Doug Cox
From Doug's home on Vancouver Island the composer, multi-instrumentalist and music programmer has carved-out a diverse career as a recording artist and session and touring musician. He has played festivals, clubs, camps and concert halls from Seldovia, Alaska; to the Baseball Hall of Fame (with Chuck Brodsky) in Cooperstown, New York; to the Sore Fingers Camp in England. Cox was the first Canadian Dobro player to be invited to perform at 'Dobrofest' in Slovakia and was the first Dobro player to be a featured player at the Montreal Jazz Festival (with Todd Butler).
He has worked as a sideman and frontman with Canadian Bluesman Ken Hamm, with beloved west coast group Travels With Charley, in duos with Todd Butler and Sam Hurrie, with American songwriter Chuck Brodsky, the late British Blues Icon Long John Baldry and guitar string-bender Amos Garrett among many others.
Doug's latest tours included the 'New Voices in Slide Guitar' tour with Steven Dawson, Ivan Rosenberg and Rachelle Van Zanten as well as the 'Strung' tour with fiddler April Verch and guitarist Tony McManus and a European tour with Sam Hurrie.
Doug's latest release, 'Blues From The Forbidden Plateau,' is a live collaboration with Sam Hurrie.
He also released 'Slide To Freedom' in 2007, a groundbreaking fusion recording mixing Blues with Classical Indian Music. The CD is a collaboration with India's Salil Bhatt, Ramkumar Mishra and special guest, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
Although primarily known as a Dobro player, Cox also spends time on the Guitar, Weissenborn, National Mandolin and other slidey instruments. With his feet firmly grounded in the traditions of Blues and Bluegrass music, each project Cox involves himself with leads into new musical directions.
Doug's music has begun to appear on many soundtracks in film and on TV including his song 'Cold When I'm Dead' being in Terry Gilliam's feature film 'Tideland.' His music has been featured on CMT's 'The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Series,' A&E's 'The President Slept Here,' & 'Biography,' PBS's 'Real Simple,' Spike TV's 'Roadies,' Discovery's 'Extreme Engineering,' NBC's 'Race Across America,' Discovery's 'Strictly Sex w Dr. Drew,' The Travel Channel's 'Taste of America,' Animal Planet's 'Amazing Animal Inventions,' CMT's 'Dukes of Hazzard Reunion,'MTV2's 'Wildboyz,' CMT's 'Homecoming - Trisha Yearwood' and many more.
Performing solo or in many of his genre-bending collaborations, Cox's performances are always full of musical surprises.
An acclaimed educator, Cox has produced a series of instructional packages to teach slide guitar, dobro and guitar playing. He loves guitar camps & has taught at camps from Kerrville, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska, to the Sore Fingers Camp in the Cotswolds, England. He also teaches at many day-long workshops while on tour.
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What the critics say...
"Cox has mastered a wide variety of roots music and is likely the finest Dobro player I've heard."
KEVIN O'NEIL - JAMBANDS.CA
"Two veteran acoustic guitarists (Doug Cox & Sam Hurrie) achieve an all but perfect two-hander on this fascinating collaboration...one of the best CDs of the year"
GREG QUILL - THE TORONTO STAR
"Doug Cox and Todd Butler's 'Dobro and Guitar' listed as one of the top CDs of the year."
ACOUSTIC GUITAR MAGAZINE - 2004
"Doug Cox's instrumental competence and creativity promise to open up new territory for listeners who accompany him along his career's unconventional trail."
THE CANADIAN FOLK MUSIC BULLETIN
"This virtuoso brings the Dobro into the drawing room and the concert hall. It's no longer just a case of country backup, it's a front-and-centre solo instrument."
JURGEN GOTHE - CBC's Discdrive
"...Full of wondrous suprises...watch for this young man!"
ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN MAGAZINE
"one of the worlds most expressive Dobro players..."
THE BOSTON GLOBE
"Cox is a musician's musician. Widely recognized for his incredible technique and mastery of a wide variety of roots music...a must see for guitar players and aficionados."
THE WORLD NEXT DOOR FESTIVAL
"...everyone on the CD had a ball and the results show the versatility of the man and his Dobro..."
FOLK ROOTS MAGAZINE
"If you've ever wondered what rips, yelps, and growls have to do with playing the resonator guitar you need to check out the latest Doug Cox instructional video..."
BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED
"Doug Cox has triumphed as a Dobro player..."
VICTORY REVIEW
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Doug's Selected Discography...
Doug's CD Projects
Canadian Borderline 1993
Bone Bottle Brass or Steel 1996
Life Is So Peculiar 1999
Stay Lazy 2002
with Salil Bhatt, Ramkumar Mishra & special guest, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
Slide to Freedom 2007
with Sam Hurrie
Hungry Ghosts 2005
Blues From The Forbidden Plateau 2007
with Todd Butler
Live Blues 2002
Dobro and Guitar 2003
select recordings with others
Travels With Charley - all recordings available
The Irish Rovers "The Boys Come Rollin Home" 1994
Will Millar "The Keeper" 1994
Bob Bossin "Gabriola V0R 1X0 " 1994
Ken Hamm "Eagle Rock Road" 1995
Diamond Joe White "Honestly" 1997
Resophonics Anonymous 2000
Six Strings North Of The Border 2001
Michael Messer "King Guitar" 2001
Caring For Our Coast 2001
Hornby Island Blues Camp 2002
Rhythm & Green - Cumberland Compilation 2002
Eric Westbury 2003
Resophonics Anonymous - Relapse - 2004
Todd Butler - Idle Canadian - 2005
Layla Zoe - Shades of Blue - 2006
Lynne Hanson - Things I Miss - 2006
Frank Hoorn - Years In The Making - 2006
David Essig - Presbyterian Guitar - 2007
Dubblestandart - dub mix - 2007
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Instructional Workshops
Wells Roots Guitar Wkshop - 1996-1998
Bulkley Valley Guitar Wkshop - 1997,1999 to 2005 , 2008
BC Bluegrass Wkshop - 1997, 2004
Georgia Straight Guitar Wkshop - 1998
Toronto Blues Guitar Workshop - 1998, 2007 (host)
Hornby Island Blues Camp - 2000-2002
Kerrville, Texas Blues Guitar Camp - 2000
Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp -2003 to 2008
Sore Fingers,The Cotswolds, England - 2005/06
Aboriginal Music Performers Camp -2006/07/08
Bowen Island Music Camp 2006/07/08
1st Annual Calgary Folk Festival Boot Camp - 2006
Vancouver Island Music Workshop - 2007/08
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Classes Doug Has Prepared and can offer at Workshops...
