Doug Keith
New York City, New York, United States | MAJOR
Music
Press
“A soulful collection of self penned songs fill this album with a hazy vibe of good times and melancholy. Doug Keith obviously has a way with a tune and an ear for a ramshackle chorus. There are moments of great beauty ‘There Are Days’ boasts a lyrical almost gossamer guitar solo that precedes a stirring mixed voice chorus that just hits the spot. You know… that spot……the one where Neil sings the chorus to Old Man and the others join in……..that spot. This is a great album. Buy it and cherish it. Then play it to someone else.”
- Americana UK (9 out of 10) - AmericanaUK
"Doug Keith's second solo album, The Lucky Ones, is a just about perfect piece of work. One flawless, lovely, moving song after another for forty minutes and not a mistake, not a naff moment, not a second that isn't unarelled in it's beauty, it's intensity, the song for the words, the words for the song, the arrangement, from back ground to front, from violins to acoustic guitar."
- Rock NYC - RockNYC
"Highlighted by deep lyrics and smooth vocals, The Lucky Ones is definitely a front runner for 2010 album of the year. I rarely shout that you must own an album, but if you purchase only one record this year, it has to be The Lucky Ones."
- Rock and Roll Guru (9 out of 10) - Rock & Roll Guru
“Working with a poppier version of a singer-songwriter or even Americana feel, Doug Keith shows the strength of mature lyrics [on his second album The Lucky Ones]. Keith has gotten right by staying even-keeled, and the smart lyrics and steady music combine for a surprisingly good listen.”
- Popmatters - Popmatters
"It’s no secret that we love a good punk rocker turned singer-songwriter around here (Jesse Malin, Elliott Smith, et al.), which explains, I suppose, why Doug Keith’s new record, The Lucky Ones, is one of my favorite recent additions to that proud tradition."
- TwentyFourBit.com
- www.twentyfourbit.com
“I don’t know much about Doug Keith other than that his CD The Lucky Ones is one of my favorite albums of the year so far.”
- Joe Heim / The Washington Post
- Washington Post
“A soulful collection of self penned songs fill this album with a hazy vibe of good times and melancholy. Doug Keith obviously has a way with a tune and an ear for a ramshackle chorus. There are moments of great beauty ‘There Are Days’ boasts a lyrical almost gossamer guitar solo that precedes a stirring mixed voice chorus that just hits the spot. You know… that spot……the one where Neil sings the chorus to Old Man and the others join in……..that spot. This is a great album. Buy it and cherish it. Then play it to someone else.”
- Americana UK (9 out of 10)
“A fantastic solo debut from this New York singer-songwriter who conjures the spirit of Dylan, Young, and Waits–the former, for example, at the height of his sneering Hawks-backed era on “Salty Woman.” “Take the Hammer Down, Dear” shares the earthiness of Richard Buckner’s finest work. The songs are almost uniformly beautiful and heartrending, with backing tracks whose crisp acoustics, tinkling pianos, piercing organ, and percussive heartbeat channel the finest work of the icons Keith convincingly recalls.” - PURGe (#3 in 2008’s Top 20, 2008)
“…from the first notes of “The Companion of an Angel” from his upcoming release “Here’s To Outliving Me” I was hooked. As a nice bonus Jennifer O’Connor is featured on a number of tracks including “Companion…” Its theme of an undying love for an angel-like woman is one I can relate to.”
– songs: Illinois
“Doug Keith’s lyrics create imagery like the classic country/folk storytellers and there’s a lot of delicate interplay between Doug’s vocals, his guitar work and the work of his band mates.” - Brooklyn Rocks
“Eleven endearing indie pop songs… Ear pleasing melodies, warm acoustics and occasional moments of shoegazing simplicity.”
– Hear/Say Magazine
“We will watch Doug Keith and his future work very closely because he will be huge.” - Rootstime (Belgium)
- Multiple
NPR.org, January 28, 2009 - Doug Keith's debut LP, Here's To Outliving Me, is familiar but fresh. The New York native's songs are rooted comfortably in traditional folk and Americana, without being mawkish or treading into tired territory. This is largely because Keith's voice is so richly textured, backed by sweet harmonies and beautifully layered instrumentation.
Keith is a modern-day troubadour. He sings of the usual topics: women, heartbreak, death, and longing. But thanks to a welcome trace of roughness in his voice, he comes off as a well-weathered and sage source of advice and storytelling.
For Here's To Outliving Me, Keith also has a few tricks up his sleeve: The addition of a Wurlitzer, lapsteel and electric guitars on a handful of tracks makes the songs a bit richer and more complex. Jennifer O'Connor, who has recorded with The Hold Steady and Ben Folds Five, lends some surprising backing vocals on tracks like "The Companion of an Angel" or "Now I've Got It Made".
