Dr. Bob is turning 44, and this year has been full of milestones for the rock band founded by Park City-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Howrey.
One of those landmarks will actually happen Friday when SLUG Magazine’s Soundwaves podcast will broadcast Howrey’s interview with the podcast’s producer and host, Nate Mcquivey.
The podcast will be accessible through all podcast streaming platforms, Howrey said.
“The discussion will center on my recently published autobiography, ‘DIY ROCKSTAR!!!’ which is available on Amazon, Kindle and other online booksellers,” he said.
The memoir, fully titled “DIY ROCKSTAR!!! The End of the World and What to Do About It,” was was published in February 2025 and is, according to Howrey at the time of publication, “a no-holds barred look back at the band’s 43-year career.”
“It answers all the big questions — Why are we here? Is there life after death? Stuff like that,” he said. “And then there’s the sex, drugs and rock and roll.”
The book follows Howrey, a former writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, through his childhood in New York City and his life in Park City, where he and bassist Betsy Conner Pott formed Dr. Bob, which is one of the town’s longest-running rock bands, in 1982.
Dr. Bob also released a “DIY ROCKSTAR!!!” video, an installment of the band’s rockumentary series, which showcases the “Golden Era” of Park City’s Main Street nightlife in the 1980s and 1990s, Howrey said.
“We now have 25 fully produced music videos on our YouTube channel, with cumulative views amounting to 35,000,” he said. “Our most popular video, with 4,000 views, is a rockumentary we filmed at the Deer Valley amphitheater in the summer of 2022, which celebrated Dr. Bob’s 40th anniversary, titled ‘The Ghosts of Rock ‘N’ Roll.’”
The video is Dr. Bob’s first-ever in-concert documentary, filmed during the band’s 40th anniversary concert on July 6, 2022, at Deer Valley’s Snowpark Amphitheater by roadie John Gonthier, Howrey said at the time the video was released.
“The concept was basically to give John a camera and let him film it, which he dutifully did,” he said. “John is the perfect example of how, in the artistic world, those behind the scenes are equally, if not more, important than those onstage.”
Last week, Howrey released a new video, “DIY ROCKSTAR!!!,” which complements his autobiography.
“The Dr. Bob YouTube channel contains a total of 31 fully produced music videos, (and) there are 23 available by clicking on ‘Videos,’ and another eight can be accessed via the ‘Posts’ tab,” he said. “All feature original songs from the 11 Dr. Bob albums currently in release, (and) we are nearing 35,000 cumulative views.”
Fans who want to see the band play live are in luck. The Prospector Homeowners Association is sponsoring a 44th anniversary concert that will run from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, at Prospector Park, located at the intersection of Wyatt Earp Way and Kearns Blvd.
“The show is free and open to all ages,” Howrey said. “And it will feature four Dr. Bob veterans.”
Those musicians are drummer Tony Korologos, guitarist and harmonica player Dana Williams, bassist Klay Gustin and percussionist Greg Friedman.
“Tony started working with Dr. Bob in the early ’90s, having played with us at numerous shows over the years,” Howrey said. “We recorded two of our albums — ‘Beer for Breakfast’ and ‘aka Jeffrey Howrey’ — at his Fast Forward Studios in Salt Lake City. He produced and engineered all the sessions and played drums as well. Tony was a founding member of the Gamma Rays, the best punk band ever to come out of Utah.”
Williams is Park City’s former three-term mayor, according to Howrey.
“(He) has been playing off and on with Dr. Bob for the past decade or so, (and) has been a mainstay of the Park City music scene for years, most notably as a member of the Motherlode Canyon Band.”
Gustin is one of the “best musicians to ever emerge from Heber City,” Howrey said.
“Now a resident of Salt Lake, he produced, engineered and played on three Dr. Bob albums — ‘Back from the Grave,’ ‘Redneck Boy from Illinois’ and ‘Men R Pigz’ — at his Doghouse recording studio,” he said. “He has played numerous live gigs with Dr. Bob over the past 20 years.”
Friedman is a genuine Parkite who has been a go-to percussionist in the local music scene for decades, according to Howrey.
“(Greg) was already playing bar gigs in town by the time he graduated from Park City High School in 1980,” he said. “He played his first gig with Dr. Bob in 1986 and has played about 200 shows with the band since, as well as playing drums on several of our albums.”
Howrey said it’s been “a thrill and honor of a lifetime” to lead the Dr. Bob Band for the past 44 years.
“But we’re not done yet,” he said. “I am hoping to continue for the next 30 years or so. Half jokingly, I would say that sometimes you keep going just to piss off your enemies. But seriously, aging is mind over matter. As long as you don’t mind, it don’t matter.”
For information about SLUG Magazine’s Soundwaves podcast, visit slugmag.com/soundwaves
Also:
Dr. Bob 44th Anniversary Concert
- When: 5 p.m., Saturday, July 25
- Where: Prospector Park
- Cost: Free
- Web: drbobjdh.com