Dustin Lentz performs in a variety of Wichita-area musical projects, including Suns Over Blazmo and The Kind. He performs as Ray Manzarek in the Doors tribute band, Moonlight Drive.
My name is Dustin Lentz. I am a fulltime father, husband, musician.
I currently have three active musical projects. One called Suns Over Blazmo, where I get to perform with my father and the drummer and his son. So it’s kind of a father/son project. The second one’s called Moonlight Drive, it’s probably the most active, where we represent The Doors. The third one is called The Kind and that’s my original group.
Being able to perform as Ray Manzarek is kind of a dream come true because I grew up listening to The Doors and the first non-classical piano tablature I received was The Doors’ Complete book, so I’m very well phrased and versed in how he performed and the styles. I like the same things that he did as far as jazz music.
My aunt was the Mother Superior for the St. Joseph convent and one of the nuns gave me lessons from the age of five up until I was about 15.
Playing the piano is my simplest form of trying to communicate through music and I think it’s probably the most beautiful way to communicate through music. It’s honest and pure and you can’t change or hide with that too much. Going to an organ or a synthesizer allows you to break free of the things that you know and have been around your whole life and twist it, burn it, do whatever to you want to in order to draw the audience in more and make different sounds with your music.
