PTB FEATURED PREMIUM TRIBUTE BAND
STEELY DAN TRIBUTE BAND
MAJOR DUDES
Three-time Detroit Music Award winners for Outstanding Tribute Band.
Multiyear Detroit Music Award winners for Outstanding Tribute Band, Major Dudes, is an extraordinary six piece group consisting of highly regarded veteran musicians who have all recorded and toured with numerous regional and national artists over the last five decades.
This accomplished lineup delivers impeccable renditions of every Steely Dan Top 40 hit (including Do It Again, Peg, and Rikki Don’t Lose That Number), choice deep cuts, and the entire classic Aja album.
Major Dudes has been captivating audiences since 2015. They feature a tight rhythm section, sizzling soloists, and the strong lead vocals of Danny Taylor. They expertly recreate the challenging melodies, and complex, dense arrangements Steely Dan’s music is noted for, and they manage this feat with a band about half the size of most Dan tributes. With multi-tasking musicians who sing and play, multiple keyboards, and creative horn charts that allow two great saxophonists to ably stand in for a larger horn section, the feeling that “it’s all there” is complete. The Dudes really can play Steely Dan!
Major Dudes
Home Base: Detroit, MI
Year Founded: 2015
Gigs per year: 10 – 15
Book this Steely Dan tribute act today and let your audience experience the classic music of the legendary Hall of Fame group played with precision and energy.
Major Dudes is perfect for high-end private parties, sophisticated corporate events, PACs and theaters.
Meet Major Dudes
Danny Taylor – keyboards, lead vocals
Major Dudes could not have excelled as they have without a singer able toemulate the unique feel and style of Donald Fagen. Danny brings this to the table like no one else working in a Steely Dan tribute today.
His love for the band began in ’72 when Can’t Buy a Thrill was released and it influenced his singing as well as his piano playing and songwriting throughout his career.
Danny has recorded dozens of original songs since the early eighties and played hundreds of dates in and around the Detroit area. His most noteworthy gig was a five year stint prior to and during the early days of Major Dudes playing with Detroit legends Johnny B. Badanjek (drums) and Jim McCarty (guitar) in The Rockets.
Paul Laginess – bass, vocals
Major Dudes co-founder (with Danny) and bandleader, Paul has been performing and recording since 1970. He spent the late 70s in the highly regarded funk/jazz group, Air Condo.
He first met Dudes bandmate Waldon Reed in 1988, and has played and recorded with him up to the present day.
Also of note, Paul spent 10 years beginning in 2000 with Blue Bang Theory, a group led by Three Dog Night guitarist/vocalist, Paul Kingery.
Like Danny, Paul has been a Steely Dan hardcore fan from the outset. As a longtime listener, his bass stylings are heavily influenced by, among many others, Walter Becker and Chuck Rainey.
Waldon Reed, Jr. – guitar
Guitarist, Waldon Reed, Jr., received his Bachelor of Music degree in guitar performance from Marygrove College and his Master of Music degree in composition from Wayne State University in Detroit.
His playing styles include classical, jazz, and classic and progressive rock, all influences that have served him well when recreating and/or re-imagining the stellar guitar playing so vitally important to the music of Steely Dan.
He has eight albums of original material to his credit and a large amount of content on his YouTube channel, the lion share of it being his guitar based interpretations of horror and sci-fi TV and movie themes.
Jim Pryor – drums, vocals
Jim hails from Baltimore and moved to the Detroit area in the mid-80s piling up musical associations too numerous to name since his arrival, but of particular note was a long stint beginning in 1995 with the Bugs Beddow Band, a Detroit area institution for decades.
Jim’s solid meter, powerful grooves, and crisp tenor voice have made him the drummer of choice for countless Detroit Music Award winning, and Grammy nominated Detroit area artists. And speaking of Detroit Music Awards, in addition to the three he helped garner for Major Dudes, Jim was an integral part of the five earned by the Bugs Beddow Band when he was a member.
Dave Reinstein – alto sax, tenor sax, keyboards
Dave came to the Dudes in 2016 with a long list of accomplishments. He has scored radio, TV, and industrial film projects and his original music has been broadcast on the Weather Channel. He contributed piano playing, arranging and composing for the movie Oz the Great and Powerful.
Dave has released four jazz recordings and as a performing artist has shared the stage with Jon Luc Ponty, Stanley Clark, Peter Frampton, JohnMcLaughlin, Jimmy Cliff, Brian Setzer, Robert Cray, and many others. He has been a featured member of a great many Motor City based artists including The Sun Messengers, Orange Lake Drive, Stewart Francke, and the Detroit Piston’s Band.
Carl Cafagna – tenor sax, flute, vocals
The last piece of the Major Dudes puzzle was added in early 2018. With the addition of Carl, all of the Steely Dan material that featured horns suddenly became possible. He’s an excellent singer as well, and is utilized in that capacity whenever a saxophone or a flute isn’t preventing it.
With over 30 years of experience, Carl is among the Midwest’s most sought-after musicians, both live and in the studio. Throughout his career he has performed with some of the most renowned names in music including Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, The Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey Orchestras, Les Brown, Jr., Charley Pride, and the Temptations. In addition to these national acts, Carl has played with many of the Detroit area’s most respected jazz,
rock, and even classical artists.
