Dennis Demerjian: Drums, vocals
Some would call Dennis quiet and reserved. Others have said that compared to Dennis, Marcel Marceau was a chatterbox on a meth binge. When asked his thoughts on the issue, as expected, Dennis refused to comment.
Just prior to Dennis joining the band, Thief had a veritable revolving door of drummers joining and quitting the band in quick succession (probably because the band wasn’t really very good). In fact, the scene in the movie This Is Spinal Tap, where the band keeps losing and replacing drummers, was actually based on the experiences of Thief*.
At any Thief gig, Dennis is easily recognizable on stage. Most obviously because he will be the only one pounding on things with sticks, and more subtly because he will be the one with all of the unconsumed shooters sitting next to him (note to fans: don’t waste money buying Dennis drinks, instead, buy more for the rest of the band). Dennis is a member of that radical cult of musicians that doesn't believe that alcohol improves one’s performance. Thank god he just sits in the back and keeps his mouth shut instead of trying to convert the weak-minded to his extremist views.
Little known fact about Dennis: Like all other Thief drummers before him, he has attempted to quit the band on several occasions. Each time, his older brother Dave threatens to tell mom and Dennis backs down.
*The Spinal Tap movie was originally about Thief and the working title of the film was This Is Thief. Original director Alfred Hitchcock cast Cary Grant to play the part of Dennis, but when it was discovered, purely by accident, that Grant was woefully inadequate on the drums, Hitchcock changed the title of the film to To Catch a Thief, rejected the band concept completely and turned it into a romantic crime thriller. As a result of studio politics, when the idea for the original rockumentary resurfaced, Spinal Tap was chosen as the band in the film.