Dobro - beginner, intermediate and advanced
Intro To Roots Guitar
Intro to Blues Guitar
Intro To Blues Mandolin
Slide Guitar
Intro to Open Tunings for Guitar
The Soundboard and You
Chord Theory
Music Theory 101
Exploring the Guitar Neck
Chart Writing
Music Business 101
Touring 101
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Instructional Books, Videos and DVDs
Understanding The Dobro DVD (learnrootsmusic.com)
Understanding the Slide Guitar DVD (learnrootsmusic.com)
Hot Blues Licks For The Lap-Style Dobro DVD (learnrootsmusic.com)
Blues Dobro Book (centrestream publications)
Slide Guitar and Open Tunings Book (centrestream publications)
Intro To Roots GuitarBook (centrestream publications)
More Dobro DVD (learnrootsmusic.com)
Backup Dobro Book (centrestream publications)
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Recordings Doug Produced
Travels With Charley - Uncle Herbs Amusements (co-producer)
Travels With Charley - Red Rome Beauty (co-producer)
Doug Cox - Canadian Borderline
Doug Cox - Bone Bottle Brass or Steel
Diamond Joe White - Honestly
Stacy Phillips and Paul Howard
Doug Cox and Todd Butler - Live Blues (co-producer)
Doug Cox and Todd Butler - Dobo and Guitar (co-producer)
Gorden Carter - Rivers and Roads
Doug Cox and Sam Hurrie - Hungry Ghosts (co-producer)
Doug with Salil Bhatt, Ramkumar Mishra & Special Guest, V.M. Bhatt - Slide to Freedom (co-producer)
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Some Favorite Gigs...
The Edmonton Folk Festival 1993 with Ken Hamm and Tony Trischka
Silverstar Bluegrass Festival 1993 with Slavik Hanzlik
Summerfolk, Owen Sound Folk Festival 1994 with Travels With Charley
Regina Folk Festival 1995 with the Ken Hamm Trio
The Vancouver Folk Festival 1995
The Yellow Door - Montreal, PQ - 1996
The Harbourfront Centre Molson Stage - Toronto, ON - 1996, 1997 (Blues Fest)
The Freight and Salvage - San Francisco, CA - 1997
The Stan Rogers Folk Festival - Canso, Nova Scotia - 1997
The Calgary Folk Festival - Calgary, Alberta (got to play w Jerry Douglas) - 1998
The Jasper Folk Festival - Jasper, Alberta - 1998
The World Next Door Festival - Winnipeg, Manitoba - 1998
The Baseball Hall Of Fame, Cooperstown, NY. with Chuck Brodsky - 1998
Fast Folk Cafe - New York City - 1998
The Ottawa Folk Festival w Rick Fines - 1999
The North Country Fair, Joussard, AB - 1999, 2001, 2003
The Kerreville Wine and Music Festival, Kerreville, Texas - 1999
The Victoria Roots Festival (got to play with Lindley!), 2000
The Winnipeg Folk Festival, 2001
The Dawson City Music Festival, 2001
The Edmonton Folk Festival,(got to play w D'Gary, Corey Harris & Amadou Et Marium)) 2002
Long John Baldry's Birthday Bash, Vancouver, BC 2003
The Montreal Jazz Festival with Todd Butler, 2003
The Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, 2003
Prince George Folk Festival, 2004
Sore Fingers Teachers Concert with Tim O'Brien, Darryl Scott and others - The Cotswolds, England 2005
The Dream Cafe in Penticton - with Amos Garrett 2005
The Epcor Center For the Arts in Calgary, Alberta with Sam Hurrie 2005
The Vancouver Folk Festival Collabatory (concerts w Ganesh Ananden) 2005
The Edmonton Folk Festival with Sam Hurrie 2005
La Grande rencontre 2005 Parc Lafontaine in Montréal - with Sam Hurrie and Keith Bennett 2005
Sore Fingers 2006 - played with John Paul Jones!
House Concert, Perth, Ontario, 2006 w Sam Hurrie
Blacksheep Inn - Wakefield, Quebec w Sam Hurrie - 06
Northern Lights Folk Club, Edmonton, Ab w Sam Hurrie - 06
Saxon Pub, Austin, TX, w Sam Hurrie - 06
South Country Fair w Sam Hurrie, Vihswa Mohan Bhatt, Salil Bhatt, Ramkumar Mishra - 06
The Calgary Folk Festival w Sam Hurrie - 06
Maine Island w Ken Hamm & David Essig - 06
Ulm, Germany w Sam Hurrie- 07
Tournai, Belgium w Sam Hurrie - 07
Bowen Island w Spider & Jeanne Robinson, Corbin Keep & Rene Worst - 07