Artist description The Stuart Douglas Band is a straight forward rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama. The band spends most of their time touring college towns in the Southeast(Birmingham, Auburn, Atlanta, Chattanooga ect). The Stuart Douglas Band produces a sound that carries on CD, but also makes for some of the absolute best live music and performance out there today.

Music Style All-American Radiofriendly Rock with Storyteller Quality Lyrics

Musical Influences Springsteen, Steve Earle, Leonard Cohen, ect.

Similar Artists U2 or Better Than Ezra

Artist History The Stuart Douglas Band consists of Stuart Douglas on guitars and vocals, Michael DeGregorio on drums, Donnie Wells on bass, and Jack Dotson on guitars. The band is based out of north Alabama. Stuart and Michael met as children at a church in Stuart’s hometown in Louisiana where Michael’s father was holding a revival. The two immediately became best friends and discovered they both had a deep love for music. Stuart learned to play guitar at age 8 and began singing and playing in church shortly thereafter . He began writing songs at the age of 13 and counts Bruce Springsteen and U2 as his biggest influences. After relocating to North Alabama Stuart became involved in the local music scene and recorded a 14 song cassette of his material. Meant only to be demos, Pocket Savior was packaged and released because of demand. The album received college radio air play and soon sold out. Michael and Stuart formed a band , Late Night Breakfast, playing rock clubs in the South East and releasing one album in 1999. It was at an L.N.B. concert that Stuart met bassist Donnie Wells and guitarist Jack Dotson. They became friends and after L.N.B. dissolved in early 2000, work began on what would become the debut album by the Stuart Douglas Band . “Walking In On America” was recorded in a house that had been converted into a studio where Stuart lived with friend and CO-producer James Roberts. Both “Walking In On America “ and Robert’s debut release “ The Dirges Of Tuesday” were recorded in the same time period. “Walking” has received great reviews as well as air play on Birmingham’s 107.7 the X. Stuart Douglas Band are a must see live act and while touring to promote “Walking”, the band is also tweaking new material for an album, tentively entitled "Songs From the Red Room", planned for summer release.

Press Reviews Reviews The Stuart Douglas Band - Walking in on America Over the last few years there has been an unspoken law among music critics, and that is this: if it is catchy and has a lot of hooks - it must be garbage. Now to be fair, in most cases this is a pretty accurate assessment. But every once in a while, there is a record that is full of hooks and songs that you find yourself humming long after the CD has run it's course. "Walking in on America", by the Stuart Douglas Band, is one such example. Although you can find the influence of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waites in the song structure and lyrics, the heart and soul of the Stuart Douglas Band can be found in the arena anthem sounds of the pop/rock radio of the late 80's and early 90's. There is nothing groundbreaking, or revolutionary, to be found within the 13 songs here - but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it is enough to do the tried and true exceptionally well, and the Stuart Douglas Band does this in spades. The band sets the tone right out of the gate, with the rocking "Looking for America", which recalls the hook-laden anthems of John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen circa 1985. The sound is decidedly modern on "Beautiful Girl", a song about a small town guy in love with a wild and free spirit, who has returned with stories about life in the world beyond the city limits. The song never really reveals whether or not the girl returns the feelings; in fact, with the lines "shine on/shine on/shine bright and strong/you light up the world/you're a beautiful girl" we are left to wonder if the guy is even speaking directly to the girl or just daydreaming. It is a credit to the song writing, done with the exception of one track, exclusively by Stuart Douglas, that we are given enough information to form our own picture of events, without being spoon fed the literal meaning of every line. 2 "Down the Road" is one of several stand out tracks. From the first notes of the guitar, there is an air of loss and melancholy that runs through this song that is almost physical. The story of a man who sees his ex moving on with her life, but is somehow unable to forgive his own mistakes and do the same, will strike a cord with a lot of people. In just 4 minutes, Douglas does what many movies spend 2 hours trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to do. "It's cold and lonely/I'm wishing only/that I could take back the seeds I've sown", says what many people have tried to say, but were unable to find the words. This is followed by a confession that is breathtaking in it's simplicity: "I could have been better/I…wish I'd been better." The album is full of real life stories about love, loss, and redemption, without ever being trite or easy. "Better Than This" deals with watching helplessly as a close friend falls deeper and deeper into addiction. Rather than an uplifting last verse or a coda that says everything is alright, Douglas trusts us to find the outcome in our own minds. Does she make it? Does she get help? Or does his pleading fall on deaf ears? It takes a songwriter and a band who has a lot of confidence to leave it to the listener to decide. "Scenes From Highway 10" is a fun little song about life in a small town that will again bring to mind Springsteen and Mellencamp, but Douglas puts his own twist on things. Sample line: "Crazy Sara lives alone with nothing but a house full of cats/ no one knows how old she is and everyone is too afraid to ask." The thing that strikes me about Stuart Douglas is his ability to tell a story with just a few lines. This is most evident on the last track "The Santa Ana Robbery". This is the story of a down on his luck loser, who undertakes a bank robbery (that goes horribly wrong) with a girl he has just met, and the 3 consequences of something he does afterward that haunts him years later. It is a stark and barren song that has an edge missing from most bands now. Slipknot or Marilyn Manson would never think of ending a song with the kind of immediate dread and utter desolation found here. It is made all the more powerful by the scratchy vocal and minimal production that gives you the feeling that you are talking to a stranger in a bar. "Secrets" asks the question: how much do we really know about the person we are with? And if given the chance, would we really want to know everything? The duality of what we say and what we mean are striking in the production of this song. Because even though he is singing "I don't want to know/ all of your secrets", there is the longing in his voice that is saying quite the opposite. Lest you think that The Stuart Douglas band is all work and no play, there are some lighter moments to be found. The most notable is "Ain't life a drag (when you can't get high)", a song about one man's unending search for a drug - any drug. The song starts out semi-serious, but gets more and more absurd as it goes along. Structured like a very bad country tune, the song walks the line between hilarity and foolishness, and succeeds most of the time. The following track, "Down", with it's groove-heavy relentless thrash brings things back to business. The only real mis-step on the CD is "Wings of Love", and that isn't saying it's a bad song, but you get the feeling that it was added simply to give some sense of hope. In another context, the song may be a stand out, but here it feels forced. Stuart Douglas is a stand out writer and guitarist, and his vocals have the rough real-world quality that are perfect conduits for whatever emotion is in the song. Whether the song is sad (Down The Road), or full of despair (Better Than This), 4 you FEEL that emotion in his voice. The band, which along with Douglas includes James Roberts on bass, Jamie Bell on keys and Mitch Holder on drums, are all top notch. The production is tight without being constricting, and the album moves quickly enough (the longest track is a little over 5 minutes), that you will find yourself hitting the start button again as soon as the final strains of the last track fades. Grounbreaking? No. Revolutionary? Not at all. But if you are looking for hooks, great lyrics and solid musicianship, then the Stuart Douglas Band is an answer to your prayers. Is it good? No, it's great. Jack Grey. 7-10-2001

Location Fort Payne, Alabama - USA

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