Bradley Denson, Troy native and current resident of Cincinnati, recently recieved a gold record for work he did producing the band CAAMP’s debut album “Vagabond” in 2016.
Photo taken from Bradley Denson’s Facebook page.
A gold record Bradley Denson recently recieved for his work producing the band CAAMP’s debut album “Vagabond” in 2016.
Photo taken from Bradley Denson’s Facebook page.
Bradley Denson with his late son Sage Denson.
Photo taken from Bradley Denson’s Facebook page.
Solistic on stage in 2023 at the annual Gem City Mardi Gras Threauxdown live event in downtown Dayton. This year’s fourth annual event will be held on Feb. 10. Bradley Denson’s band Solistic is the house band that invites guest musicians to join in playing authentic music played in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
By Sheryl Roadcap
DAYTON — It was totally unexpected, but a long time coming.
A few days before Christmas, a package arrived at the door of Troy native Bradley Denson, who now resides in Cincinnati.
“I had no clue what it was. And then I opened it to find a gold record for my work with CAAMP’s debut album,” Denson shared in a Facebook post on Dec. 21.
CAAMP is a self-proclaimed folk trio from Ohio that makes “beautiful noise.” They are from the Columbus area and released their debut album in 2016 on Square Roots Records, Denson’s former Troy recording studio, listening room and event space, where he produced the band’s first album named “Vagabond.”
“In 2016, I embarked on a journey to open a studio to host live recordings and find young artists with the ‘it’ factor, long with my friend, Jesse Henry. Jesse contacted me about a student of his playing songs with his best friend in Athens, Ohio,” his Facebook post explained.
Denson, a musician, bass player, writer, sound engineer, producer and music promoter, is involved with all aspects of music, including founding and organizing the now fourth annual Gem City Mardi Gras Threauxdown live event in downtown Dayton, and is co-founder of the now discontinued Miami Valley Music Festival that was held annually in Troy for over 10 years. He is a founding member of the popular former Troy band, Lost on Iddings, which has disbanded. He currently is a member of two other bands, called Finnigan-Denson Incident and Solistic, as well as dabbles with a side project called Wolf Moon Revival.
“We put them (CAAMP) on the Miami Valley Music Fest lineup to give them a listen. A few weeks later, we went in the studio. It was a Full Super Blood moon with a Lunar Eclipse. We all held hands and Jesse gave a stirring blessing about us connecting our energies together. We did, and Magic happened,” continued Denson’s Facebook post about the gold record.
Denson’s Square Roots studio closed in April 2016 due to a conflict with an occupancy permit that he said was issued wrongfully by the city of Troy and then was retracted, yet “Vagabond” was recorded there before he closed his doors and left town.
“So this is special. It was the only thing I got to produce from my dream. Lost literally everything in my life for taking a chance. I knew what I was doing and I was right. So I will cherish this as validation. I will say this made it all worth it to watch two young men put in the work and live their dreams out.
“Take chances. Chase Dreams. Do it with a pure heart and you will get something that can NEVER BE TAKEN FROM YOU!!!! Thank you Evan Westfall, Taylor Meier and Jesse Henry. Let’s do another one!”
Henry, of Newark, also received a gold record for his work on the “Vagabond” album. Denson laments not having more time to realize his dreams in the studio he poured his life into.
“In 10 months I produced a hit album. I was right. Imagine if I had more time,” Denson said. “That was what was going on up there (in his Square Roots studio); it wasn’t a party hole.”
Denson told Miami Valley Today prior to a Solistic practice session, in a space in the basement of one of his best friends/band member’s homes in Dayton, that he was shocked to receive the record, but feels validated. The gold record and the cash that came with it was validating, he said, but the real reward is changing people’s lives by being a good human and helping others when you can.
He recalled collecting, along with Henry, 500 pounds of used instruments to donate and the funds needed to ship them to an AIDS orphanage in Kenya, Africa, to start a music school. One of the students who received one of those instruments learned to play, and was part of a class that sent a video back of them playing a song, eventually came America to attend college and pursue music.
“If we were able to change one life, it was worth it,” Denson said. “Just trying to be a good human.”
Sometimes Denson thinks about possibly having another studio someday, but for now, especially after numerous life challenges, from losing his studio and the thousands of dollars he put into it, a divorce and the death of his oldest child Sage Denson in summer 2023, he is enjoying a more simple life being surrounded by good friends.
“I have that urge to do something else still, just not sure what that is yet,” Denson said of his future plans.
For tickets or more information about the 2024 Gem City Mardi Gras Threauxdown at the Brightside Music & Event Venue in downtown Dayton, go to the Facebook page created for the event at https://www.facebook.com/events/898431941913798
