R.I.P. Dennis Becker (1953-2024)

I'd like to send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Sykotyk Rampage bassist Dennis Becker, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 70 after a long battle with cancer. His obituary is now up on SooToday, where it notes that he is survived by his wife Sylvia, two daughters, two step-children, his dog Lily, and his brothers Rutger, Paul, and Dirk, among his other extended family members. Dennis was also predeceased by his brother Terry, a musician himself who played guitar in bands like Phlashback. While there will be no funeral, a celebration of life will take place at a later date. Donations in Dennis' name can be made to the Sault Area Hospital Foundation Cancer Care Fund by way of An Evening At Hogwarts, and arrangements are entrusted to the Northwood Funeral Home. While arguably best known to SMS readers from his long association with his brothers Paul & Dirk's band Sykotyk Rampage, he has many other credits to his name dating back to the 1970s.

Dennis was among the members of Zak's All-Stars in the 1980s, and more recently performed with local blues musician Paul DellaVedova (including on his "Born With The Blues" CD in 2012), among other projects. Modern streaming credits on Sykotyk Rampage's 70 albums often seem very generalized, so I'm not 100% sure what material Dennis (a.k.a. "E'Or") recorded on, but he was involved with the masters of the crash in their early run and their first few albums in the early-mid 2000s, likely including 2006's "E'Or - Den" (fans may want to check out "Dirty Washroom Blues" from that album in particular, as Terry Becker guested on it!). Dennis' presence was still felt in the Sykotyk camp even this year, with "Sinned" being among the protagonists (all with band members' first names reversed) on their new concept album & comic book "Waerlogas Sagas 1", which will be reviewed here later this month.

I didn't know Dennis personally, but my mom was friends with Dirk and Paul dating back to high school, and I was very aware of how close the Becker brothers were throughout the years, on and off the stage. Dennis definitely came across like a good man who loved his family, and he was a talented musician from what I have heard. Having lost my mom to cancer as well, my thoughts are absolutely with Erin, Megan, and the entire Becker clan at this difficult time, and hopefully there are lots of positive remembrances to come from those who knew him. R.I.P. Dennis!