Doug Deming & The Jewel Tones featuring Dennis Gruenling will be on stage at the Skyline Sunday August 9th at 7:30pm.
Acclaimed guitarist/vocalist Doug Deming and harmonica ace Dennis Gruenling – now both VizzTone recording artists – announce a new partnership to bring their music to a wider audience. Eastside Detroit native Doug Deming, now hailing from Florida’s Gulf Coast, has garnered widespread attention for his deft guitar work and memorable songwriting. With a nod to the likes of T-Bone Walker and Charlie Christian, as well as Luther Tucker and Robert Jr. Lockwood, Doug leaves his own mark whether swingin’ on the big jazz box, or playing straight up blues on the solid body Fender guitar. While playing the local Detroit scene in the early 90′s, major players began to take notice, and Doug spent much of the following years backing many of the day’s top touring blues artists, including Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman Kim Wilson, legendary Louisiana swamp bluesman Lazy Lester, Gary Primich, Chicago greats Johnny “Yard Dog” Jones, and A.C. Reed, as well as Detroit’s own Queen of the Blues, Alberta Adams. With a decade of touring and recording to his credit, Doug has earned his position alongside today’s heavies on the blues scene. Leading his band, The Jewel Tones, Doug continues to bring noteworthy traditional and original roots music to his audiences. Doug’s latest recording, What’s it Gonna Take, exhibits the outstanding guitar work and remarkable singing and songwriting that have become Doug’s calling card. Dennis Gruenling is without a doubt one of the baddest, swingingest, most innovative harp blowers on the planet. For the past fifteen years, Dennis has played with many top-notch traditional blues acts such as Snooky Pryor, Pinetop Perkins, A.C. Reed, Nappy Brown, and Homesick James, as well as his own original jump blues outfit “Jump Time”. For years critics and musicians worldwide have been praising how he blends both the blues harmonica and swing saxophone traditions, as he pioneers a whole new sound and direction for the harp. Also one of the world’s foremost blues harmonica instructors, Dennis is also in demand as a harmonica teacher and lecturer worldwide, in addition to the blues history knowledge he airs on his weekly “Blues & the Beat” radio program (WFDU-FM). Equally adept at performing, composing, arranging, and teaching, what fans remember most is the fun, energy, and emotional intensity of each and every show he is a part of. “Like World Champions…blues musicians Dennis Gruenling and Doug Deming are individually great talents who are even better when they come together as one of the most prolific duos on today’s contemporary American Blues scene. – MUSIC NEWS NASHVILLE “…one of the great tandems in blues music today” – BLUES JUNCTION “Doug Deming & The Jewel Tones are making a new thing out of the old-skool blues, and the results are highly addictive…Dennis rips the roof off with a chromatic harp workout…just swings with loads of energy and style.” – SUNDAY NIGHT BLUES PROJECT
