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May 16, 2009
Interview with Doc Doolittle:
Hi Jim,
First off thanks again so much for your
help getting the word out.
Here are the answers to your questions:
1. Who was in the North Shore
All-Stars and when did that band exist?
The band was started in 1990 by myself on
Bass and windsurfing legend John Guay on guitar in the back store
room in Hood River Windsurfing's old store which now houses the
Double Mountain Brewery and North Shore Inc.
The original members were John and Myself
and Darryl Agersea on drums, Rob Weemer also on guitar, and Dave
Picerne joined us later on sax and washboard. John is a big Stevie
Ray Vaughn fan and I am more from an R&B background so I brought a
lot of Tower
of Power,
Rascals, Spinners and James Brown to the repertoire.
Our menu was mostly dance and R&B
influenced material and we got a house band gig at Brad Bookmyer's North
Shore Bar and Grill on Steuben in Bingen where we played most
every Sat. night hence our name. We were all wind surfers and it
seemed in those days you knew everyone in the club.
From 1990 thru the present I have kept
the band going as the only founding member always on bass and
vocals and it continues to morph with various artists through the
years hence the "Allstars" name. This will be our 19th year and I
have listed below the names of various musicians that we have and
continue to feature. I apologize for anyone I have missed.
We are shooting for a reunion possibly
this July. We have played all of the local spots, Columbia Gorge
Hotel, River City Saloon, Hood River Inn, a lot of street dances,
windsurfing contests up and down the coast, The first "dance under
the Stars" event at Maryhill museum, Horsefeathers and various
wineries and B&Bs, weddings, and such. The group also performs in
Seattle and down the coast to Bandon.
Guitar
John Guay
Rob Weemer
David Hecht
Moe Dixon
Ron McCann
Vocals
Sue French
Keyboards
Lance Whitney
Mike Cady
Daniel Crothers
John Lee
Jimmy Holden
Horns
David Picerne-sax
Dennis Williams-sax
Lonnie Williams-sax
Jeff Mason-trombone/harp
Dirk Gidney/harp
Ed Lee-trumpet
John Lee-sax
Danny Ward-sax
Drums
Darryl Agersea
Shaunn Petersen
Big Al Isaksen
Steve Banks
Jerry Garcia
Dan McGee
Bass
Doc Doolittle
Sound
Tim Requa
2. Were you into music growing
up and if so what was the music scene like back then?
I am a
Seattle boy. We still live on capitol hill in
Seattle but I was a manufacturers rep in the
windsurfing industry from 1985 on and bought a 2nd home near
Rowena where we still are today.
I also have announced and helped manage
windsurfing events around the globe since then and will be
involved with my wife Gloria in this years USWA nationals in
Hood River
this year (our 24th year). My friend Dan Crothers grew up in White
Salmon.
3. A friend of mine, Charlie
Escher, plays bass, and did a lot of sound work at the Northshore
back in the day. He's still active in music around here. Do you
know him?
I do know Charlie Escher and
in fact recommended him as a winter replacement with Les Vaughn at
the Naked Winery in my absence this past last winter. I also play
with Les, Tony Amadeo and Ted Madsen in the "FENDERBENDERS" band.
Charlie also helps me keep my axes in
shape electronically. Charlie has been a fixture in the windsurf
and music scene as long as I can remember. Great Guy and a true
talent on many levels!
4. You mention that your
current band was at
CEBU last month. How
did that go?
Playing with "Dan Crothers and
Others" is a great experience for me as we pretty much play
straight ahead jazz standards for the first part of the show which
challenges my reading and upright bass chops and I love swing and
Latin music.
The Cebu Lounge is a real intimate setting
and a great sounding room. Dan used to be the house pianist there
and in fact they bought the grand piano that resides there for Dan
to play back in the day. It's a real fun gig we hope to play every
couple of months or so. We always have friends like Dennis
Williams on sax, Henry Shifter and Sharron Olson on vocals sitting
in check us out May 22nd.
I play a blond 1953 Kay 3/4 double bass
and Charlie just helped me with a new active preamp so I
finally have some control of the tone. Later in the night we get
to move back to my funk and R&B roots so I can relax a bit more on
my 1972 fretless Fender Precision. I play left-handed but strung
right-handed.
I just invested in a new Epifani 3-10
speaker box and 600 watt Genz Benz Shuttle 6 rig and it changed my
life. The tone and lightweight of this package showed me what I've
been missing the last 20 years playing thru a Polytone single 15"
with 85 watts. I'll never use all 600 watts of the new rig but
it's great to have that much headroom and so much reserve bottom.
