Doctor’s feelgood Couty’s Rock Dox give potent injection of classic rock

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If you’re ailing from a lack of music with a hook, meaningful lyrics and a killer guitar solo, there’s a band that’s got the prescription for you.

The Presque Isle-based Rock Dox have earned a glowing reputation in Aroostook County for their live shows, featuring covers of well-known songs from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, and their own original tunes collected on their first CD, “Fully Medicated.” Now they’re taking the show on the road, with upcoming dates downstate and even at the Trump Marina in Atlantic City, N.J.

Following an era of boy bands, rap and metal, classic rock is back on the scene, and the Rock Dox, whose members range in age from 29 to 40, are riding that wave.

“We get a lot of 21-, 22-, 23-year-olds mouthing the words to the covers we’re playing,” said bassist Dr. Hank Ford, the only remaining founder member of the band.

“So much of rock today is a downer,” added Brian Mosher, the group’s keyboardist and rhythm guitarist. “We’re bringing back guitar solos and melody and lyrics about something fun and positive. I can’t believe how many kids are into our CD, because it’s geared to our age group.”

The Rock Dox were founded in 1997 by Ford, an oral surgeon, and two other doctors, an anesthesiologist and a chiropractor.

“We were talking one day, and found out that we all played different instruments,” Ford recalled. “We decided that we should get together sometime and have some fun. It turned out there was more than that there.”

Ford said that the band showed off a different side of doctors.

“Sometime people see doctors as standoffish,” he said. “So to see doctors out in the community, interacting, having a good time, is a good thing. It shows that you can do more than just one thing, that you’re human.”

Playing in the band provides an outlet from Ford’s normal, stressful, painstaking work.

“It’s a great release for me, and I enjoy it a lot,” he said. “It’s completely different from what I usually do. I love performing.”

Since then, the group has evolved to include Ford, singer Mark Couturier, drummer Rich Newland, lead guitarist Greg Beidelman and Mosher.

“Each addition has taken us to a new level,” Ford said.

Many local groups have come and gone in the five-plus years of the Rock Dox’s existence. So what has kept them together?

“It’s chemistry,” Couturier said. “Musicians all have strong personalities. To get five guys who get along and enjoy playing together, it’s almost like being in a club.”

As the quintet joke around while sitting at a table at Ford’s office, it’s evident that they’re on the same wavelength, often finishing each other’s sentences. (Beidelman, Newland and Couturier have played together since high school.) “We can read each other’s minds,” Ford affirmed.

All the band’s members have day jobs. Ford has his practice, Newland owns Peterson’s Septic Service, Couturier works in sales for a rental company, Mosher is a stay-at-home dad and Beidelman is an account executive for a local radio station.

Yet they’re very serious about their music, rehearsing weekly and playing at least twice a month, often at their home base, the Presque Isle Home and Convention Center.

“Our practices are very focused and intense,” Ford said. “We have an agenda, and we stick to it.”

Their live shows are what have packed the Presque Isle facility.

“We play with the crowd, not at the crowd,” Ford said. “We try to get the audience going. Very few people who come to see us don’t leave without sweating.”

“Everyone’s pushing themselves to play better,” Couturier added. “We’re pretty focused on making sure everyone has a good time.”

Their shows have progressed to the point where they need two roadies, Dean Lavway and Brian Michaud, and a soundman, Doug Allen.

“We’re certainly not background music,” Couturier said. “It’s like going to a concert. We’ve got a lot of lights and concert-level sound.”

That’s why the Rock Dox have hooked up with booking agency Razor Ray Productions of Lewiston, in an effort to find gigs throughout the Northeast. They’ve got a date at The Toucan in Lewiston April 12, and tentative plans to play at a festival headlined by Restless Heart in July at the former Loring Air Force Base.

“We want to move downstate,” Ford said. “We can’t play at small clubs because of our presentation. It’s a big show. We’re not a plug-and-play band. This offers an opportunity for us to go a little higher.”

Their CD, “Fully Medicated,” is packed with the classic-rock sound that has been missing from the radio in recent years. It was produced by John Dyer at his Unintentional Studios in Blue Hill, and released last July.

“He made it very inviting,” Ford said. “He kind of let things take their own course. A few times we were floundering, and he set us in the right direction.”

So how do the band’s members describe the Rock Dox’s songwriting technique?

“Brian comes up with a riff, and we all hammer it into the ground, then tell Greg to make it heavier, ignore what Hank has to say, and then we cut it,” Newland joked.

The quintet plans to go into the studio to record its second album this spring.

Mostly, the band wants to prove any doubters wrong.

“We’ve never accepted that you could only do so much [being from] around here,” Ford said. “People say, ‘You’re from northern Maine, how good can you be?’ We want to show them how good we can be. You give us a chance and we’ll deliver for you.”

“Fully Medicated” can be found at Wal-Mart in Presque Isle, IGA stores in Mars Hill, Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield and County Food Trend stores or ordered from www.rockdox.com. Upcoming Rock Dox dates are Feb. 14-15 and March 14-15, both at the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center.