Denny's next band was just as eventful. The Fa band was the trio of Denny Carleton (guitar and vocals), Fred Grupe (bass), and Mac Chaefer (drums). They played local YMCA's, bars, and schools, developing a large cult following who enjoyed hearing the originals as well the band satirizing the 70's rock scene. Mac wanted to be more serious and left, but Fred and Dennis continued playing every night to the beat of a different drummer - literally! Occasionally, an extra guitar player appeared, or perhaps a harmony singer, usually ending in a free-for-all jam session with anyone who wished joining in. In 1975, he appeared on WMMS Coffee Break Concert, doing his  originals.

Afterwords, Dennis was approached by Dave "99" Hayward's Precious Records about putting out an E.P. Denny's tunes Could She Love Me and Pregnant Molly were on one side, while Al Globakars' If I Only Had The Bomb was on the other.

All this publicity changed the Fa band, which was re-formed with permanent members: Denny (vocals and guitar), Ralph Viviano (drums), Dann Schneider (lead guitar), Fred Grupe (bass) and Joe Balaszic (vocals). The band played locally for about a year until they broke up for a short time.The band was reformed as Inner City , but Ralph had gotten another gig with Eric Robertson, so Bruce Moore became the drummer and the band added his wife Pam's female vocals doing Heart covers along with originals from Dan and Denny. The band played mostly at the Phantasy Theatre in Lakewood before breaking up after just five months. Pam went on to sing back up with Bob Seger and then Meatloaf, while Dan became a staff songwriter for a N.Y. publishing firm.

That same year Green Light also issued The New Cleveland Green Light Sampler , featuring many local Cleveland artists including Wally Bryson's Sittin Ducks. Because of the success of all these tapes, Option Magazine featured Dennis in a full page article about his career.

As a result of the article, mail poured in and Jim Marquardt joined Green Light and helped organized it. In 1986, the first Green Light catalog was issued, featuring Denny's tapes, a dozen local artists, the Cleaners from Venus (from England), and other musicians from around the world. The tape label was similar to "K cassettes.". Green Light was mentioned by the New York Times as one of the established 'cassette only' companies in the U.S. Anastasia Pantsios, in her Plain Dealer article, said that Green Light was one of Cleveland's five legitimate record labels.

Between 1983 and 1990 , Dennis released nine solo cassettes and was known as one of the few musicians doing home taping in the Alternative underground music scene. [ Click here for more information on the underground music scene ] His music was played on over 300 College and Public Radio stations, including WFMU in New Jersey, and CKLN in Toronto, Ontario. CKLN in Toronto and WAIF in Cincinnatti, Ohio. Both did two hour programs on his home tapes and sixties music. He appeared live in Toronto on CKLN. Some of the best of this music is included in his catalog on this website.
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One of the most oddest home tapes was his radio drama Who's Been Fooling Who? [Real Audio Complete Text ] It concerns an idealistic musician in the future who is trying to escape the confusion in the world through music, communication and art. Lance, the main character, is being trained to submit confusing information into a symbol translator which then helps him weave through the maze of  confusion and helps him live. This Sci-Fi. Lo-Fi drama was reviewed favorably by Dino Dimuro, in Option magazine, and it was also performed by the Willoughby School of Fine Arts Theatre Workshop.

Dennis received a scholarship from Cuyahoga Community College in 1988 [ Click here for more information on Denny's  time at Cuyahoga Comunnity College ] , where it helped to sharpen his teaching skills and helped to broaden his music to include classical, jazz and arrangements. He was then hired by the College to teach music, be a consultant and play bass for their cultural art shows about the history of rock, which took place at the State Theatre in Playhouse Square. A fellow teacher and friend Paul Schmidt recorded his song If I Had a Bride during this same interval. Dennis composed an avante garde jazz duet at this time with vibe player Cecil Rucker, entitled Nations I Have Never Seen and a classical piece written for a string quartet entitled Fall to Winter Flight .

