The Guitar Player's Resource
Getting together with bassist Dave Waterbury (formerly with Spirit), guitarist Dennis Lotka has recently completed Dreamland, an all instrumental rockfest, featuring twelve energetic, uptempo numbers. Fans of Van Halen, Schenker, Satriani and Blackmore will warm up to the tunage found on the duo's debut - tracks such as "Seven" and "Alien Hokey Pokey" jump out of the speakers and command the attention of even the most jaded air guitarist. Lotka later tones it down with change-of-pace numbers such as "Prelude - Bach Suite #1" (played on acoustic guitar), before putting the hammer down with aggressive tracks such as "Oh Yes". Dreamland is paced quite nicely, with varied material that never strays too far from its hard rock base. Clearly a six-string talent to be reckoned with, Lotka will find many new fans with his original instrumental offering.
Hooked on the guitar since age 11, it wasn't until Dennis attended his first concert (Black Sabbath) that he knew what he wanted to do with his life. He formed his first cover band at age 15, and has been in many groups since then, notably, an all original band, Da Vinci's Cradle, in 1991. For years Dennis played in tribute bands, but realized tributes were not advancing his career, so he formed Area 51 in 1997. They recorded a 6-song EP "Area 51 - Access Denied", which turned out well, but went nowhere. At that point, the group disbanded, and Dennis decided to focus on a solo project.
Lotka hopes to use Dreamland as his calling card to get auditions with established acts. He also hopes to get a small label interested in financing more instrumentals so he can leave his day job.
Dennis Lotka
United States