MP3 Earle Douglas - Slide Rule

Slide guitar dominated American blues, country and roots music

12 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Chicago Style, COUNTRY: Country Blues



Details:
Earle Douglas was born and grew up in Brisbane, Australia. He started playing guitar in his early teens and has been playing with varying degrees of commitment and intensity ever since. Probably his earliest musical jolt resulted in him putting on quite a tantrum when his parents would not allow him to attend the Beatles concert in Brisbane in 1964. He felt being 6 years old and not having a ticket was beside the point and completely irrelevant. He played in numerous bands in his teens and early twenties playing rock and pop covers of the day at school dances and the likes around Brisbane.
His second most significant musical awakening came when he heard Ry Cooder playing âFeeling Bad Bluesâ on a sports program of all places on Brisbane TV in 1986. That slide guitar sound was unforgettable and totally infectious.
That sparked Earleâs foray into American Blues and Roots music.
After many years of different endeavors and travels he eventually recorded his first album âWhile out in Californiaâ which won the "Sunnie" award of a â2000 Blues Album of the Yearâ. He was playing as regularly as possible at various clubs in Brisbane and enjoyed some local notoriety.

In 2001 he decided to try and further his musical pursuits in the United States. After arriving in the USA, he was fortunate enough to easily jump into the blues scene in Phoenix, Arizona. He soon got to know many of the local blues performers and soon put a trio, Earle Douglas and the Jukes together and began playing quite regularly around Phoenix. For the most part of 2006 he took a break from playing at the clubs to produce and record his second album titled âSlide Ruleâ. This album is predominantly slide guitar, with a strong country blues theme. Earle recorded this album at his home in Fountain Hills, Arizona. He wrote all the tunes and provided all the guitar, bass, vocals and drum tracking him self. The discs were sent to Australia where his good friend Neil Coombe at the White Room studios mixed and mastered the album for Earle. Neil recorded âWhile out in Californiaâ with Earle at his studios, but this was his first adventure into this sort of âacross the oceanâ recording process. It was a very rewarding experience for both. To date, Earle has received very positive feedback for his new Album.
When performing live, Earle usually performs with a bass player and drummer accompanying him. He is currently out and about around Phoenix with a new trio. His slide playing, like just about every other guitar player who has ever put a slide on his finger, is influenced by all the old Delta and Chicago players like Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and of course Elmore James. He also has been influenced by many contemporary slide guitarists the likes of Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, and Johnny Winter. His vocal delivery is pretty laid back in the style of J.J. Cale. His vocals have also been regularly compared, much to his amusement, with Willie Nelsonâs vocal delivery.
Earleâs regular or non slide playing is predominantly traditional Chicago, swing, and country blues with all the usual suspects having an influence. He also has been heavily influenced by Duke Robillard and particularly Eric Clapton and does quite a few of the blues tunes they have covered in his live repertoire.