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CD review “The Dennis Hormes Blues Band – Live”,
April 2003 (Drums and Percussion)
The band consists of Dennis Hormes (lead vocals, guitars), Martin Engelien (bass) and Dieter Steinmann (drums). Of course, Dennis Hormes is in the centre of it all, he plays and sings in the tradition of Jimmy Hendrix and he does it very well. There are a number of songs that Dennis Hormes has written himself. Their style is similar and they are of a timeless good quality. Iīm sure the band will show their true colours when they play live, as they sound compact and deliver a lot of power. The song material is great and there is an absolutely convincing front man leading the band with voice and guitar: Mr. Hormes. The drums are maybe not mixed quite loud enough, but apart from that itīs a beautiful
Dennis Hormes became more emancipated as the gig went along. People who thought that he was just another very talented guitarist who would cover the lack of feeling with speed and technique soon found out that the power and the passion of his style come from deep within the heart. There were standing ovations and Dennis was so overwhelmed that he announced the encore with the words, “I would never have believed this…”
DONAUKURIER 19.04.2002
General write-up in Soundcheck, March 2000
Dennis Hormes has not done very much as a solo artist, yet. However, he is already part of the elite of “most wanted sidemen” in Germany despite his young age of only 18. His sensitive, fluent and tasteful guitar style has enabled him to play at gigs and on tours with established acts like T. M. Stevens, Wolf Simon and Martin Engelien. He is endorser for Crate and Gibson and started playing the guitar when he was 12. He likes Blues and Motown and says Jeff Beck has influenced him more than any other guitarist. His style is Blues/Rock.
Soundcheck March 2000
Bernard Allison delivered a convincing performance that night. But somebody else completely had the audience on his side. We are talking about Dennis Hormes who played the opener with interpretations of Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan songs as well as a number of his own. The Dennis Hormes Blues Band performed an awesome gig. And even Bernard Allison was very impressed by the 20 – year - old exceptionally talented guitarist, “Wow, this guy is killing you, right? Yeah!”
Blues-Festival Roth
The line-up was Louisiana Red, Bernard Allison, Angela Brown and The Dennis Hormes Blues Band. Dennis played the opener, which turned into the biggest musical surprise of the night. To call the three musicians on the stage - all in their early 20īs - talented newcomers would be an insult. They were absolute professionals who knew all the tricks. Dennis Hormes from Kempen played his guitar with unbelievable expertise and sang lead vocals with a rough and bluesy voice. His very own “Hold On” – which could even be a chart hit – came along so fast and precise it took your breath away. The lead guitar he played in slower numbers like “Donīt Believe A Word” (Phil Lynott) or his own “Itīs True” was very well structured. He proved once again that he can make his guitar cry like Jimmy Hendrix, but he also stroked it tenderly as if B.B. King was holding “Lucille” in his hands.Jimmy Hendrix is one of Dennisīs great idols and the band paid tribute to the master with their interpretations of “Freedom”, “Little Wing” and “Who Knows”. There was a sexy bass line from Martin Zijaja and there were some heavy drums from the Frenchman Jerome Lellouche (who plays in a class of his own) and on top of it all Dennis improvised in his very own unique style. The audience thanked the band with persistent shouts for encores.
Blues Festival Anrath
Written by Ulrich Hermanns
Dennis Hormes put a match to some spectacular musical fireworks with the six strings of his elegant Stratocaster, with loads of feeling, at the same time hard and full of passion. He was accompanied by Martin Engelien on “spacebass” and Dieter Steinmann on drums and the twenty year old virtuoso conjured up an extravagant mixture of music, remotely balanced between Satriani and Hendrix. The audiencesīs reaction was open-mouthed surprise and admiration.
(Westdeutsche Zeitung) - Preview
Even though he is only 21 years old, Dennis Hormes has already become an internationally renowned figure in the world of Blues and Rock. His music could be described as Nu-Blues“ as he combines back to the roots“ – Blues with modern elements. He has his own band, but has also been playing for four years with T.M. Stevens, whose latest CD he helped record in New York. Dennis went on tour in Japan with T.M. Stevens in 2001 and in the U.S.A. in 2002. Dennis knows Bernard Allison from last yearīs Blues festival in Roth, where the write-ups for The Dennis Hormes Blues Band were better than the ones for Bernard Allison. That was a little funny…“, is Dennisīs comment.
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