Early Years

Born and raised in London, England, Dean was subjected to many musical influences throughout his formative years as a musician. Starting out on the violin at the age of nine in primary school, Dean began to master the intricate concepts of this challenging instrument. Under the tuition of superb mentors, Dean's rapid progress was evident and he began listening to and being influenced by such violin greats as Paganini and Vivaldi.

This early fascination with the baroque and classical genres stayed with Dean and is still a powerful influence in his current playing and songwriting. The works of such giants as J. S. Bach and W. A. Mozart were also inspiring to the young violinist and Dean began performing with local school orchestras. This included concerts at the prestigious "fairfield halls" in Croydon, England. Dean continued his voilin studies for a few more years and was the recipient of the prize for major progress at his primary school - a copy of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" which he still has in his vinyl collection!

London, being the smelting pot of musical styles, was influential in everyday life. Punk and reggae had a strong following in the south-east of London and it was during this time that Dean decided to undergo a musical change and abandon his violin.

Moving to Australia, Dean had developed a strong appreciation of heavy music. It wasn't until he heard the sheer power and intricacy of Steve Harris' playing in Iron Maiden that he realised his calling. The album was "Piece of Mind" and upon the first listen, Dean knew that he would become an electric bass player.

Saving his money and working summer jobs in high school provided Dean with enough funds to purchase a Fender copy bass, upon which he mercilessly practised! The influence of bands such as Iron Maiden and Rush gave birth to his own style and technique, one which was noticed by many local musicians. It was during this time that Dean's songwriting began in earnest. Performing and writing in various rock and cover bands ensued and Dean honed his craft at countless high school gigs and private functions. Playing a gig with the original funk-metal band, "S2CP", Dean came into contact with a Mr Dave Hargeaves: a like-minded individual who was fast becoming one of the best guitarists on the scene.

Dave had begun a project involving musical styles that Dean was more than familiar with and with the voice of a Mr Stuart Weatherman out front, this became the trio based incarnation of the progressive metal band "Titanium". What followed was an intense few years of song writing, auditioning and strengthening of creative wills. The result of which (after various drummer changes) came to fruition in the form of a three track e.p. "Lost Soul" with Damien Evans on drums.

The short lived success of this line-up prompted Dean and Dave to take "Titanium" to the next level. During this phase of re-evaluation and further auditions, Dean and Dave had been writing and creating some of their best work to date.

Surprisingly, less than eighteen months later, "Titanium" was back in the studio, back on the gigging scene and back with the best progressive rock line-up ever. The band was in incredible form with the masterful keyboard playing of Sean Vournazos, the mind-blowing power of Mark McLeod behind the kit and the classically inspired female vocals of Ms Elissa Coffman being added. Unfortunately, this was to be the close of another chapter in the history of "Titanium".

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