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99961288
- NPR
Discography
"The Lucky Ones" - The Village Label 2010
"Here's to Outliving Me" - The Village Label 2009
"Bear Man God Bird" - Cougar Label 2007
Photos
Bio
Doug Keith writes quiet revelations, stories wound effortlessly around accomplished guitar playing and a gentle, graveled voice. Here's to Outliving Me (in stores January 13th through The Cougar Label) introduces Keith's many sides to listeners over the course of 11 songs. They are snapshots that at moments are stripped powerfully bare with just Keith and his guitar, and at others soar with lush harmonies, sliding guitars and warm, sepia-toned backdrops.
By the time he was 15, Keith was writing songs and playing local bars in his hometown of Syracuse, NY. Schooled in the picking style of blues legend Elizabeth Cotten and the guitar prowess of Jimi Hendrix, Keith’s songs are a testament to simplicity and craft. “Hendrix and Cotten are so different but so similar to me,” Keith says. “They both played in a way where they could have no other accompanying instruments and it sounded perfect. Of all that I learned, that was the main thing that struck me.”
For Here's to Outliving Me, Keith worked with engineer Jim Bentley (Jennifer O’Connor’s Over the Mountain, Across the Valley, and Back to the Stars - Matador Records), allowing room for experimentation. “I was planning on recording a mellow record with a bass player and drummer, but as the process started to go I couldn't stop tweaking the songs,” Keith admits. “Jim would encourage it and we'd come up with good ideas that we could run with.”
Singers Jennifer O’Connor and Amy Bezunartea accompany on “The Companion of an Angel,” an aching declaration of love, exquisitely backed by their unison vocals. Also appearing on the record is bassist Calvin Bennett, drummer Noel Rose and pianist Lindsay Sullivan.
The songs were predominantly written when Keith moved from Brooklyn to the west side of Manhattan. Keith says, “I didn't even know what cobblestones were before I moved over there. I love them though; what they represent. They have an effect. Seeing the Hudson everyday has an effect. I think all that imagery found its way into the songs.”
Keith also plays in NYC trio Up The Empire and has released records in the past under the name The First Person to See an Elephant. For Here's to Outliving Me, Keith drops the moniker to record under his own name, seamlessly fusing his roots in traditional blues guitar with his innate ability to tell quiet, beautiful stories.
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Reviews:
“I don’t know much about Doug Keith other than that his CD The Lucky Ones is one of my favorite albums of the year so far.”
- Joe Heim / The Washington Post
"It’s no secret that we love a good punk rocker turned singer-songwriter around here (Jesse Malin, Elliott Smith, et al.), which explains, I suppose, why Doug Keith’s new record, The Lucky Ones, is one of my favorite recent additions to that proud tradition."
- TwentyFourBit.com (link: http://bit.ly/96Esd3)
“Working with a poppier version of a singer-songwriter or even Americana feel, Doug Keith shows the strength of mature lyrics [on his second album The Lucky Ones]. Keith has gotten right by staying even-keeled, and the smart lyrics and steady music combine for a surprisingly good listen.”
- Popmatters
"Highlighted by deep lyrics and smooth vocals, The Lucky Ones is definitely a front runner for 2010 album of the year. I rarely shout that you must own an album, but if you purchase only one record this year, it has to be The Lucky Ones."
- Rock and Roll Guru (9 out of 10) (link: http://bit.ly/aQldOa)
"Doug Keith's second solo album, The Lucky Ones, is a just about perfect piece of work. One flawless, lovely, moving song after another for forty minutes and not a mistake, not a naff moment, not a second that isn't unarelled in it's beauty, it's intensity, the song for the words, the words for the song, the arrangement, from back ground to front, from violins to acoustic guitar."
- Rock NYC (link: http://bit.ly/9TwULg)
"Doug Keith's debut LP, Here's To Outliving Me, is familiar but fresh. The New York native's songs are rooted comfortably in traditional folk and Americana, without being mawkish or treading into tired territory. This is largely because Keith's voice is so richly textured, backed by sweet harmonies and beautifully layered instrumentation.
Keith is a modern-day troubadour. He sings of the usual topics: women, heartbreak, death, and longing. But thanks to a welcome trace of roughness in his voice, he comes off as a well-weathered and sage source of advice and storytelling."
- NPR.org, January 28, 2009 (link: http://n.pr/hFtR
“A soulful collection of self penned songs fill this album with a hazy vibe of good times and melancholy. Doug Keith obviously has a way with a tune and an ear for a ramshackle chorus. There are moments of great beauty ‘There Are Days’ boasts a lyrical almost gossamer guitar solo that precedes a stirring mixed voice chorus that just hits the spot. You know… that spot……the one where Neil sings the chorus to Old Man and the others join in……..that spot. This is a
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