Welcome to dvisionarymusic.com The music of Dean Vallecillo

Dean Vallecillo

Lead and backing vocals, Bass Guitars.

New Orleans Roots

It only makes sense that a city as culturally and musically diverse as New Orleans, Louisiana, would produce musicians of a higher caliber. Traditional Jazz, Zydeco, and a combination of Funk, Soul, R&B, and Afro-Cuban polyrhythms waft through the air among the Oak trees that line St Charles Avenue on a Mardi Gras morning (or any morning for that matter). It's a way of life. You eat it,  drink it, breathe it, and  bathe in it from the time you're old enough to hear because it is everywhere. It's in your soul, and if you are a musician fortunate enough to be born into this musical Gumbo, you are flavored for life. A little pinch of dis, a little bit of dat… You get the idea.

The Progressive Rock Influence

The 70s brought a lot of changes to the American musical landscape. And while the long shadows still being cast by legendary New Orleans music giants such as Professor Longhair, Erma Thomas, The Neville Brothers and Dr John were still part of every budding New Orleans musician's musical pedigree, the very first form of "alternative music" was finding it's way onto the Tulane University radio station (WTUL) and subsequently the corporate rock stations as well. For a brief shining moment, New Orleans became a Progressive Rock (what we now call Prog) haven, and out of this symphonic maelstrom of odd time signatures and cinematic (if not substance-induced) lyrical imagery came a bass guitarist by the name of Dean Vallecillo.

Singing since the age of 5 and playing the odd instrument in different grade school bands, Dean got his first Bass Guitar at the age of 13 (1973). The 1970s were a time of musical changes that especially influenced the musicians of The Crescent City. The early teen years of being holed up in your bedroom for 10 hours a day learning how to play like Chris Squire and Greg Lake, sing like John Wetton or Steve Walsh (good luck with that) but most importantly how to write songs like Peter Gabriel, Kerry Livgren or Ian Anderson was the single most important pursuit that separated him from most players. The joke in more than one band went something like "Hey! Somebody's looking for Dean! Where is he?" "Oh… He's probably off somewhere writing a song". Dean began writing songs very early and had contributed lyrics and songs to every band he'd played in. Dean was the complete package, not only an exceptional player and vocalist and songwriter, but also a commanding stage presence that a lot of other bands took notice of. One such band was a powerhouse 5-piece from San Antonio, Texas named Heyoka.

Heyoka and the Move to San Antonio

Heyoka was undeniably one of the greatest unsigned bands to ever come out of San Antonio, Texas. A band that was a combination of Jethro Tull (Singer Mike Grothues was a virtuoso flutist) and Kansas, with a noticeable helping of Stranglehold era Ted Nugent thrown in for good measure, this band knew how to tear up a stage! Having played many shows with Heyoka, Dean and the band knew each other very well, so when bass guitarist Pat Hood decided to come off the road and leave the band, there was never any doubt as to who could fill those sizable shoes. So, in February of 1983, Dean packed his belongings into his '76 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, hooked a trailer to the back, loaded up his gear, and left New Orleans for the Heavy Metal Capital of the Southwest, San Antonio, Texas.

San Antonio was a completely different animal from New Orleans. Over the years, New Orleans had become stale with the lone rock radio station refusing to take chances on anything that wasn't Zeppelin, Stones, or Beatles. San Antonio station" KISS" on the other hand played everything coming out of LA, New York, and across the pond, if it was metal or if it rocked reasonably hard, they played it! Didn't matter if no one had even heard of a band before, if it got played, they soon had a following. This was very advantageous for all the local bands as well because they also got their share of radio airplay. Heyoka had been in and out of the studio since 1977 and had a wealth of material in the can and subsequently on the airwaves. So, on a sunny February day in 1983, Heyoka Mark 3 was born with Mark 2 members Mike Grothues on vocals, Gerardo Ramirez on drums, and David Alcocer on guitar, along with Dean Vallecillo on bass and newly recruited Pall Therrell on keyboards. Things moved fast in this band, after only being in the band for one-week Heyoka went out on the road to support another up-and-coming band out of San Francisco called "Night Ranger" who at the time was promoting their first album Dawn Patrol and preparing themselves ready to go out on the road with Sammy Hager to support the 3 Lock Box album. Dean went from playing an empty club in Houma, LA, to playing to 3k people a night in one week! Life was grand indeed.