Late in the 80's, a man by the name of Bob Pilskaln started Just Guise as a group that did parodies for a local Cleveland DJ named John  Lanigan, who mc'd Cleveland's most popular morning drive program. [Click here for more information on Just Guise. Real Audio Sample Web Site ] Just Guise would take a song like Margaritaville and do a parody singing Cuyahogaville instead. (Cuyahoga county is the county where Cleveland is located). They would use famous songs to poke fun at Cleveland and it's politicians and leaders. At some point Bob wanted to expand into more original songs and into college radio. That is where Dennis  entered the picture.

Bob and Denny did skits on Just Guises' college radio program that was broadcast locally on WUJC (John Carrol's radio station) and the syndicated nationally (via satellite) by u-net to 300 college radio stations. Dennis was in "Just Guise" from 1988 to 1990 when Bob decided to go in another direction with his creativity: he began teaching college. 
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In 1989 , Dennis  married Theresa Galish; and they played in bands for awhile and found their niche as a folk duet in area coffee shops, libraries, churches and bookstores. The Carletons, as they were sometimes called, played Denny's originals plus had a song list of over 350 tunes in the progressive folk music tradition of Austin City Limits. Theresa and Dennis  also played on the same bill as country artists Radney Foster, Leroy Parnell and Steve Wariner.  As a duo, they had two tapes released in 1995 and 1996, play regionally and have had two newspaper articles done about their folk act. Theresa and Dennis also did church services for St Mary's Mentor (Teen Life mass), St Paul Presbyterian Church, St Mary Collinwood, VA St. Joseph High School, St Felicitas and St. Christine's.They went their separate ways  in 1999 .

Dennis released his "Retro" tape in the 90's, and  also began to compose music for the theatre. The first play was The Phantom Tollbooth, and the music was composed in 1990 [The Phantom Tollbooth]. During this time he also wrote music from the poems of his distant cousin, Will Carleton poems (1845-1912); he was the Poet Laureate of Michigan [Will Carleton] . He also outlined the beginning o the Will Carleton play with Janet Shank of the Willoughby Fine Arts. Later in the decade, 1997 to be exact, Denny wrote music for Way Out Cinderella for the Chagrin Valley Little Theater. This was followed in 1998 by being commissioned to write St. Paul's Presbyterians churches theme song Let's be Glad .

Radio once again appeared in Denny's career when, from 1999 to 2003, he hosted his own radio show on WELW and interviewing local Cleveland musicians. He also composed music for a play about Catholic Saints performed at the St. Joseph Christian Life Center in 2001.

Another commission came during 2003 by the School of Fine Arts to write music for the Ohio Bicentennial, for which he wrote Beautiful Spring (Real), and Ohio (Video).  These songs were performed by the Willoughby  Fine Arts Children's  summer camp. Again theses songs were performed in 2004 by The Peaceful Children's Montessori School at the Geuaga Little Theatre.

Currently, Denny is very active in all sorts of venues. Besides writing music for plays, Dennis performs solo playing out an average of three times a week at coffeehouses, wineries, nursing homes, churches, private affairs and book stores. He also plays with musicians backing him on his songs including Fred Grupe, John Halvka, Ed Mills and Art Lazar. He organizes a coffeehouse series at the Fine Arts Association in Willoughby, Ohio and The Christian Family Bookstore.

His Christian music finds him and his group leading contemporary praise music every other week at Sts. Cosmos and Damian in Twinsburg, Ohio, as well as going to different Catholic Churches in the diocese to lead various parishes in worship. At the Peaceful Children's Montesorri school, he plays his music with the choir for Wednesday morning masses, at 8:30AM.

At both the Fine Arts Association and Our Lady of Mount Carmell, he teaches guitar and has a teaching DVD available.

He has 8 CDS available including, Whiskey Island which was  released Dec. 1, 1999  and a two new in 2005 , Living Saints and This Is Your Life . His complete catalog is available on the this website, including Retro with bonus tracks which traces his musical rock n roll career from the 1960s to 1990.

To order any Denny Carleton CDS go through CDBABY : http://www.cdbaby.com/all/carleton