Gary Douglas Band Plays Two Shows in Amagansett
Longtime Montauk resident Gary Douglas and his band are playing two shows in Amagansett on August 20. A stripped-down version of the band will play a set at the Innersleeve Records store—where they will be selling their vinyl EP Keepin’ Faith—then the full seven-piece band will head next door to rock The Stephen Talkhouse stage.
In the true spirit of rock n’ roll, Douglas says he’s railing against “singers with headsets, hacky bands and songs that sound like they were written by an uninspired committee of five.” Instead the guitarist/singer and his band are playing “hard-rockin’, ass-kickin’” tunes with strong melodies, big beats and hooks that hang in your head for days, Douglas says, drawing comparisons to The Rolling Stones, Joan Jett, Ian Hunter and other bastions of real rock music.
With his muscular guitar playing, emotive voice and anthemic lyrics, Douglas is his own man musically, but his influences are also deeply ingrained in the tunes he creates. In cuts like “Lord I Try,” from the band’s Just Another Mile album, the riffs have a Keith Richards vibe and staying power, while Douglas’ voice imparts a certain world-weariness, reminiscent of Ian Hunter. And the lyrics, which talk of a fruitless search for faith, feel like something written by Bruce Springsteen. These are songs with big riffs that should be relatable to multiple generations.
Douglas and his band are packing some awesome musical firepower and performing hard-charging, rhythm & blues-infused rock n’ roll with plenty of soul. In 2014 they performed at Talkhouse after a 22-city, five-week Guitar Gods 2014 tour with icons Gary Hoey, Bumblefoot and Yngwie Malmsteen. This year, the band is playing shows and selling their Keepin’ Faith preview EP, but they’ve also been working on a full length Keepin’ Faith album, due for release in October.
The Gary Douglas Band is playing an in-store show at Innersleeve Records in Amagansett (199 Main Street, 631-604-6248) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 20. The show at Stephen Talkhouse (161 Main Street, 631-267-3117) begins at 10 p.m. the same night.
Visit garydouglasband.com for more info.