|
The American classical counter-tenor singer and country singer, Douglas (Doug) Stevens, was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in a small, isolated community between Tupelo and Saltillo, Mississippi. His parents both played the guitar and sang almost every night after supper and his grandparents on both sides were country musicians. He grew up hearing fiddles, guitars, out-of-tune pianos, and untrained voices singing and playing old, hillbilly music, and white gospel. Northern Mississippi was a place where bluegrass mixed with Cajun and blues and somehow, he grew up with a strong feel for Tejano Music. So, it was no surprise when he pursued a career as a musician. As he got older, television and movies made Doug yearn to live in the larger, mainstream culture. He developed an interest in Rock Music, then turned to Classical Music and art. He studied voice as a tenor and then, later, as a counter-tenor, studying Baroque Performance Practice at The Royal Conservatory at The Haag.
As time went by Douglas Stevens longed to be more creative, to write his own music and to work for his own, gay community. And, as the saying goes, you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy. The effect of a life and education in the mainstream culture, however, produced a twist. After a successful career as a classically trained singer, his heritage got the best of him and he formed a country band. He was was songwriter, lead singer and band leader with The Outband, one of the premier gay and lesbian groups in the country music genre, from 1992 through 2003. His band would be a Gay and Lesbian Country Band, performing for primarily gay audiences, singing original, gender-specific gay songs. They played all over the USA and Northern Europe, at pride festivals, gay vacations, cruises, dances, fundraisers and gay rodeos. Doug has versions of The Outband in San Francisco and New York City. In 2000, Doug and The Outband took the promotional tour for their 3rd album, "From Christopher To Castro". He also co-founded the Lesbian and Gay Country Music Association from 1998 until 2007. . He retired from recording in 2007. |
