Keepin’ Faith with The Gary Douglas Band SPECIAL
BY ADRIAN PEEL
A heady mix of classic rock, Americana, country and blues, The Gary Douglas Band have been enjoying quite a bit of success with their second album. Their frontman spoke to Digital Journal.
Like so many before him, Gary Douglas began playing in bands while still at college. The need to earn a living subsequently saw him walk away from performing for a number of years, though he spent that time wisely, working as a lawyer in his native New York.
The burning desire to make music never went away, however, and after putting together a rocking new band, consisting of Jeremy Goldsmith on guitar, keyboardist Scott Chasolen, Dan Asher on bass, drummer Stefano Baldasseroni, horn player Nick Biello and backing vocalists Yula Beeri and Clara Lofaro, he released the second album to bear his name, Keepin’ Faith, in October last year.
“We’ve done a few shows,” says the man himself over the telephone from New York, discussing what he and his cohorts have been up to of late, “and we’re actually also doing some pre-production in anticipation of another record with Anthony Resta, who produced our last album.”
The bandleader, who writes the music and the lyrics by himself before the other members add their valuable input, hopes to have the new CD out by the “end of spring, early summer.”
Keepin’ Faith incorporates quite a few different genres and I wondered whether its follow-up will carry on in a similar vein. “Probably,” muses Gary, “though maybe it’ll have a stronger edge. It might focus more on Americana, at least that’s the way it’s coming together right now.
In its first two weeks of release, the first single, “To Be With You,” was added to over 20 American radio stations. The second, “Faith (Renewed)” has also proved popular. Does Gary think this might be partly due to the fact that people are getting tired of the manufactured pop coming out of Nashville, for example?
“I guess… I know I am,” he replies. “I mean there’s obviously folks that that manufactured type of formula is not gonna resonate with, so I guess as a natural consequence of that there are people that this kind of thing would resonate with…
“I think there’s too much of the contrived stuff out there and what we’re really dedicated to – what we really believe in – is the roots of rock ‘n’ roll. Americana isn’t just a genre; it’s an art form that’s timeless and we’re trying to stay true to it and keep it alive, so to speak. When we play our live shows we find that’s where it resonates most.”
Other tunes of note among the 12 on offer include “Out on the Highway,” “My Desire,” “Lord I Try” and “Cold Blood” and I wanted to know which had been earmarked for possible singles in the future.
“Well we are actually discussing that right now… There’s one song on the album that people seem to react to that’s definitely outside of the concept, so you wouldn’t think we’d release it as a single.
“It’s called ‘Goodbye Marie’ and it’s this lonely message, a guy singing almost into space. There’s very little musical accompaniment at the beginning, yet it ends with big-time production – 25 tracks of vocals.”
“To play as many live shows as is humanly possible!” says the musician, when asked about his other plans for 2016. “That’s where we really enjoy ourselves – it’s what we really love to do…
“We are looking at a brief tour in South America at the end of March, early April, opening for The Titans of Rock, which is Gene Simmons and some other known and respected artists like Richie Sambora. We’re trying to make that deal happen right now.”
Revealing why he took such a long break from music, Gary confesses, “I got disenchanted with the music business and life took me in a different direction… But I always felt it was something I would have to circle back to, ultimately. If I only knew then what I know now!”