The band
Crush plays Bon Jovi the way the records sound and the way the arena felt.
Doug Shepard fronts the five-piece. He carries the range and the look, and he works the front of the stage the way the job demands. No parody, no wink at the crowd.
Ten years on the road across the United States and Canada have put the band on every kind of stage there is: club rooms, theater bills, casino showrooms, and fair grandstands in front of 13,000 people. Promoters rebook Crush because the tickets move and the show lands.
The band builds each running order around the room. Anthems open it, an acoustic stretch sits in the middle, and the encore sends people out into the parking lot still singing.
Audiences run from people who were there the first time to their kids, and both sing every word. That range is why the act fits a theater bill, a fair grandstand and a casino stage inside one season.
Behind him: Diego Latorre on lead guitar, Jeff Smith on bass, Todd Green on drums and Chip McGuer on keys. Two of them work Nashville's Broadway, JBJ's included, and Diego has shared that stage with Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan and Hugh McDonald.
The band books further out every year. The 2026 run goes from August into November.
Meet the band
Five players, and four of them sing. Nobody on this stage is filling a seat.
- VOX
Doug Shepard
Lead vocals, guitar
Doug founded Crush, runs it, and fronts it. Decades of professional work came before the band.
He has sung for 13,000 people at Ottawa’s Nostalgia Music Festival and played theater bills including the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center in Shipshewana, Indiana.
Fans mention the resemblance to Jon Bon Jovi first. The voice and the pacing hold the room for the two hours after that.
- Founder and frontman
- 13,000 at Ottawa’s Nostalgia Music Festival
- Blue Gate Performing Arts Center, Shipshewana, Indiana
- GTR
Diego Latorre
Lead guitar, vocals
Diego came to Nashville from Colombia with a music degree and a touring history. He sings as well as he plays, which counts for a lot in a catalog built on stacked harmony.
He has played JBJ’s Nashville, Jon Bon Jovi’s bar on Broadway, and shared that stage with Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan and Hugh McDonald.
Before Crush he toured and recorded with Manuel Medrano and earned a 2016 Latin Grammy Diploma of Participation for Best Album. Tagima endorses him, and he has played several NAMM Shows in California.
- Bachelor of Music
- JBJ’s Nashville, with Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan and Hugh McDonald
- Toured and recorded with Manuel Medrano
- 2016 Latin Grammy Diploma of Participation, Best Album
- Endorsed Tagima artist
- NAMM Show, California
- BASS
Jeff Smith
Bass guitar, vocals
Jeff is a Nashville native with a degree in Commercial Music Technology. He started out touring the world for B.B. King’s Blues Club behind blues and soul acts.
He works Nashville’s Broadway most weeks, JBJ’s included, on a repertoire that runs from classic country through to metal. He has held a chair in the Washington Symphony Orchestra for more than ten years.
Between Crush dates he writes and records with artists around the world.
- Degree in Commercial Music Technology
- International touring for B.B. King’s Blues Club
- Nashville Broadway regular, including JBJ’s
- Washington Symphony Orchestra, 10+ years
- DRUMS
Todd Green
Drums
Todd sat down at his first kit at two years old. Live work has filled the decades since.
He has toured the Midwest and the wider United States with Long Distance, Diamond and Green with Envy.
This catalog needs a drummer who sits in the pocket and stays there when a fair grandstand starts clapping on two and four. Todd does that.
- First kit at age two
- Long Distance, Diamond, Green with Envy
- KEYS
Chip McGuer
Keyboards
Chip trained as a classical pianist from the age of four. By his early twenties he was touring the United States with the rock band Under Fire.
Those bills put him on stage with REO Speedwagon, Billy Squier, Joan Jett, Joe Walsh, The Tubes, A Flock of Seagulls and Blue Öyster Cult.
In Crush he covers David Bryan’s parts: the piano intro to "Runaway," the bed under "Bed of Roses," the keyboards behind "Livin’ on a Prayer." Take the keys out and the catalog stops sounding like Bon Jovi.
- Classically trained from age four
- Toured the US with Under Fire
- Shared bills with REO Speedwagon, Joan Jett, Joe Walsh, Billy Squier, Blue Öyster Cult
What a promoter gets
The show runs
Backup gear travels with the band and stage management holds the running order from soundcheck through the encore. Outdoor dates carry a weather contingency plan, so a bad forecast is the band's problem before it becomes yours.
Production that fits the room
Concert lighting and production scale to what you have, from a theater stage to a festival field. The band soundchecks in full and starts on time.
