Left to right: Bob Wikstrom, Brian Wentz, Kim Ballew, Doug Harris, Jeff Buda, Jim Ledford, Teddi English, and Mike Perkins.
PebbleCreek’s newest show/dance band is making another appearance at the Tuscany Falls Ballroom on Monday, March 25. The performances by this group have become a favorite of those who like to dance and listen to tunes they grew up with in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. The ’Dogs are an eight piece band made up of mostly PebbleCreek residents who came together and started rehearsing about six months ago. They focus on songs that we all grew up dancing to, singing to, and tapping our feet to.
Band members are Bob Wikstrom—Hammond Organ, keyboards and vocals; Brian Wentz—lead guitar and vocals; Kim Ballew—rhythm guitar; Doug Harris—drums/cowbell; Jeff Buda—tenor sax; Jim Ledford—bass; Teddi English—trumpet and flugelhorn; and Mike Perkins—tenor sax, baritone sax, and vocals.
Wikstrom, who had a similar band in the Seattle area for 20+ years, moved to PebbleCreek three years ago. “I had so much fun playing up north that I grabbed my friend Brian Wentz, also from Washington state, and started searching out fellow musicians with similar tastes in music. We were pleasantly surprised to find the amount of great musical talent here. Once we settled on the make-up of the band we went into rehearsal mode.” Wikstrom says that the regular bands that have been playing in PC are “top notch,” so they knew they were going to have to offer our neighbors something that was a little different, like a horn section that allows the ’Dogs to include tunes done by bands that featured “big horn sounds.” The Big Dogs song list consists of many tunes from groups like Chicago; Earth, Wind & Fire; Average White Band; Tower of Power; plus groups that came out of “Hitsville USA” (Motown Records).
The March 25 show and dance begins at 6 p.m. in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom. The doors and bar open at 5:30 p.m. So, get your groove on and plan for an evening of dancing and fun. There’s a $5 cover charge at the door.