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NEWSLETTER 10/25/00 From Franki Young FCP, Doug appeared in the October issue of England's popular BoxMag magazine. |
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Erdington England'MUSICIAN DOUG BROWN AND HIS NUCLEUS' By Julie Wilson / Staff Writer Article transcript used with permission by BoxMag. |
| Doug Brown is
the multi-talented 27 year old musician and song writer
from the United States. He's already had 2 national
releases to date, his latest release being called 'Nucleus'. As with the title 'Nucleus' is an album which has some pretty powerful tracks,lots of guitar and funk. This eclectic CD has to be the best work to date. I've followed Mr.Brown's career and the music seems to keep getting better and better. England has welcomed Doug with open arms and sales continue to rise here. I was lucky to get in touch with Doug to do an interview via telephone. The album can be purchased along with his other albums though the Doug Brown Zone or US On Cue music stores. With a lot of energy Doug was willing to give me some insight to who he is and what his music is all about. Boxmag: How did you get started in the music business? Doug Brown: As a child I grew up on the stage. I was involved with a major theater group. I landed several lead roles and was trained on many levels thus the interest in performing grew. For years I sent demos all over the planet waiting for that magic phone call. It wasn't until 95 that things really began happening for my career. I was fortunate to get involved with a creative team that helped get things rolling by shooting me out on the road. Then tasting the realism of the music biz I was in photo shoots, commercials, plays, I even spent a summer on a skateboard demo team. Boxmag: Who has had the biggest influence on your your music? Doug Brown: So many artist have entered my music dome. Beatles first and formost played a deep role through my high- school years. Growing up I would have to say Micheal Jackson, Duran Duran, Howard Jones and a sure shot out to the cast of the TV show Fame. Boxmag: Do you ever sit and wonder where your next song is going to come from? Doug Brown: I never do. The songs come to me in almost a dream state. It happens when I'm driving or humming to myself in the shower. If there is one thing on this earth I can do it's write a melody! Boxmag: What do you think is the best part of your career? Doug Brown: By far it's the being out there. Knowing that someone is listening to my music right now. I enjoy the growth of my career. I'm always challenging myself to move forward both personally and professionally. And having people view and understand my art. To touch someone with your art is a special feeling. Boxmag: Where do you get your inspiration for your music from? Doug Brown: Naturally my own personal life and past experiences. Things that are deep to me always inspire me to write something about that particular event and time. Or it could be something as simple as a nice day or a walk in the park. Boxmag: What do you find is the most exciting part for you when your on stage and touring? Doug Brown: Of course the connection to the public is always a buzz. I really like being on stage. I am one of those artist that feel more comfortable in front of five hundred people instead of three people. Traveling can be a pain and lonely adventure at times. But after a good performance the payoff is well worth it. Boxmag: Your music is excellent but has there ever been a time when you think it could have been better if I'd done this or changed that? Doug Brown: Well like a painter I am very much a perfectionist. Now and days in my recordings and writings I'm more content with just leaving things the way they are as you can go nuts if you get to picky about this or that. It's best for me to just finish a song to the best of my ability and just leave it be. I've stuck with this method and it's worked so far. Boxmag: What went through your mind the first time that you heard yourself on the radio? Doug Brown: I freaked out! I was driving home from a club around 2am and was flipping through the stations and landed on WallClimber (from Emblem). At first I was kind of tired and just sang along. Then it hit me! Was the tape in? I checked it twice and then realized, ~Oh my god I'm legit! It was cool I just hope I wasn't the only one listening at that time. Boxmag: What's the best advice you've been given? Doug Brown: That when you become more and more successfull, watch your money and where it's going. My advice to anyone wishing to get into music, prepare to make music not money. Measure your success by your happiness. Boxmag: What's your one weakness in life? Doug Brown: Trusting people. Boxmag:Will you ever do a tour in England? Doug Brown: I would love to! Right now as far as the performing end goes we are primarily focusing on the states. As budgeting will hopefully increase it will allow us to do a lot more overseas. Boxmag: When your preparing for a new album- what comes first the music or the lyrics? Doug Brown: At times both. There really isn't a recipe for how to write a song. I do find that most often I will come up with a riff on the piano or guitar. I then run to my three dollar tape recorder and lay the idea down. From there I might just write a refrain, it's always different for every composition. Boxmag: