Even Simon Kendall was a little leery of replacing long time friend Doug Bennett in Doug & the Slugs after his death. But when they came across Ted Okos, something eery happened.
“As soon as the band hit the stage I went ‘this is good, this is fun,” he said of that first show with Okos two years ago.
“There are times when he’s singing that I get shivers, because it’s so close to Doug, we joke about it in the show … the fact that he’s actually Doug’s love child,” Kendall said with a chuckle. “When you close your eyes, you go ‘wow’ it really brings it back.”
They knew Okos held promise once he described himself as a cross between Meatloaf and Benny Hill.
“Doug is irreplaceable, we know that but we’ve been really encouraged,” Kendall said. After bouts of apprehension, it turns out audience reaction has been incredibly good. Last year they sold out the Charlie White Theatre.
“We had a wonderful time,” Kendall said. “We’re looking forward to coming back.”
Fans can expect “good old slug shenanigans” plus the classic songs like Day by Day, Making it Work, Love Shines, and Chinatown Calculation. The tunes they made famous recording and hard-core touring in the 1980s. “We averaged six months a year on the road, mostly in Canada,” Kendall said. “We played everywhere from Newfoundland to Port Alberni. We were road warriors.”
They’re on the road hitting the Peninsula on May 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Charlie White Theatre. Get tickets ($43) online at www.marywinspear.ca or call the box office 250-656-0275.