Multi-talented, fast talking William Dennis (Chic) Moniz has more strings to his bow than a violinist, but it is as a percussionist that he is perhaps best known. What he lacks in physical stature he more than makes up for as an artist.

"Dennis is a huge, world class talent -- the best of the best,'' says fellow professional musician Howard Rego.

And so it seems. Altogether he plays about 70 percussion instruments, and at one stage in his career in the US, it took three roadies four hours to set up his equipment.

Today, while his instrumental arsenal is smaller, his talents have broadened to include rhythm guitar, singing, and working an audience.

"I'm what they call a front man,'' he explains. "When I'm playing the congas or guitar I am also singing, giving cues to the musicians, telling an inexperienced player the chords to play, and entertaining the audience -- all at the same time. That's a good night!'' It is no idle boast. By his own admission, Mr. Moniz says he is blessed with the kind of brain that can focus on many different things at once.

"Being a crazy, mixed-up genius my mind goes all over the place,'' he says.

"Thinking of so many things at once helps me get through a gig. If I had to concentrate on one thing I'd probably get a headache!'' Indeed, his mind is forever racing, and information flies from his lips like buckshot. The dilemma is trying to distill the torrent of tales that make up his colourful, multi-faceted life.

Arriving on the family tree on May 27, 1952, Mr. Moniz has proved to be one of many gifted performers who gild its spreading branches. His mother, the former Gloria Caisey, was a ballroom dancer; one brother David heads a group called The Bermudians; the other, Alfie, had a singing group; his sister Kandyelyn is an exotic dancer, and beyond that Pinky Steede is his aunt, singers and musicians Bill, Howard and Albert Caisey are uncles. Other relatives include the late Lance Hayward, the Talbot Brothers and Hubert Smith.

In addition to all the talent within his own household, Mr. Moniz and his siblings were regularly exposed to many local and foreign entertainers who used their home to rehearse.

Small wonder, then, that the kid dubbed "Chic'' because of his size made his stage debut at age nine. At 11 he appeared on stage with the legendary Stevie Wonder at the Clayhouse Inn.

"They only had one mike, so we had to share it, and they stood me on a chair to do so,'' Mr. Moniz recalls. "Ever since then I've been known as `Bermuda's Stevie Wonder'.'' At 14 he wowed crowds at the Rosebank Theatre in the battle of the groups contests. None of it went to the young man's head though. He always knew he was a born entertainer, and simply viewed any stage time as "pure fun''.

"I was always a showman,'' he laughs. "I could show off like crazy, although I never thought of it as that. To me it was just being natural.'' At 15, as a singer with the Sub Dominant Brass Band, he toured Trinidad accompanied by his father William, and apparently had the ladies fainting and crying during the group's final performance. "I left the stage a very frightened young man because I didn't know how the boyfriends were going to react,'' he remembers. "I'd heard stories about voodoo and black magic.'' A student first at Elliott Primary School and then Churchill School, Mr. Moniz freely admits that he was not academically driven. Music was his passion, and wisely it is that which he chose to make his career.

At age 21, he was discovered by legendary vibrophonist and band leader Lionel Hampton, who was at the Southampton Princess with his 18-piece band, but minus a percussionist. Relaxing in Hamilton's Club Nine one night, listening to the group `Altogether', he was impressed by the young man on congas.

"He sent his valet over to tell me that he wanted me come to the hotel and play in his band,'' Mr. Moniz relates. "I'd never heard of Lionel Hampton, and in fact I thought it was a big joke, but when I got home that night and told my mother she flipped.

"She coaxed me to call him, and he said to turn up at 3 p.m. for a run-through. I wondered what I was getting myself into. For some reason the band didn't show up for rehearsal. I told him I had no idea what kind of music his band played, what sort of performance he was looking for, and I couldn't play without a rehearsal, but Hamp was cool. He just said, `I have no problem with you, I'm sure you can cut it', and I thought, `Well, if he thinks that, and has so much respect for me, then I don't think I'll have a problem'. That was the only way to get through it. We never talked money.'' The new percussionist was, however, astonished to discover his position on stage. With the band arranged in a semi-circle behind them, it was Lionel Hampton and Dennis Moniz front and centre. "That was quite an honour,'' Mr. Moniz recalls. In fact the young Bermudian did so well that Mr. Hampton promptly signed him on as a full time band member.

Four days later, the great man asked Mrs. Moniz' permission to take her son back to the US with him. Recognising the magnitude of the opportunity she readily agreed. There was one hitch, however. Private Moniz was in the Bermuda Regiment. "Lionel Hampton was instrumental in getting me out of the Regiment,'' the percussionist remembers. "He wrote to the C.O. and explained the position, and they agreed that so long as I was in his band I was free to go.'' In New York, the band leader took the whizz kid from Bermuda into his home, and became so fond of his protoge m that he even wanted to adopt him.

