30
Nov
2004
Bob Dorr has fronted the Blue Band for 23 years, and he promises that he'll keep it going through a major milestone: a quarter century. "Our immediate goal is to make it to 25 years, and that's less than 18 months away," Dorr said.
For the Blue Band's holiday show on Friday, December 3, at the River Music Experience in Davenport, expect the Cedar Falls, Iowa, based band to dust off some of its original Christmas songs, first released on a pair of holiday records.
But as Dorr prepares to bring his crew to the Quad Cities, the singer and bandleader sounds somewhat despondent, uncertain about what might happen to the band after its 25th anniversary. Whether talking about finding gigs, getting people to come to shows, or selling records, he offers the same refrain.
"It's been very, very challenging," he said about his Hot Fudge record label, which hasn't released a new CD in nearly a year. The two-disc live set Fan Fair Favorites came out in late 2003, and the compilation Jeff's Songs (featuring Blue Band tracks penned by guitarist Jeff Petersen over more than two decades) followed shortly thereafter. The latter CD "has virtually everybody who's ever been in the band," Dorr said, because Petersen has contributed a few tracks to just about every Blue Band album.
Dorr plans an Iowa blues compilation in 2005, along with a set of Blue Band live recordings from the summer of 2004, but don't expect new material from the recording booth. "All of us would love to make another studio album," Dorr said. With recording costs likely to be in the neighborhood of $15,000, however, he said he'd have to sell 1,500 copies just to break even, and that's unlikely in the current climate.
"The record [side of the] business has been very difficult to pay for itself," he said. While in 2001 the Blue Band sold 3,000 CDs, this year "we'll be lucky to reach 700."
And on getting crowds at shows, Dorr said, "It's tough."
That's not to say that Dorr doesn't love playing with his long-running outfit. The Blue Band still plays roughly 100 shows a year, and he said the group sounds great. "I think the band is better than it's ever been," he said.
Built around the core of Dorr and Petersen, the group also features Hammond B3 and bass player Sam Salomone (a member of both the Iowa jazz and blues halls of fame and a touring member of the Blue Band for three years), drummer Steve Hayes (a full-time member since 2003 and a musician on records by Greg Brown and Bo Ramsey), and saxophonist Nathan Peoples (who joined in February 2004).
The Blue Band has shown "artistic growth beyond my wildest imagination," Dorr said, because it's honed its sound. What used to be jokingly called a "blues soul rockabilly reggae rhythm band" has been fine-tuned. "Most of it has coalesced around a '60s rock and soul sound," Dorr said. "It's stopped trying to be all things to everyone."
While the music end of the Blue Band continues to go well, the business part of the equation can still cause headaches. Dorr's bandmates have been contract players for the past three years, so they get paid no matter how many people show up for a gig.
And although Dorr isn't sure of the reason, the audiences haven't been as large in recent years. It might be that the band's fans are getting older and are more likely to stay home, or it might be that the group's evolution has left them behind, or it might be that the Blue Band no longer seeks out shows in bars and clubs, or it might be the economy, or ... .
What is certain is that a small turnout costs Dorr money. "Literally in the last couple of months I've lost thousands of dollars," he said.
Still, only a fool would expect Dorr to hang up his harmonica and put a stop to the Blue Band anytime soon. "This is what I do," he said.
The Blue Band will perform at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 3, at the River Music Experience in downtown Davenport. Tickets are $7.50 for RME members, and $10 for nonmembers. For more information, visit (http://www.rivermusicexperience.com). For more information on the Blue Band, go to (http://www.theblueband.com).
For the Blue Band's holiday show on Friday, December 3, at the River Music Experience in Davenport, expect the Cedar Falls, Iowa, based band to dust off some of its original Christmas songs, first released on a pair of holiday records.
But as Dorr prepares to bring his crew to the Quad Cities, the singer and bandleader sounds somewhat despondent, uncertain about what might happen to the band after its 25th anniversary. Whether talking about finding gigs, getting people to come to shows, or selling records, he offers the same refrain.
"It's been very, very challenging," he said about his Hot Fudge record label, which hasn't released a new CD in nearly a year. The two-disc live set Fan Fair Favorites came out in late 2003, and the compilation Jeff's Songs (featuring Blue Band tracks penned by guitarist Jeff Petersen over more than two decades) followed shortly thereafter. The latter CD "has virtually everybody who's ever been in the band," Dorr said, because Petersen has contributed a few tracks to just about every Blue Band album.
Dorr plans an Iowa blues compilation in 2005, along with a set of Blue Band live recordings from the summer of 2004, but don't expect new material from the recording booth. "All of us would love to make another studio album," Dorr said. With recording costs likely to be in the neighborhood of $15,000, however, he said he'd have to sell 1,500 copies just to break even, and that's unlikely in the current climate.
"The record [side of the] business has been very difficult to pay for itself," he said. While in 2001 the Blue Band sold 3,000 CDs, this year "we'll be lucky to reach 700."
And on getting crowds at shows, Dorr said, "It's tough."
That's not to say that Dorr doesn't love playing with his long-running outfit. The Blue Band still plays roughly 100 shows a year, and he said the group sounds great. "I think the band is better than it's ever been," he said.
Built around the core of Dorr and Petersen, the group also features Hammond B3 and bass player Sam Salomone (a member of both the Iowa jazz and blues halls of fame and a touring member of the Blue Band for three years), drummer Steve Hayes (a full-time member since 2003 and a musician on records by Greg Brown and Bo Ramsey), and saxophonist Nathan Peoples (who joined in February 2004).
The Blue Band has shown "artistic growth beyond my wildest imagination," Dorr said, because it's honed its sound. What used to be jokingly called a "blues soul rockabilly reggae rhythm band" has been fine-tuned. "Most of it has coalesced around a '60s rock and soul sound," Dorr said. "It's stopped trying to be all things to everyone."
While the music end of the Blue Band continues to go well, the business part of the equation can still cause headaches. Dorr's bandmates have been contract players for the past three years, so they get paid no matter how many people show up for a gig.
And although Dorr isn't sure of the reason, the audiences haven't been as large in recent years. It might be that the band's fans are getting older and are more likely to stay home, or it might be that the group's evolution has left them behind, or it might be that the Blue Band no longer seeks out shows in bars and clubs, or it might be the economy, or ... .
What is certain is that a small turnout costs Dorr money. "Literally in the last couple of months I've lost thousands of dollars," he said.
Still, only a fool would expect Dorr to hang up his harmonica and put a stop to the Blue Band anytime soon. "This is what I do," he said.
The Blue Band will perform at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 3, at the River Music Experience in downtown Davenport. Tickets are $7.50 for RME members, and $10 for nonmembers. For more information, visit (http://www.rivermusicexperience.com). For more information on the Blue Band, go to (http://www.theblueband.com).
