April 23, 2003
Douglass seeks noteworthy music career
Berklee School of Music student performs at memorial concert for victims of nightclub fire
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Following his passion for music led Andrew Douglass to the Berklee School of Music in Boston, an eclectic musical environment that nurtures numerous musical styles and careers.
Winding up his first year of study, the singer/songwriter and former Traverse City resident performed Tuesday evening in A Night of Healing, one of a number of bands that included Blue Oyster Cult, Phoebe Snow and Rick Derringer. A Night of Healing was a benefit concert for families of the 99 people who died in a February 20 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I. Douglass was selected to represent the Berklee School of Music at the concert.
"I feel just incredibly honored," Douglass said. "Because I'm only in my first year, I couldn't be more honored about the fact that they asked me."
This accomplishment is just one of many unusual events in Douglass' life. The aspiring musician began playing the bass guitar six years ago when he was 14. He later became the lead singer and songwriter for Fourth House In, a popular local band that opened for Fuel and The Wallflowers in 2001.
"I started playing with a couple of my buddies and eventually got more serious about it - this is my passion," he said.
Douglass has always loved singing and landed a lead role in the West High School musical "Pirates of Penzance" while in the tenth-grade. Unsatisfied with high school, Douglass spent the next three years as a homeschooler and also a student at Northwestern Michigan College. This unusual educational combination allowed him to enter Berklee with both a high school diploma and all his general education requirements completed - more than 50 credits.
"I just found NMC to be more of a real environment, the classes were interesting and I really wanted to learn," Douglass noted. "It was refreshing because the public schools did not offer me everything I wanted."
Douglass had Berklee in his sights for a few years, drawn by the different genres of music available for study -jazz, hip-hop, funk, rap, Latin, electronic and rock. All musical styles can be delved into equally, Douglass said, unlike traditional conservatories that focus on classical music performance and theory. Non-traditional musicians or even non-musicians can find niches such as jingle writing, film scoring and music engineering.
"I knew Berklee was the only place for me that I could do what I really wanted to do when going to school," said Douglass, who plans to major in songwriting. "The teachers are so highly connected and so knowledgeable, they've all done just amazing things. One is a pioneer of jazz, like 75 years old, and one of my vocal teachers has performed with Nine Inch Nails."
Douglass likens his songwriting to the Goo Goo Dolls, Tonic or Incubus, saying he wrestles with serious topics and issues in his songs. Recent musical influences include Middle Eastern and Far Eastern music and he works to write universal lyrics that have more than one meaning.
"Writing is a personal thing and my music does reflect the way I see things. So whoever listens to my music is listening to something that is an expression of the way I feel about the world," he said.
Douglass considers the melody the most important component of a song, the foundation, and that is his main focus when writing. Compositions ranging from acoustic to hard rock still have melodic vocal lines. The moods of his songs also vary, ranging from lighthearted to dark.
The lyrics and melodies of songs flow from him, sometimes bursting into his consciousness at unexpected times. Walking down the street, a melody will pop into his head prompting him to rush home and record it using either digital recording equipment or staff paper. He has also written songs on the back of homework or any handy piece of paper when inspiration strikes.
"A little while ago I was on a plane ride back to Boston, just sitting there reading a Time magazine, and all of a sudden this melody just came into my head," Douglass said. "I had some staff paper with me and started writing it out and it is I one of my favorite things I've ever written and it just happened on the plane."
Douglass is very serious about his music and burns with ambition to have a professional writing and performance career.
"I'm very determined to be a successful recording artist and I really do want to make my living that way and want to reach the biggest audience that way," he said. "I'm extremely goal oriented and very ambitious. I'll be ready for the final push to get my music out there after I've finished with Berklee."