Guitarist-Singer-Songwriter Doug Wahlberg:

A Lifetime In Classic Rock

By Shannon Hicks

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.