Local Drummer Derek Dugger Aims to Beat Cancer

Photo: Bill Noesges
Lifelong Oklahoma resident Derek Dugger has entertained music fans for years as the drummer for local favorites including Fear of Rejection, The Poison Okies, Jimmy Dale and the Diamondback Trio, Brian Dunning & the Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio, and The R.I.P. Tides, as well as playing with well-known national acts including Mack Stevens, Wanda Jackson and Big Al Downing.
After a lifetime focused on keeping the beat, Dugger was faced with a critical new challenge after suffering two seizures. A CT scan revealed a mass in his brain. An MRI then confirmed the diagnosis as it pinpointed a five-centimeter Glioblastoma Multiforme tumor. Derek then underwent a craniotomy to remove most of the tumor. He is now undergoing radiation and chemotherapy to reduce what is left of the tumor, since surgeons were unable to safely remove all of it.
Derek has been married for five years to veterinary hospital employee Buffy Miller Dugger. He has been unable to work since his diagnosis and surgery and is without medical insurance.
A drummer for more than thirty years, Dugger majored in music in college and is an active part of the Oklahoma City music and classic car scenes. Both Derek and his wife Buffy are active members of the Roadkillers Car Club, whose unwavering support has included co-sponsoring and helping organize a benefit concert to help raise funds for the Dugger’s medical and living expenses.
SHOW INFO:
• When: Saturday, November 7 (Noon - 1am)
• Where: 66 Bowl, 3810 NW 39th St., in OKC
• Bands: Mack Stevens, Brian Dunning and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio, The Hellbilly Saints, The Ike Lamb Band, The Muck Savages, The Reverb Brothers, Brian Parton, Ong, The R.I.P. Tides, Billy Joe Winghead, Bloody Ol’ Mule, The Starkweather Boys & Little Rachel.
• Admission: $5 (donations will be accepted)
• All Ages
• Silent auction will be held and several items will be raffled off.

“With The R.I.P. Tides, Derek is much more than ‘the drummer.’ He creates something specific for every song and is truly another instrument within our arrangements.” - Greg Burnett, longtime friend and band mate

“I’ve known Derek since he started drumming for our first band together, The Poison Okies, back around 1994 or ‘95. Derek has always been the backbone of my sound. We have played with some other great drummers, but Derek’s swing style has the sound and feel that works best with me and my band. We have played together so long that I know what he is gonna do before he does it when he is playing, so I know how to accentuate my moves accordingly! Derek has always been a good friend and a kind of big brother as far as trying to keep me outta trouble at times, and I love him like a brother.” - Brian Dunning, longtime friend and musical comrade

“I can say Derek Dugger has stayed with his passion over the years and that is drumming. My time with Derek goes back to the summer of 1986 when I played a turquoise Fender bass with guitarist Kelly Mulcahey in her garage. Not much came out of that trio musically but I would always see him at shows and in late 1994 and early 1995 found Derek to drum for the Poison Okies, and he dived into rockabilly musically and in style. He started putting hair wax on his hair. Derek is a great drummer who has good rhythm and can play with the best and he does things on his own time which earned him the nickname Always Late Dugger. I would tell him the shows started an hour earlier. I’ll never forget the unfortunate mishap when his SUV caught fire on a tour of California and made July 3rd Los Angeles traffic radio bulletins due to smoke near Indio on Interstate 10. He tried to set the desert on fire and we were all happy Derek and Buffy were okay but he lost all of his drumming stuff. Nothing stopped him then when he showed up at the gig in new thrift store threads. Great drummer and creative too. Keep rockin’ Derek!” - Robert Medley, a friend and collaborator for many years

Make plans to attend Drumming for Derek this Saturday at 66 Bowl and attend a great show while showing your support for a worthy cause.
- posted by Barb