Bad Dog U
BAD DOG U was formed in 1986 by guitarist Ernie Denov. After 12 years as a music mercenary, he had a burning desire to create a musical enviroment that would fulfill his artistic needs as a performer and composer, which led to the inception of BAD DOG U. The first incarnation of the band was called "The Ernie Denov Band;" the members were Ernie, Dave Derge on drums, Jake Kot on bass and Rick Snyder on keyboards. Jake moved to Portland, Oregon and was replaced by Dave Farley on bass, who had worked with Ernie in a popular five night a week Top 40 band. Dave Derge eventually moved out to Los Angeles, California and was replaced by Mark Walker. After several years and many performances with the band, Mark moved to NYC, New York and was replaced by Rick Vitek. Early in 2004, Rick Snyder accepted a position as musical director with the touring troupe of the Broadway musical, "The Lion King," and had to resign from Bad Dog U. That setback led to a total revamping of the group, with new members Larry Kohut on bass, Tom Hipskind on drums and Vijay Tellis-Nayak on keyboards. Ernie is still in close contact with all former members of the band, loves them dearly as friends and as musicians, and hopes to work with all of them on future creative endeavors.
BAD DOG U has fluctuated between active times and dormant times in the course of the band's career. The band has always had a loyal cult following in the Chicago area, and hopes to expand their fan base with the long awaited release of their self titled debut album.