Born and raised in upstate New York, Dennis Shortslef was learning to play guitar by the time he was 6 years old. At the age of 16, he joined a popular top-forty band as lead guitarist. He left that band when he went to college and started playing more acoustic folk-pop music. He began writing Christian songs and sharing them in a marriage enrichment ministry that his wife Cece and he were involved in. In 1992 Dennis and his brother Don recorded their first project and started ministering in various churches around the country, a ministry that lasted for 12 years and won them a number of awards including 3 songwriter awards for Dennis. Dennis completed his first solo project in 2008 called "Balancing Act" with 10 new songs in addition to two favorite songs of his that were on earlier projects. the project was recorded in Nashville and produced by Richard Kearney. Dennis continues to minister in churches and other venues through his music.