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Singer-songwriter works hard, wins fan support
By KELSEY HOLM, Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO --- The hardest part of Gregory Douglass' job as a singer-songwriter has nothing to do with music.
An independent artist with six albums under his belt, Douglass, 25, is also in charge of promoting his music, booking his tours and getting himself coffee. In other words, Douglass is his own entourage.
"There are so many things on my mind all the time that it's just hard keeping up, especially when I'm on the road --- and I've booked a pretty hefty tour for spring," said Douglass, who will make a stop at the Waterloo Center for the Arts on Thursday.
"I don't have a whole team of people. I don't have what a label would provide."
Still, he relishes his side of the fence, where the grass may look a little less green but in its own way is just as lush.
"I think both options have a ton of pros and cons ... but the more I release on my own the harder it is for me to imagine giving anything away to anyone else. Creative freedom is the biggest perk of being independent. I do things the way I want to do them, which is nice for a control freak like me," laughed Douglass.
Knowing the amount of work Douglass puts into his career on a daily basis makes his success even more impressive, said Kent Shankle, curator of the Waterloo Center for the Arts. Shankle saw Douglass perform at Wartburg College and heard notes reminiscent of Tori Amos, Patty Griffin and Damien Rice. The quality of Douglass' music, combined with a scaled-down stage show sized right for the Center, inspired Shankle to schedule Douglass for a performance benefiting the Phelps Youth Pavilion.
"I think he's a really strong musician and an excellent songwriter," said Shankle. "... Part of the strength of his music is it's a little bit stripped down in terms of instrumentation. He has such a powerful voice, and it's not overwhelmed."
Releasing his first album before he graduated high school, Douglass calls his sixth recording, "Up & Away," a retrospective.
"I know that I'm still young and pretty new at the game, but this being my sixth record, I feel like I've gone through a lot of different incarnations. A lot has happened over the last few years," said Douglass.
After graduating high school, he eschewed college for a life on the road, unable to justify spending so much money on a career as a starving artist.
"I've always acknowledged that I've been in a hurry to grow up," he said. "When I was a kid I was friends with people older than me, and I didn't ascribe to a lot of the things people my age were into. I was always writing about things, and I'm fascinated with myself in other people's shoes and writing from their perspective."
On his second album, Douglass penned a tune from the perspective of a mother speaking about her child. Parents who see him perform it have one similar question, "How do you know that?"
The rest of his music has enough of an impact on listeners that they're willing to fund his work. His last three albums were financed almost completely by his fans, who pre-ordered records and contributed donations through Douglass' Web site. Following the model of another independent performer, Douglass wasn't sure what to expect. He was pleasantly surprised when his fans responded so strongly.
"I think it's a really cool way for fans to feel really connected to what they're supporting," said Douglass. "...The type of fans I'm building now are the dedicated kind. There's a big difference between the type of fans you inherit with a big label --- they're the more fleeting kind."
Contact Kelsey Holm at (319) 291-1464 or kelsey.holm@wcfcourier.com.
An independent artist with six albums under his belt, Douglass, 25, is also in charge of promoting his music, booking his tours and getting himself coffee. In other words, Douglass is his own entourage.
"There are so many things on my mind all the time that it's just hard keeping up, especially when I'm on the road --- and I've booked a pretty hefty tour for spring," said Douglass, who will make a stop at the Waterloo Center for the Arts on Thursday.
"I don't have a whole team of people. I don't have what a label would provide."
Still, he relishes his side of the fence, where the grass may look a little less green but in its own way is just as lush.
"I think both options have a ton of pros and cons ... but the more I release on my own the harder it is for me to imagine giving anything away to anyone else. Creative freedom is the biggest perk of being independent. I do things the way I want to do them, which is nice for a control freak like me," laughed Douglass.
Knowing the amount of work Douglass puts into his career on a daily basis makes his success even more impressive, said Kent Shankle, curator of the Waterloo Center for the Arts. Shankle saw Douglass perform at Wartburg College and heard notes reminiscent of Tori Amos, Patty Griffin and Damien Rice. The quality of Douglass' music, combined with a scaled-down stage show sized right for the Center, inspired Shankle to schedule Douglass for a performance benefiting the Phelps Youth Pavilion.
"I think he's a really strong musician and an excellent songwriter," said Shankle. "... Part of the strength of his music is it's a little bit stripped down in terms of instrumentation. He has such a powerful voice, and it's not overwhelmed."
Releasing his first album before he graduated high school, Douglass calls his sixth recording, "Up & Away," a retrospective.
"I know that I'm still young and pretty new at the game, but this being my sixth record, I feel like I've gone through a lot of different incarnations. A lot has happened over the last few years," said Douglass.
After graduating high school, he eschewed college for a life on the road, unable to justify spending so much money on a career as a starving artist.
"I've always acknowledged that I've been in a hurry to grow up," he said. "When I was a kid I was friends with people older than me, and I didn't ascribe to a lot of the things people my age were into. I was always writing about things, and I'm fascinated with myself in other people's shoes and writing from their perspective."
On his second album, Douglass penned a tune from the perspective of a mother speaking about her child. Parents who see him perform it have one similar question, "How do you know that?"
The rest of his music has enough of an impact on listeners that they're willing to fund his work. His last three albums were financed almost completely by his fans, who pre-ordered records and contributed donations through Douglass' Web site. Following the model of another independent performer, Douglass wasn't sure what to expect. He was pleasantly surprised when his fans responded so strongly.
"I think it's a really cool way for fans to feel really connected to what they're supporting," said Douglass. "...The type of fans I'm building now are the dedicated kind. There's a big difference between the type of fans you inherit with a big label --- they're the more fleeting kind."
Contact Kelsey Holm at (319) 291-1464 or kelsey.holm@wcfcourier.com.
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