Now, Texas is big! Really Big! (The Douglas Adams reference here is intentional and fitting) "You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly BIG it is"! Bands can make a living within its borders (or not), and not ever have to leave the state. Vehicles could be run straight into the ground, driving between the circuits of Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, and those are just the big cities. So, Heyoka was always on the road. A tremendous amount of songwriting work was accomplished in the first year. Heyoka opened for many national acts and spent what little time they did have at home in the studio recording the songs the new members (Dean especially) brought with them. But after just under a year and a half, the record deal the band had spent all those years chasing never materialized, and the feeling began to creep in amongst some members that the band Heyoka had seen it's day, and it was time to try something new. So, with the departures of David and Paul, the three remaining members, Mike, Gerardo, and Dean, set about retooling the band to make it more metal but still have the Prog Rock foundation that suited them best, and then, as if on cue, in walks Jonathan Grell…

The Texas Circuit and Winterkat

Winterkat was a band that had already recorded an EP on a homegrown label when Jon found himself in the unenviable position of having to replace his entire band. Classically trained, highly disciplined, and a student of guitarists like Uli Jon Roth, Ritchie Blackmore, and Randy Rhoads, Jon had the neo-classical approach to guitar that Dean, Mike, and Gerardo were looking for. An absolute shredder and without a doubt, the hand's down best guitarist in town at the time. A blazing lead guitarist who was also one of the finest rhythm guitarists Dean felt he had ever played with, and that's much rarer than you might think. Initially, Jon was only in the market for a singer and started working with Mike on new material, but could not get Mike to commit because, as Mike would tell him, "He was a package deal and came with a rhythm section". Bit of an issue as Jon already had a drummer named Marcus Steven, but no problem here, Multi-instrumentalist Gerardo Ramirez played keyboards as well, as did Marcus. So, the two of them would simply trade off on drums and keyboards.

Winterkat began playing the same circuit as Heyoka did before they disbanded, and as there were still a fair number of Heyoka fans in Texas and Louisiana, the gigs were not hard to get. So, the band spent a lot of time on the road. In 1985, the band traveled to Dallas to record The Struggle, which would be Winterkat' s second release. This album got a significant amount of airplay in and around Texas, particularly the song "Light of Day" penned by Jon and Mike, and as a result, Winterkat was a big draw for a while, which enabled them to open for recording artists such as Yngwie Malmsteen. But just like Heyoka before them, there were no record companies lining up to sign them. Winterkat spent 1986 touring and writing new material, such as the Grell/Vallecillo-penned "Someone's Calling", a solid rocker very much in the vein of Dokken. With the return of Keyboardist Paul Therrell in December of 86, Winterkat had hit their stride as a performing/ recording act and was regionally known as a GREAT live band. And while the lack of record company interest was not what the band had hoped for, the members of Winterkat were determined to continue writing and recording until someone showed up with a contract in hand.      And then it all started to unravel…  In early 1987, a falling out occurred between the band and one of the bigger promoters in San Antonio, which, as a result, meant that their ability to open for national acts came to a complete stop. Winterkat was now "persona non grata" in their hometown and started discussing the option of moving the band out of town. Jon Grell was set on moving to Los Angeles, but Dean felt L.A. was not the place for a prog metal band and that they should relocate to Dallas instead, work their way up to the Midwest, and then take on New York. With the other members non-committal either way and Jon already planning his move to LA, Dean decided to say his goodbyes and relocate to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minneapolis and the Brian Bart Project

In 1987, Winterkat was booked on a tour that was supposed to take them from Phoenix, AZ, then out to L. A and San Diego, California, then back to Texas with a stop in El Paso. As it turned out, however, the California leg of the tour was canceled, but the band was able to salvage the Phoenix and El Paso leg. While in Phoenix, Dean met a lady he would eventually marry. She was from Minnesota and was only working in Phoenix for the season. An avid rock fan and longtime friend of a Minneapolis band called Dare Force, she clued him in to the fact that there were hard rock music scenes in the upper Midwest that rivaled anything in Texas, and a quick trip up to Minnesota to see for himself bore this out. So once again, Dean loaded up his 1976 Olds Cutlass Supreme, pulled out of SA, and headed for the great white north, the land of ten thousand lakes (and ten thousand working musicians).