5. Your bio says you worked
with the Ink Spots. Weren't they a '50s vocal group?
Yes I played briefly with them
in Seattle in the early '70s
while attending Cornish, again mostly jazz standard charts, a real
honor to back such legends. I got a lot of sideman work in those
days as the scene was really tight.
In Seattle
I also played with notables such as Don Mock-guitar, Denny Goodhew-sax,
Ron Soderstrom-trumpet, and Gregg Kepplinger-drums in a
jazz/fusion group named "SPINNAKER." We toured with Grover
Washington Jr.
I also was fortunate to hook up with guys
like Rich Dangel-guitar, Leo Santo-B3, and others in a group named
"PATCHWORK." I then cut my latin teeth in a group named "OBRADOR"
out of Olympia.
And my wife and I ran a recording studio
out of our basement throughout the seven tees. We recorded a lot
of demos and TV/radio ads and did sound reinforcement work for
Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Barney
Kessle and B.B. King to name a few.
I was really blessed to study at Cornish
under trumpet player/composer Jim Knapp and studied bass with Gary
Peacock. It was a great time to be an upcoming bassist in
Seattle as I came from a R&B/Rock background and
got fully immersed in the whole jazz,funk/fusion scene.
My main influences were guys like Chuck
Rainey, Ray Brown, Jaco Pastorius and Rocco Prestia from
Tower of Power.
Rocco has always been my favorite player and I have drawn a lot of
my style from his ghosting approach.
6. Do you record or do studio
work for people or primarily play live shows?
Nowadays I primarily do live
shows in Seattle, I am
putting together a project with the DAVE
RAYNOR BLUES BAND. The band is a four-piece with Hammond B-3,
guitar, bass and drums.
Dave is an old friend who grew up in Camas
and is a tremendous singer/guitar player and all-around
musician; he won a Grammy as a songwriter for a song recorded by
Natalie Cole. Dave and the organ player also play with the New
Blues Brothers.
I'm also working on a project with an
8-piece casino band called "SHOWTIME," playing mostly funk and
dance tunes "Earth Wind and Fire" stuff like that.
I also play shows every few months with a
band called the "TRIP BACK." These are a bunch of high school
buddies that I have played with in Seattle since 1968 and we still
have the same 5 guys. They are all Italians and introduced me to
my Italian wife who I married in 1970. We play all R&B, again
based around a Hammond B-3. Really a fun band.
In the Gorge I perform with "Dan Crothers
and Others" really is a great experience; Dan is a virtuoso and
it's fun to sit in the pocket with the drummer and listen to him
rip.
And the "FENDERBENDERS" take me into
totally different space playing country-influenced tunes. Tony
Amadeo is an incredible talent both on drums and guitar and his
Hawaiian attitude and songs are so refreshing. Ted rips on the
guitar and steel slide guitar as well and has a wide repertoire.
We'll be performing at the Naked
Winery July 4th weekend. I also hope to do some more work with
Moe Dixon as he has been a great friend and his energy is always
so pure and fun. My next door neighbor in Rowena is Guitar
player/composer Larry Russ and we will be working on some stuff as
well.
7. Who's currently on your
playlist/iPod?
IPod — hell, I'm still on
8-track tapes (just kidding). I still listen to a lot of Tower of
Power (their new album rocks — they've been together 30 years) The
way Dave Garibaldi on drums and Rocco Prestia drive that band is
still so solid and the horn arrangements set the standard for any
serious funk band.
I also listen to a lot of Stevie
Wonder, Marvin Gaye, a lot of Motown, Aretha, James Taylor, Quincy
Jones, and I cleanse the palate with Patsy Kline and Crusaders.
8. How did you get the
nickname "Doc"?
I got the name "Doc" from a
fellow soldier on active duty in the Army in 1969. I guess he read
the Doctor Dolittle books as the movie wasn't out yet. When I got
out of the army I kept it as a stage name and my mom even calls me
Doc now. I do talk to the animals (like that's what I'm
doing right now) and people never forget it. But my name has 2
O's: Doolittle.
Jim, I really appreciate you took the time
to ask me these questions, as answering them forced me to take a
journey back and remember some great times, people, and history
which I haven't done for the past 20 or years.
Again, I really appreciate your help in
getting the word out about the gigs upcoming and invite you to
come sit in anytime. I'll look forward to meeting you in person.
Best regards,
Doc
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