DOUG LEGACY & DR. SOUNDGOOD

The Mint Los Angeles, CA

Contact: Mike Gormley, LA Personal Development, lapdev4@gmail.com

Web: drsoundgood.net

Players: Doug Legacy, lead vocals, keys, accordion; Randy Mitchell, guitar; John Aguilar, bass, vocals; Jimmy Z, tenor saxophone, harmonica; Gary Ferguson, drums

Material: On the heels of their Lagniappe release, Doug Legacy & Dr. Soundgood delivered fun, upbeat energy with a tight band that combined blues, rock and funk

The Moroccan Lounge Los Angeles, CA

Web: listentomoonwalker.com

Contact: romy@bighassle.com

Players: Harry Springer, vocals, guitar; Alicia Vigil, bass; Joan Daewin, drums for a blend of southern sound. Performing four tracks from the new record, as well as a couple from Legacy’s 2017 release, The Gumbo Brotherhood (Doug Legacy & Zydeco Party Band), and 1995’s New Hat (from Doug & The Mystics), the group brought great energy and a big sound to their 40-minute set.

Material: Moonwalker is Guns N' Roses meets Led Zeppelin—who have dinner with Deep Purple. The music is loud, hard and in your face. They are reminiscent of the older jam bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s and have that spark to make it happen. Although they didn’t “jam it up” too much, the potential for it was there. The songs have a hard rock foundation, in the style of Zeppelin; A progressive rock layer on top of that, as with Deep Purple; and a raspy, colorful vocal frosting to finish things off.

Musicianship: The musicianship was excellent. Vigil was on point all night and she knew it. She stroked the audience in every which way while she grooved to every beat. Together with Daewin, they had the audience eating out of their hands as they laid down some incredible backdrops for Springer to paint on. One of the best rhythm sections of late.

Performance: It started out flat, but slowly built its way up and ended in great fashion. Springer is a prodigious frontman and really knows how to handle a crowd. He made the “show” happen and he had the right crew to help him achieve it. Great drumming, great bass play and a great frontman make for an entertaining show.

Musicianship: With brilliant musicality and a comfortable flow between the talented musicians on stage, it is easy to love what they are up to. Swamp blues-feeling “Meet The Boys On The Battlefront” opened the show with a tasty tenor sax solo from Jimmy Z and guitar solo from Ray Mitchell. “Saturday’s Child” brought a more traditional rock feel, with feistier instrumentals and a great vocal breakdown. “Workin’ Man” (from New Hat) had fabulous slapping and walking lines from guest bassist John Aguilar, alongside syncopated drum riffs, high hat drive, and a rhythmic rimshot outro.

Performance: “Right Now Man” brought a gooier blues feel, adding Legacy on harmonica, with great sax growls from Z, and establishing a great mood for the room with the crowd nodding, stomping and clapping along, swaying to the group’s sound. Legacy kicked off “Everybody Lies A Little” with an accordion solo alongside rimshots on the drumkit, adding harmonica (Z), sax and guitar, and building into a delicious grungy shuffle. Cover song “Hey Pocky-A-Way” (originally by The Meters) featured Aguilar delivering stylistic badassery, a keyboard solo from Legacy and tenor sax solo from Z.

Summary: The accordion and solid walking bass lines continued on “King Cake” and “Crime Don’t Pay” (both from Zydeco Party Band recordings), the latter bringing an unexpectedly funky accordion intro, and adding tasty tenor sax runs and a great guitar solo from Randy Mitchell. With a stellar band of A-list musicians and a superb overall groove, Doug Legacy & Dr. Soundgood bring a combination of Cajun and zydeco sound and rounded gravelly vocals for an easy-toenjoy vibe. – Andrea Beenham