FAYETTEVILLE — Doug Gray has been doing this for some time, almost 40 years. He's played at 37 Sturgis, N.D ., motorcycle rallies, for instance.
But put him onstage, and put a hot band behind him, and he still gets excited for a show.
"There is some stuff that gives me cold shivers," he said by phone from his home in Spartanburg, S.C. "They have that jam thing down."
The they he speaks of is the current cast of musicians who back the lead vocalist in The Marshall Tucker Band, the iconic Southern rock act that tonight will perform at the Arkansas Music Pavilion in Fayetteville. The band, which formed in Spartanburg in the early '70s, appears as part of the Bikes, Blues & Hot Rods Too, a classic car show and entertainment stop that is associated with the Bikes, Blues & BBQ rally that continues through Saturday.
The "jam thing" he mentions is The Marshall Tucker Band's long-standing reputation as a band that isn't afraid to extend beyond the sounds of their studio records.
Expect some heavy solos, some musical ad libbing and maybe even a few genre switches along the way.
Gray points to songs such as "This Ol' Cowboy" as an example. One night, it might sound like a jazz number. Another evening might see the song go down a bluesy vein.
It was a result of the band members' many influences, Gray said, but it is also from guest artists who have joined them throughout the band's career. Specifically, Gray recalls the evening Carlos Santana invited himself onstage. Whichever performer would join them, Gray said, The Marshall Tucker Band would adapt to their sound.
"We bent that way," he said.
Gray said the band has 10 years' worth of unreleased recordings from previous performances. Each night was different, he said.
Some of those archival materials make a debut on "The Essential Marshall Tucker Band," an album that was released on Sept. 1 of this year. In addition to studio versions of hits such as "Can't You See," "Fire on the Mountain" and "Heard It in a Love Song," the recording also includes adisc of material recorded at the Winterland Auditorium in San Francisco in the fall of 1973. Four of the five live cuts on that disc have never been released.
Gray is the only original member of the band who still tours under The Marshall Tucker Band name, which was borrowed from a name found on a set of keys at the band's original rehearsal space in South Carolina. Several of the original members, including lead guitarist Toy Caldwell, his brother and bassist Tommy Caldwell and guitarist George McCorkle, have passed away.
The newest incarnation of the band features a cast of talent that Gray has selected himself.
"They will surprise some people," he said.
The band will have a few surprises, too. Such as extended jams or perhaps a different feel for the songs.
"As long as we're not bored, nobody else will be bored," he said.
Entertainment, Pages 18 on 09/25/2009