Sandy Hook resident Doug Wahlberg
Doug Wahlberg has a dream of music, and touring, and making it in
the music world no matter what.
This weekend the Sandy Hook resident and his band - bassist
George P. Miller, drummer Rich Genovese, keyboardist Tim (T-Bone)
Stone, and vocalist and guitarist Rick Tedesco - have a
three-night stint at Foxwoods Casino. On Saturday, September 8,
the logistics will be tight but the band will be opening for
Eddie Money during the annual Taste of Danbury event at
CityCenter before returning to Ledyard for its second Foxwoods
show.
Then there is a return to The Cutting Room in the city next
weekend (September 14) and a return to Georgetown Saloon at the
end of the month. Georgetown Saloon, 8 Main Street in the
Georgetown section of Redding, at the junction of Routes 57 and
107, is where Doug's latest music project got off the ground, and
it has become something of a home stage for the band, which plays
the eatery and music venue at least once each month.
And this is after a busy summer that has seen them gig at Crash
Mansion in New York City, Fairfield Theatre, Daniel Street (in
Milford), The Beach Café (Fairfield), monthly shows at Georgetown
Saloon, two performances during the Montreal Blues Festival, and
opening for Foreigner at Ives Concert Park.
Musician Jose Feliciano has called Doug Wahlberg "a great, great
guitar player."
Neal Smith, the drummer for the original Alice Cooper Band, said,
"Doug's blistering solo blew the roof off [The Ridgefield
Playhouse] and received a thunderous applause that was justly
deserved. The Doug Wahlberg Band is ... great and a must see for
all fans of classic guitar rock."
And producer J.J. Cichon (LifeguardMusic.com) said, "Classic rock
lives! One More Down [the band's first CD] is a
celebration of the genre that made music a driving force in our
world. Doug's knowledge, experience, and approach are threaded
throughout his music. Classic rock is the vehicle; The Doug
Wahlberg Band is the fuel. You MUST check out this classic act."
So who is this guy?
Doug Wahlberg is a 14-year Sandy Hook resident who has been
playing music all of his life. His business card reads "Guitarist
Singer Songwriter."
It was about six years ago that Doug did an open mic performance
at Georgetown Saloon that started the latest career arc, leading
to a full band, regular touring, and even a band manager. Doug
made a solo appearance at the saloon one week, during a regular
open mic show. He returned to play again the following week, this
time bringing a bass player along with him.
At the time, the owner of the saloon was Adam Lubarsky, who
noticed the music and the musician on his stage. After watching
Doug appear for a few months during open mic sessions, Adam
approached Doug and asked where the rest of his band was.
At that point, Doug was between bands, on a hiatus.
Adam kept pressing Doug, however, and within a year of the two
men meeting a full Doug Wahlberg Band had been formed. For the
past three years that band has been playing at least once a month
at the saloon.
The band has also been attracting positive attention from booking
agents and venue publicists. In the past three years ago there
have been opening sets for Cheap Trick, Mountain, The Guess Who,
John Hammond, The Ramones, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, David
Johansen and even Michael Bolton.
Doug handles the songwriting for his band.
"I do all the lyrics, music, everything," he said. "The best
feeling I can get is when we're playing and seeing people singing
my own lyrics back to me. What music does to people is really
important."
The band plays classic rock. At this point all shows are about 60
percent original material and 40 percent the music of others,
although as Doug says, "Even when we take on [songs by Tom] Petty
or the Beatles, we'll give it our own twist." Rehearsals these
days are to learn new original material.
"We know the cover material at this point," said Doug. "We want
to be able to put out more of our original material."
Doug admits to still having nerves occasionally, but that seems
to come with which type of venue the band is playing at.
"We opened for Mountain at Ridgefield Playhouse last year. You
have to walk across the stage, plug in, and it's a quiet seated
audience that's waiting for the show to start," he said. "That's
a little nerve-wracking. It didn't last too long, fortunately."
At "home" shows, however - especially those at Georgetown Saloon
- it's much easier to get into the show. At this point many
people in the audience at the saloon know the band and some of
its music.
(The Saloon, in fact, is also supporting him even when he plays
elsewhere. A recent show at The Cutting Room had a 45-seat bus
for fans that was coordinated by Georgetown Saloon, giving Doug
and the band a bit of a fan base for the Manhattan show.)
Until about four months ago Doug was handling his own booking,
but he decided to get some help with the managerial side of his
career so that he can focus on the music. That's when Adam
Lubarsky officially took on a business interest in Doug's career.
"I've been in the music business for 26-plus years, so now I have
some leverage," Mr Lubarsky said. "I can call in some favors, but
I know what club owners are looking for. I know how to talk to
them."
Locally and regionally, Mr Lubarsky - and the band, of course -
need to get the band more exposure.
"The more airplay we can get here, whether radio or Internet, the
easier it is to sell a band. And his commitment is such that he's
more than willing to do a European tour if we can set it up," Mr
Lubarsky said of Doug.
"It's not that I don't want to do something here first," Doug
said, "I do. But we've been around here so long, we've seen so
much already. I'm confident we would do very well over there.
"Even in New York, I get good response. They're used to more
diversity in the city and if we can win them, which we have, then
I really think we can do very well in Europe."
One of the groups that noticed Doug already was David Letterman's
band, who was at The Cutting Room the same night Doug was there
and they invited him to play with them.
"It's great to be accepted by fans and to gain a following," he
said. "It's just as great to be acknowledged by some professional
contemporaries."
The Doug Wahlberg Band will be at Foxwoods Casino tonight and
tomorrow night (September 7 and 8) for shows at 8:30 pm. The guys
will be at CityCenter Danbury tomorrow afternoon for a 5:30
performance, opening for Eddie Money.
The band returns to The Cutting Room in New York City on
Friday, September 14; Mark Huberman and Roxy Perry will also be
performing.
Doug Wahlberg Band music can be heard and purchased through
cdbaby.com. To keep up with the band's shows and other
information, visit DougWahlberg.com.