Will there be a 4th Doug Brown album? Doug Brown: Time will tell. But honestly I assure you there will be. I will continue to make albums for a long long time. Every album tends to be easier and easier to do. With the collection of muscial toys I've aquired over the years I can now piece together an album easier than I use to. Those four track days are long gone. Thank you digital. Boxmag: If there's one person you could work with who would it be? Doug Brown: Only one? There are so many talented people I'd love to work with. I've always had a fancy for working with legendary producer Nile Rogers. Boxmag: There's a certain amount of surprise to your music, slow one minute and up beat the next-how do you manage to do it? Doug Brown: I love to test myslef when I write. I like to get myself in a tough corner then find a clever way of getting out. This can be done through many ways such as tempo changes, key changes, or even double bridges. I love to break a few rules while writing. It does keep me and the listener entertained I believe. Boxmag: Do you believe in fate and destiny? Doug Brown: I would hate to say no because in my music and personal life I've had things happen to me that have made me question the road we are on. It's always nice to have an element of "is this happening for a reason?" Boxmag: Out off all your songs which you've written which was the easiest to write? Doug Brown: That's a very hard question because I have written over a hundred songs. I think the lyric work on Nucleus seem to write itself. I wrote most of the songs at three in the morning. This New World was written in one night. Boxmag: How do you see yourself in 10 years time? Doug Brown: Hopefully still writing and composing. It is very important to me to continue to learn and grow as a person. I'm always looking for that next challange or project. Staying happy and healthy are at the top of the list. Boxmag: Your favourite band is Duran Duran but do you have a favourite female singer? Doug Brown: I like Lisa Loeb. Elastica is a great girl band. At the moment I've been listening to Nina Gordan a lot. Boxmag: Who is the one person you admire? Doug Brown: My mother. She sadly passed away when I was 15. I remembered when I first played one of my demos for her and the positive feedback she gave. I only wish now she could see where I am and how far I've come, she would be proud. She has had a very heavy influence on who I am today. I admire her strength most of all. Boxmag: I can't see it being possible but have you ever had a bad review and if so how did you take it? Doug Brown: Yes I've had great reviews and bad reviews. It's like an itch that you can't pretend to ignore. It can tick you off a bit but I realize i'm in the public eye and I've set myself up to be judged. However one time I sent this bozo reporter an autographed 8x10 for his shaky review. That was fun. Boxmag: How has the Doug Brown Zone web site affected your career? Doug Brown: Without the site we wouldn't be talking right now. I can't tell you how much it has affected things. The site has become my springboard to reach the world. We went from 20 hits a week to 700-800 hits a week in a short period of time. I've sold cd units everywhere from Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia to just name a few. It's very surprising how the international sales have doubled the US sales, that was unexpected. Boxmag: When Emblem was released did you think then that you'd be where you are today? Doug Brown: No not really. I figured at the time of Emblem I had hit the big time and that this was it. I knew I could carry on making albums but didn't know if I would sustain an audience. The albums kept getting bigger and better. I began to create my own luck and things have been going up hill since. Although it's been a bumpy ride and it's not over yet! Boxmag: What's a day in the life of "Doug Brown" really like? Doug Brown: Well it all depends on what projects I'm working on. I do spend a lot of time in recording studios recording and producing. When at home I'm very much like a retired 60 year old. I mow, rake, clean, you know. But when I have a project like recording Nucleus I'm working 24-7. On that album I would get up at 8am and fetch a doughnut then headphones on until lunch at 2pm then headphones on until 10pm dinner. Maybe an hour workout then back to headphone world till 5am. This went on for weeks. More recently I've been traveling doing a lot of press for this new cd. Boxmag: There is a lot of guitar work on your album Nucleus,will you be doing more guitar work in the future? Doug Brown: Yes there will be. The last few albums have been restricted by technology. Working in this new digital realm I've been freed up to add anything I want. As an artist this changes everything. My paint brush is much bigger than it use to be. Boxmag: Is there a reason why you had the track "Crush" on two albums? Doug Brown: Crush was originaly written in 94 on an album called Bliss Of The Unwind. It always struck me as a groovey tune so I put it on Emblem years later. But the version on Emblem was suppose to have a guitar jam at the end, well it never happend because of tracking limitations. So Crush being one of my favs from my past I figured it was time to do it justice and it was put on Nucleus with the guitar jam at the end. I'm very happy with the final version. |