Bob Dorr and the Blue Band Bio
2013 finds Bob Dorr & The Blue Band celebrating their 32nd anniversary. Beginning June 10, 1981, the band has averaged playing around 100 dates a year for its 30+ year existence, resulting in a multi generational, dedicated fan base, and making them one of Iowa’s most revered, storied, and requested bands. Kansas City music writer Paul Taylor says “If you wanted to furnish your own nightclub, you would want The Blue Band. They are like one of those gleaming bright white appliances that you oohh and ahh over, and when you open the doors, all the best features you ever wanted come spilling out.” Mississippi Valley Blues Society Director Karen McFarland says “…the best damn rockin’ soul dance band in the heartland.” Originally called “Bobby’s Blue Band” (an obvious tongue-in-cheek play on blues icon Bobby Blue Bland), The Blue Band is a 5-7 piece group whose sound can only be described as The blues/soul/rockabilly/reggae/creole/rhythm Band! The band can play nearly three hours of original music or another three hours of popular covers, done in Blue Band fashion. A typical night mixes originals and covers plus a few requests.
These days The Blue Band has evolved into a veritable Iowa All-Star collection of regular and alumni players, spearheaded by founding members Bob Dorr with his unmistakable lead vocals (Dorr can also be credited with a 40+ year career on Iowa Public Radio) and Jeff Petersen on his 1968 Gibson Flying V guitar, lap steel guitar, vocals, and song writing. Two drummers split time on the Blue drum chair. Longtime eastern Iowa drum legend Steve “The Chief” Hayes has been part of the group since 2003, longtime Cedar Falls drummer John Rohlf (Johnny Metro) joined the drum team in December of 2011. “Uncle” Al Naylor brought his renowned trumpet chops to the Blue horn section in 2008. The “new guy” is bass player Doug Norton, who joined the group in 2013. It’s not unusual to catch a number of “Blue Alumni” also playing with the band on any given night including guitarists Ron DeWitte and Bryce Janey and sax men Nathan Peoples, Tom Barry, Bob Thompson, Heath Alan and Jerry Peoples. Iowa Blues and Jazz Hall of Famers Sam Salomone and Tommy “T-Bone” Giblin often lend their talents on keyboards. The band generally travels within a 300-mile area of their home base in Eastern Iowa which includes Minneapolis, Kansas City, Omaha, and Chicago, performing at live music venues, summer festivals, and private functions. The band also has had regular appearances in Summit County and Denver, Colorado, and has performed at Bluestock International Convention & Festival in Memphis, Tennessee and Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho. Bob Dorr &The Blue Band-STILL rockin’ your soul after all these years. Be part of the show some night soon!