Decibel

Denver-based guitarist Dan Bontrager, and partner in crime, drummer Randy Baker, have re-mastered and re-released their debut album Decibel. Bontrager wrote, performed (guitars/bass), arranged, engineered, and produced the album, recording tracks everywhere from world-renowned studio facilities to his home studio. Always nearby was Randy Baker, keeping a close eye on the arrangements and Dan's overall level of performance, providing a swift kick in the ass when Bontrager was slacking. The songs are tight, mini sagas of musical statement, full of Virtuoso guitar work, melodic flourishes and fervent choruses. Key is especially captivating. Little Rockin' Randy gleefully dances and soars. Bontrager's tunes resemble each other the way a large family does - they are all connected by the same parents but carry their own little charms and flaws. In this case, the mom and pop may be an Iron Maiden and a Motorhead. - Pearl, Go-Go Music magazine. The goal with Decibel was to write an instrumental rock-guitar album that normal, non-musician listeners can relate to and enjoy. So often with instrumental guitarists, casual listeners tend to think that the songs are one long solo, an exercise to see how fast the guitarist can play, or just some very strange, self-indulgent song writing. Decibel was written with fairly traditional song structures so that average listener could feel quickly at home. The structure of the album is much like a book of fiction, with each song being a chapter, with a logical link to one another. Despite the loose flow to the disc, it's actually a marvel of musical achievement. Bontrager is a marvelously proficient guitar player, both technically and emotionally. What's interesting is that on all the tracks - from the opening one-two punch of Flyspeck, which flows into the shredder Chewy Smalls, to the classical jazz of Ambergris, - everything is driven by guitar first, which is not the usual order of things. A minimalist series of layered guitars provide the backbone while the drums and bass have been integrated into the original composition and not just laid over as an afterthought. After a week of driving around listening to screaming guitars, I'm hooked. This is road music for UFOs. It's music to fly by. - S. Clayton Moore, Riff magazine. Bontrager should be commended on the production values of Decibel and the songwriting. Especially in the songwriting. I think your material is a notch above most in this genre. - J. Lindenberger, Publicity & Promotions, Etherean Music, Inc.