Bellevue Cadillac's 'Professor' Doug Bell Plans Solo Gigs

If the name Doug Bell rings a bell, then you know more than a little about music.

Bell (nicknamed ‘The Professor') is the brains behind the 20 year-old 8-piece band Bellevue Cadillac (www.bellevuecadillac.com ) which was nominated for seven Grammys in 2007 and was nominated for two in 2011. Bell wants his current fans and future converts to know that, while he's still guiding and performing with his band, he's putting more emphasis on going solo.

Why solo now? "One of the biggest reasons for the solo thing is the lyrics get bypassed because the big band show is so compelling on its own," says Bell. "But the real artistry is the lyrics -- and solo, the audience hears the words."

"We thought we could change the world, with just some flowers in our hair. By the time we got to Woodstock, change was in the air, everyone was there, music everywhere, the Beatles just declared, all you need is love, love, love..... Something changed along the way..." -- From Dog Bell's Summerset

A few other reasons for the partial breakaway: "It's harder to travel and get gigs for a big band," he says. "Also, I keep getting invited to play with some really big names, so I need to break out and be available more as a solo performer."

Bell's most recent Grammy nominations were for ‘Once in a Blue Moon' - for Best Traditional Blues Album, and ‘Snake Charmer' for Best Song by a Group or Duo - Pop.

Bell's first solo CD project is in the works. Accompanying him in recordings of his original works so far have been Dave ‘Honeyboy' Edwards and Brad Whitford of Aerosmith. Others expected to lay down tracks are Jeff ‘Skunk' Baxter, JoNathan Edwards, Bryan Bassett (Foghat), and J. Geils.

Bell's music is a unique blend of jazz, blues, swing, rock, soul and country, so don't try to fit it neatly into a specific genre. "I like to call it ‘Modern Retro,'" he says with
characteristic irony. The careful listener will hear influences from New Orleans, Motown, Harlem, the West Coast, Chicago and his hometown of Boston. (He was born in Hawaii.)

"Italian leather shoes, Russian sable too, blue jeans from a one-eyed jack who let his flag unfurl, seven days in May, she kept the pigs at bay, a lover's broken promises, shot heard round the world" -- From Havana Moon

Bell's Bellevue Cadillac originals have been recorded on 6 CDs and are included on 17 compilation CDs with other artists. His work has been used on TV commercials, TV and Broadway shows and movies, and is a staple in digital karaoke covered by other artists. Listen carefully and you'll hear his sound next time you watch hit TV shows like The Sopranos, Brotherhood, Touched By An Angel, Las Vegas and Sex and the City, and in films like Shallow Hal and Me, Myself and Irene.

In the fall of 2010, Bell's first solo DVD. "Doug Bell: Rise Up," won First Place in the Music Category at the Alliance For Community Media - New England Regional Fall Festival. The video explores his unique musical journey and talents.

Even as he lines up solo gigs and performances with others, Bell continues to schedule for his Bellevue Cadillac both private and public performances.

The group is in demand, with a summertime private gig at Boston's Fenway Park and in Mystic, CT, in September. On July 17 they did a public show at Salisbury Beach, MA.

Their schedule includes gigs at the Summer Sounds Concert on July 22 at the South Shore Country Club in Hingham, MA, and on August 6, Bell will MC and perform at the 2010 Onset Blues Festival on Cape Cod. Other performers will be James Montgomery, Luke Mulholland and the Gill Corea Band.

If the heat's got you thinking about a crisp wintry eve, Bellevue Cadillac will bring more coolness to the Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, NH, on December 17.

"The group is still as solid as ever," Bell smiles. "And I'm as solid solo as ever, too."