Dare Force and Firepower

At this time, Dare Force had disbanded, and guitarist Brian Bart had just finished a solo album called "Future Vision" with much of the music recorded at his home studio, "Logic Recording" in the Minneapolis suburb of Medicine Lake, where all of Visionary Man was also recorded. Having finished the record, Brian was looking for a band to go out and play his album along with some Dare Force favorites as well. It was around this time that a copy of Winterkat "The Struggle" found its way into his hands, along with the information that this cool-looking Bass player from Texas was in the process of relocating to Minnesota. The initial meeting with Brian went very well, as it was established from the outset that Brian and Dean had similar tastes in music, shared the same drive to be successful, and shared the same work ethic. After a few weeks, Brian pulled the trigger on the Brian Bart Project and started rehearsals with longtime Dare Force drummer Mark Miller. Within another few weeks, the three-piece BBP began playing shows in and around Minneapolis/ St Paul that included opening shows for groups like Savatage. After a few months, however, Mark Miller was forced to come off the road due to a medical condition similar to Carpal Tunnel, which affected his ability to hold onto his drumsticks. Mark and Brian had been playing together almost since High School, and even Dean and Mark had become very close, so this was a very disappointing loss all around. Brian and Dean began the search for a new drummer to fill Mark's vacated spot, but if memory serves, they only tried out one drummer; that drummer was Paul Peterson. Paul was a well-known and respected drummer in the Twin Cities, fresh from a brief stint with the legendary English group Badfinger. Paul had a rock steady meter and Great chops and technique. A very heavy hitter as well, Paul could have passed off as the little brother of Tommy Aldridge (played like him too)! And while Mark was a great drummer with great feel, Paul brought a little more depth and power to the band's sound, and after a couple of weeks, BBP was back on the circuit.

Around this time, Brian (who, of course, owned his studio) started talking about recording the next BBP album. The band was already playing live versions of a few of the songs that eventually ended up on the Dare Force Fire Power album, such as "Cold and Lonely Nights", "Middle of the Night", and "Evil Woman". So when Brian approached Dean and asked if he had any songs he would like to commit to tape Dean's reply was "Oh have I got some songs for you"… Dean had a couple of songs he had been formulating since 85 hoping they might go onto the next Winterkat album, those songs were "Stand Alone" and " Hold on tight" both of which appeared on the Firepower album.

The Brian Bart Project continued for a few more months with these new songs making their way onto the set list when Brian and Johnny O'Neil (the Dare Force's 2nd guitar player) began discussing the possibility of putting Dare Force back together again with the two new guys.

Dare Force had been a highly respected and influential band not only in the Twin Cities but all over the Midwest, down to the Southwest, and on one occasion even played a large concert in Venezuela. Dare Force toured relentlessly for close to ten years and had gone through multiple lineup changes without alienating their fan base. Some of the notable Dare Force revolving door Alumni include vocalist Xeno, who was the original singer for Cheap Trick. Also, vocalist David Reece, who later went on to replace Udo Dirkschneider as the lead singer for the German Heavy Metal Group Accept, as well as fronting Bangalore Choir. It was during David's tenure that even Brian Bart left Dare Force to explore a short-lived opportunity with a band called DVC that had signed a record deal with Sony Records. DVC Drummer Johnnie Bolin (the younger brother of guitarist Tommy Bolin) was also in DVC, and Brian brought him into Dare Force upon his return to the Band. Johnnie Bolin later went on to play drums for Black Oak Arkansas. But throughout the years, the band had mostly revolved around the Bart O'Neil guitar duo, and it was not a stretch to believe the Dare Force faithful would hold true to the band, so long as that long-time tandem guitar team was in place- this would always be Dare Force. Brian and John had been playing together since High School, and the telepathy that developed between them was as formidable as it was effortless. From their slightly different tonal qualities to their complementary execution, they were as strong a duo as Gary Moore/ Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy or Andy Powell/ Ted Turner of Wishbone Ash. Rounding out the new lineup was newly recruited vocalist Karl Young, himself a long-time Twin City veteran gifted with an extremely powerful voice and an even more powerful range. This was not a band of newbies but a band of seasoned and road-tested professionals who meant business. And the first order of business was the recording of the Firepower album.

Visionary Man Begins

So much has been written about this classic album, Firepower, that we will not rehash it here, but as all things in time come to an end, so did this version of Dare Force. What came out of Firepower, however, was not only a brotherhood (as all bands are) but an outlet for a bass guitarist far from home that never lost sight of that point on the horizon. And while no one knows if that point will ever be reached (because it's all about the journey). the journey continues, only now the journey is about to become Visionary.

It is now that the story breaks down to Dean and Brian, and Dean's brainchild, which was to become the album Visionary Man. Brian was already an accomplished studio engineer when Dean came into the Brian Bart Project, and Logic Recording was already making a name for itself as a legitimate place to put music to tape in Minneapolis/ St Paul. At this time, Brian already had a regular client list and recorded many Twin Cities bands, starting with his own solo record "Future Vision"(are you seeing a prophetic synchronic connection here?) (I am) (Dang, what is in this coffee?). By the time they finished up the Firepower record, Brian had almost two dozen releases under his belt. Fast forward to this writing, and he has released over 400 records and recorded guitar tracks on more than 150, which includes a solo album from Night Ranger's Kelly Keagy. So yes, Brian really knew his way around a studio.

