Here are just some of the reviews from the "Gimme Five Tour":
"After a few drinks on a Friday night, there isn't a better place to be
than the Soup Kitchen, a stage that just weeps with history - Willie
Dixon, Luther Allison and Albert Collins to name a few whose talents have
made their way into this room.
Tonight, taking the stage was one of Detroit's best, the bugs Beddow band.
Bugs and the band were in truly fine spirits and had the party in full
swing. The crowd was hooting and howling, yelling out their favorite
Beddow tunes.
Bugs and the band hit the stage and ripped through a great set, with tunes
like 'The Curly Shuffle' (nyuk, nyuk) and the deep bluesy feeling of BB
King's 'The Thrill is Gone', to name a few. The crowd was dancing and
singing in their seats while Bugs and the band danced and shuffled on
stage.
CDs and T-shirts were on sale. Beddow's name is on the Open Letter to the
Radio Stations of Michigan. These guys are really steady, and a big part
of the local music scene. If you feel a need to hoot and howl, then check
out the bugs Beddow band soon."
Dale D'Amore, Jam Rag, July, 1998
"Aside from John Mayall, Alexis Korner and the Yardbirds, blues music, as
hard as practitioners may try and as technically proficient as they may be,
has never really seemed to work for the white suburban guy. Playing 13
covers ranging from Frank Zappa's "I'm The Slime" and Ray Charles'
"Unchain My Heart" to ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses" and Dr. John's
"Funkalishus," caught live, the Bugs Beddow Band proves to have a feel for
the blues that drinks from the same tap as the Blues Brothers. Beddow's
brass (he's the bandleader on trombone) and obvious technical abilities
are up-to-snuff; and though quite fun at moments, this recording from last
year has as much heart and soul as Huey Lewis, for good or ill."
Colin McDonald, Local Records, Metro Times, March 11-17, 1998
"Trombone players Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey made music history. Fellow
t-bonist/flutist Doug 'Bugs' Beddow wanted to make an impression as well
when forming the Bugs Beddow Band. 'I saw Bob Webber, leader of the
(Detroit blues band) Regular Boys and I think that's great, a trombone
player leading a band. I wanted to leave a mark. Glenn Miller and Tommy
Dorsey, they were leaders of their bands and they were trombone players,'
Beddow said.
The hard-working five-piece band is making its mark locally with the trombone-
driven originals, cookin' covers, and the comedic interludes and party
atmosphere of its live shows. 'Our style is trombone-driven party blues
with plenty of vocals, horns and dancing. Everybody in the band sings lead.
I pass the spotlight around quite often,' Beddow said.
Bugs Beddow Band shows revolve around humor. When Bugs holds up the bands CD,
the band yells out 'We're giving them away,' pauses and says 'for money.'
The Bugs Beddow Band's shows include originals and covers such as 'Leave
Your Hat On' by Randy Newman, 'Poontango' by Mojo Nixon, 'One Way Out', by
Allman Brothers, 'Cheap Sunglasses' by ZZ Top, and 'Unchain My Heart' by Ray
Charles, all of which are found on its latest CD 'Bone Appetit Tour: LIVE at
the 1997 Mid-Michigan Blues Festival.' The album, Beddow's sixth, was
recorded in Fenton for the syndicated radio show 'House of Blues.'
'We didn't intend (for the recording) to be an album at the time. The band
was playing with a lot of gusto, and that's the essence of the band. But you
hear the band now, and we blow the album away. The band is so tight. That
and the timing of the comedic interludes are a lot better now.' The 'Bone
Appetit Tour CD is available through Bugs Beddow's website,
http://www.bugsbeddow.com, Harmony House stores and Big Whale CDs,
2859 Orchard Lake Road (between Cass Elizabeth Lake and Middlebelt roads)
in Keego Harbor.
The Orchard Lake-based Bugs Beddow Band wrapped up its 1997 'Bone Appetit
Tour with a 'Blue Year's Eve' celebration at the Kingsley Inn in Bloomfield
Hills. This year's tour has been dubbed the 'Gimme Five Tour.' The logo is
an oval with bright yellow streaks, white stars, and a manipulated drawing
of Mickey Mouse's gloved hand. 'Since it's the 'Gimme Five Tour', we gave
him extra fingers.' The 1999 tour will be called 'Bone Voyage Tour.'
Bugs refused to talk about his or his band's past saying 'we're all active
members of the witness protection program. We all look forward to the future.'
Sources say he was born May 17, 1953, in Detroit to parents Bill and Peg. He
picked up the trombone in 1962 and the flute seven years later. Beddow grew
up in the 'poor section' of Franklin and graduated from Birmingham Groves
High School in 1970. Although his parents preferred that he become a dentist,
Beddow earned a bachelor's degree in music education from Northern Michigan
University in 1975. Upon graduation, he served as the head of the music
department at Leland Public Schools for the next two years.
During the late 1970s, he performed with the 'party funk R&B' band Newt
and the Salamanders. Beddow also spent time filling in for musicians who
supported Maynard Ferguson. In 1982, he formed a jazz band and cut an album
with jazz guitarist Earl Klugh. Accolades came in as Beddow earned Detroit
Music Awards for the best trombonist, and his band won best jazz album of
1992 for 'Yuda Man.'
After 12 years in jazz bands, Beddow changed his tune and dove into the blues.
'People can always connect with singers and words. (With jazz) there's too
much sameness, not enough variety,' said Beddow, who appeared in the 1992
Oliver Stone film 'Hoffa.'
'I have five guys to work with. I get every ounce of sound out of them.'
The band's sound has given it the opportunity to open for Buckwheat Zydeco
in front of 60,000 people at the Dearborn Homecoming Festival August 2nd,
1997, and to share the stage with Lonnie Brooks, Spyro Gyra, Boz Scaggs,
Eddie Money and Robert Cray. For the last three baseball seasons, Beddow
has played the national anthem at Tiger Stadium. The band has also performed
as part of the OC4 Cable TV Awards for Southeastern Michigan since the show's
inception 13 years ago.
For 1998, the Bugs Beddow Band already has 2/3rds of the year booked but
'we've left some options open,' he said. He and his band - guitarist/vocalist
Jason Hinz, saxophonist/vocalist James Morse, drummer/vocalist Jim Pryor, and
electric and string bassist/vocalist Don Turner - are hoping to perform in
Belgium, Aruba and Australia this year. 'We met some people who were involved
with the Detroit auto show (the North American International Auto Show) last
year. They hired the band for a private party and they want to bring us to
Belgium,' he said. 'None of them may pan out. Those are just things on the
burner. Money is always a factor.'
The band is going to spend the next six months 'bashing out' new songs that
will be included on the 'Gimme Five' album, which will be recorded in June.
While 'Bone Appetit' was all covers, 'Gimme Five' will include all original
songs. It will have the signature Beddow sense of humor. There's nothing
really deep there. We play concisely, accurately and full of feeling. We're
by no means a traditional blues band. We're the blues band of the '90s.'
'We like to make people laugh and dance. We accomplish both of those at shows.'"
Christina Fuoco, Music Column, Observer & Eccentric Newspapers, January 8, 1998