"But my mother said if he adopted me he'd have to adopt her too,'' Mr. Moniz laughs. Instead, he became a much-loved family friend.

"Hamp was the youngest old man I ever met in my entire career. He was lively and bubbly, and his knowledge of music was phenomenal,'' Mr. Moniz said.

The percussionist's transition to the US marked the beginning of an exciting career that began at Madison Square Garden with a tribute concert to the late drummer Gene Krupa. "Ten of the world's greatest drummers were on stage, and Alan (Skeets) Daniels and Reggie (Ducky) Dill came up for the show, along with some MPs,'' Mr. Moniz notes.

Ultimately, his career would include playing many prestigious gigs, including the Smithsonian Institute Jazz Heritage Concerts; for President Carter's inaugural ball at the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and also with many famous musicians.

When Mr. Hampton began to go blind, he moved Mr. Moniz on to the renowned jazz and big band drummer Buddy Rich with the endorsement, "the conga player who can do anything''.

Later, he toured for a year in the band of the late singer Phyllis Hyman of `Betcha By Golly Wow' fame.

At one stage he modelled clothes for Macy's and Abraham & Strauss department stores in New York, and played in a trio with Howard Rego and Harvey Austin, the six foot four inch bass player in Phil Flowers' Band. Along the way, the percussionist married a model, and for a time life was good. Then the couple's luck changed. Among other set-backs, his wife became ill, and their apartment was consumed by fire, destroying all the memorabilia of a wonderful US career except one singed photograph which he rescued.

Dennis Moniz decided it was time to come home. Word of his talent and versatility soon got around, and a whole new, busy chapter on the entertainment circuit opened.

Like so many of Bermuda's top professional musicians, he has delighted hundreds of tourists and locals with his performances, which can fizz with excitement, ooze sensuality, or whatever else the mood dictates.

He has performed with the biggest names in local entertainment, worked the top locations, toured with the Department of Tourism, worked on cruise ships, been Captain Morgan in the pirate shows at Hawkins Island; recorded with the Better Half on John White's Bermuda Anthology; made commercials; appeared on radio and TV shows, and written a play -- to name a few highlights.

Life and times of a world class showman keeps meticulous, hand-written records of everything from his repertoire of songs -- which runs to hundreds -- to aide memoire guitar chords, and vital information on fellow musicians. Everything is compiled by category, so at a moment's notice he can thumb through the well-worn pages of any volume and either put together a programme or musical group as required.

The ringing of the telephone, booking him for a gig, generates the same excitement today as it has always done. Performance is the adrenalin that makes this human dynamo tick.

"I love it, girl,'' the man whose stage name is `Chiconga Caisey' enthuses.

"When you put me on stage I become a whole different person. I can entertain anyone from any age or walk of life.'' As captivating as his public persona is, it is by no means all there is to the man for whom Energizer batteries might have been named. His enthusiasm is boundless, his interests as diverse as his repertoire.

His Devonshire bedroom doubles as a library and studio, where he spends many painstaking hours composing and recording his own songs, which he calls "Origichics'', on a GY10 machine.

"I have been composing since I was 15,'' the self-taught musician and vocalist says. "Just about all of the songs are inspired by something, and some day I hope to release a CD of my work.'' That this has not yet happened is almost a travesty, for among the variety of material, set in every tempo from reggae and soca to jazz and more, are what appear to be some surefire hits.

The father of one son, whom he describes as his "the pride of my world'', Mr.

Moniz loves teaching children his art. Parents who can pay do, but for those who can't and whose children genuinely want to learn his arms are "wide open''.

A compassionate man, he has also organised successful benefit shows for those whose stories have touched him.

Leisure time is not really in his lexicon, but from early childhood he has adored fishing. The holder of a commercial fishing licence, he goes deep sea in his father's cabin cruiser.

Mr. Moniz is equally passionate about other sports too, listing scuba diving, cliff diving, scrambling and go-kart racing, as well as football, cricket, tennis and martial arts among his favourites. Time, unfortunately, doesn't permit him to participate in all of them any more, but after 18 years he is still active in martial arts, which helps him stay fit for his high-energy performances.

For all the intensity and verve with which he lives life, it is the joy of growing up in a close and loving family which remains the bedrock upon which his success has been founded.

His hand-written "My Mother -- My Life'' on a photograph in his bedroom is but one indication of the high regard in which he holds his parents and siblings.

Frank yet modest about his achievements, he puts it all down to being blessed.

"My gifts are God-given and I praise Him for that,'' he says. "My spirit takes pretty good care of me, and I listen to the inner child a lot.'' Yet his indefatigable mind also explores other avenues of spirituality, and especially Buddhism. He is also intrigued by such topics as outer space.

This, and much more, is all part of the colourful mosaic that is Dennis Moniz.

To capture the full essence of the man they call "Chic'' in a newspaper feature would be akin to corralling spilt mercury: impossible! "You name it and I've done it, girl,'' the musician sums up.