A short time before the album mastering was completed, Brian and Dean started to think about songs for a follow-up album to Firepower. As it turned out, Dean had not one or two new songs but four! As a writer, Dean has a rare gift in that he can write songs almost completely in his head… Writing from a vocal melody line first, the chord arrangements begin to fall into place along with the vocal stylings and word syllables, which then dictate the lyrics. All this he can carry around with him for years if need be. The four songs he was holding onto were songs he had been developing since 1986 during the Winterkat days. Those songs were" Visionary Man", "All Come Home Again", "Hold on", and "What Love Should Be". So, while the band was waiting for the finished product to come back (the mastering was being completed in New York), Dean, Brian, and Paul started hashing out these new songs and putting rhythm tracks to tape. This carried on for a few weeks while the new master was being transferred to compact discs and the finished product was being assembled. All of this was happening at the same time that the new Dare Force was starting to play shows. So between the shows, band rehearsals, photo shoots and all the other crazy that ensues when a new band is first coming out, Dean, Brian and Paul would duck into the studio at any opportunity so Dean could show them the next part of one of the four songs and try to get a take.

Firepower’s Fallout and Visionary Man’s Journey

And then… It was all gone!

The album release day for the Firepower album was an interesting day, to say the least. Boxes and Boxes of CDs arrived and started taking up space in Brian's studio because on the day the album was released, Dare Force's management company went belly up! Oh, and said company was also the distributor… Dare Force was stuck with a van load of CDs and no way to sell them other than at the gigs, bad day all around. Add to this that the club owners were already starting to make noise about wanting the band to start throwing a few covers into their set list, and it was not long before the muttering started (not what I signed up for). At about the same time, it was now looking like Dean would be moving to Detroit soon anyway, so Dean gave the band 2 months' notice, and that, as they say, is that. In the two months that followed, Dean played out all of the gigs that Dare Force had booked while they worked with their new bassist. Around this time, Brian asked Dean what his plans for the four VM songs might be. Brien suggested that he finish them and start shopping for the record labels. Dean agreed and started making plans to fly back to MPLS from Detroit in a couple of months, which, of course, he did. This was in 1989, and while in Detroit, Dean had an opportunity to finish the lyrics to all four songs so that on his return, he was carrying a finished product to lay down. After the completion of what was then the Visionary Man Demo and upon his return to Detroit, Dean set about shopping this demo to every record label he could. How does that Genesis song go? "No reply at all"? Sounds about right, I mean crickets. Dean got no replies, and all his follow-up calls went unanswered throughout the years between 1989 and 1990. Dean continued to shop his songs and write new ones. Despite the disappointment of not so much as a nibble of interest, the new songs were turning out to be just as good as the first four, and he was not the least bit dispirited. In the fall of 1991, Dean and his now wife had the opportunity to move back to Minneapolis, and almost upon arrival, he booked studio time with Brian and Paul and started teaching them the new songs. Dean spent 91 to early 93 going in and out of Logic Recording, laying tracks whenever he had a few spare hours and a bit of cash to spend. By the time Dean and family moved out to the Seattle area in 93, what had started as a demo was turning into a full-blown Solo album with some of the most monstrously talented people available in the Twin Cities, and courtesy of Brian's expanding Rolodex of heavy hitters, this was getting fun!

Dean came back to Minneapolis from Seattle to finish the project in the early part of 93, and while happy with the end product, it was now very apparent that this music was not going to go anywhere. So, Dean and Brian did a final mix, put it in a box, and closed the lid.

A New Chapter and Rediscovery

Dean continued to write and record sporadically throughout the 90s at Logic Studios, recording more adult-sounding material and Christian Crossover and trying to keep his earlier material as close to the vest as possible. In the spring of 2003, however, he got a call from Brian who said, "We just got signed to a label deal! Wanna go play Japan?" It seems that the boxes and boxes of Dare Force CDs that were still sitting in Brian's studio when Dean produced his 90s recordings and were at the time being used for doorstops, had started making their way over to Europe and Japan in one's and two's and were now selling at 75 dollars apiece. This is the point at which a label stepped in and put out the album with bonus tracks. One of those bonus tracks was "All Come Home Again" from the Visionary Man project. Fast forward to 2023, and Melodicrock.com compilation #14 picks another song off the Visionary Man album, "Defiant," which also becomes the title track. At this point, Dean felt that maybe the time was right to send Visionary Man out into the world and see what happens.

Dean continues to perform from time to time and has never stopped writing. In the past few years, Dean has shared the stage with David Pack (Ambrosia), Brian Culbertson, Billy Dean, and several other incredible performers. His next music project is currently in development and hopes to be out next year of the year after. In the meantime, enjoy this time capsule from a bygone era, after over 30 years, the Man has arrived.