Dennis Roberts:  

After graduating from San Marcos High School, I attended San Francisco State College, smoked too much dope, slacked on my studies, and dropped out. I bummed around a lot, hitch-hiking and smoking more dope. I lived for a time in Seattle, WA, where I tried to become a salesman (I was dismal), but mostly I just hung around the U District and smoked more dope. I finally moved back to the Santa Barbara area, living in my sister's garage in Isla Vista and pumping gas for Hal's Chevron in Goleta and Buck Fisher's station in downtown Santa Barbara. I was there when the infamous Isla Vista riots went down. So, I smoked some more dope... I have always been employed, as I like to eat every day and I always thought that having a roof over my head was kinda cool. I always loved to drive, so, after a series of inconsequential jobs and musical gigs, I started driving cabs in Oxnard, CA. The cab driving job was open because the guy who had it before me got his head blown off with a shotgun down in Port Hueneme while on duty. I drove cab in Oxnard and Santa Barbara from 1972 to 1978. I met Mark Melni in 1978 at Santa Barbara City College, in the music department, where I was studying music and playing trumpet in the band, orchestra and jazz ensemble. Mark's father, Art Melni, was a musician and owned a charter bus company. I got a job in his yard servicing buses, and soon was trained to drive them. While I was working for Melni, I realized my responsibility as a professional driver, and I stopped sm...Expand for more