Douglas
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Douglas

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Yankee Bluegrass"

“Yankee Bluegrass showcases a sort of innocent gameness to try anything — swingin’ horns, three-chord rock, acoustic ballads, surfy guitar solos, even a little twang — that’s oddly affecting.” - Pittsburgh City Paper


"Ain't It a Shame"

“A free-and-easy romp through alt country and playful pop, punctuated by Jeff Bets’ old-timey harmonica... The music’s summery vibe should sound perfect right about this time of year...” - Pittsburgh City Paper


Discography

"Yankee Bluegrass" (LP) - 2008

- #12, WMLU (Farmville, VA)
- #16, WCCS (Norton, MA)
- #17, WPTS (Pittsburgh, PA)
- #22, WMCR (Monmouth, IL)
- #22, WRNC (Ashland, WI)
- #24, WXIN (Providence, RI)

- Tracks from Yankee Bluegrass, such as "The Girl Who Has Everything", "I'll Be There", and "Holidays", are currently (3/09) in rotation at college and AAA radio stations across the country, such as WRBU in Peoria, IL, KWVA in Eugene, OR, and WRVU in Nashville, TN.

"Ain't It a Shame" (EP) - 2007

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Bio

Heinz Ketchup and the band Douglas both find their roots in Pittsburgh. If you look on the back label of a bottle of Heinz Ketchup, there is a quote from founder H.J. Heinz: “To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.” While Heinz was referring to his ketchup recipe, Douglas applies this 150 year-old advice to their pop-rock music, but with the same successful results.

Singer/songwriter, and musical director of Douglas, Jeff Bets, finds his influence in the music his parents played for him when he was growing up, including The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and the Motown greats. Supported by a revolving cast of friends and musicians including Melissa Bell as lead vocalist, Chris Fazio as lead guitarist, Nina Pfauth on bass, and Brett White on drums, Bets takes his upbringing with 60s and 70s pop music and goes even further with Douglas. “I went back, historically, into the early rock & roll of the 50s and the post-war blues of the 40s. I’m really attracted to the idea of simplicity in songwriting. The twelve-bar blues laid the foundation for modern pop music, and its beauty lies in its simplicity,” said Bets.

Bets wasn’t always going to be a musician, however. After high school he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, but was rejected during the physical for a chronic back injury from childhood. He then attended medical school and was well on his way to becoming a doctor. “I’d have probably specialized in pediatrics if I had stayed,” he said. In mid-2007, Douglas recorded Ain‘t It a Shame, an EP met with enough warm reception and success that revealed to Bets his true calling and passion was in music, not medicine.

Roughly one year later, that passion blossomed into Douglas’ Yankee Bluegrass LP. With a little help from his friends, Bets is transforming Douglas from a mere creative outlet to his life's work. To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.