle or Portland. Well Bro, It's really been a pleasure, I hope and pray the best for you and your band and GOD Bless!

DC - No problem, it was my pleasure.

Wow! I made it through my first interview! I know it's pretty short , but hopefully I'll get better at this. So, check out Dennis' web-site at www.denniscameron.com and his band Cynical Limit at www.cynicallimit.com Well, it's been fun!