by Ed Solt
Doug C and the Blacklisted play the grittier sounds of Americana. Stripped down and heavily influenced by the mid-century launching point of Country & Western and Rock ‘N’ Roll, you’re not going to hear Doug C dabble in anything resembling a Tim McGraw top 40 country song. The Mira Costa alumni’s authenticity derives from his Hermosa Beach upbringing. His mom and stepdad, who he describes as pure “HB locals,” gave him his musical mindset.
“My stepdad was a fan of Bakersfield honky tonk, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. He loved Tony Conn and those early rockabilly guys,” Doug C said. “My mom was deep into the music world, playing everything from Hank Williams Sr. to James Brown.”
His mom’s eclectic taste also included jazz. Hermosa Beach was the epicenter for West Coast jazz in the 50s and 60s, thanks to Howard Rumsey and his Lighthouse All-Stars, so Doug C. was privileged to see some of the best in the business.
“On Sundays, the Lighthouse would do a Sunday Brunch that wasn’t only 21 and over like the night shows,” he said. “I was maybe nine or ten and my mom would take me to see all the great jazz trios.”
As a teenager in the late 70s, Doug C was part of the local skate and surf scene. This exposed him to bands typical teenagers of the era were listening to, such as Alice Cooper and Kiss. He soon discovered the soundtrack that would change his life.
“Scott Zeigler introduced me to Black Flag and got me into the whole Hermosa underground scene,” he said. “If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve probably been a jazz player or something.”
When the original bassist of the Descendents stepped down, Doug C. joined the band on its tour in support of the “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” record in 1985. He worked on and co-wrote several songs on 1986’s “Enjoy!” before moving to Washington DC to join another popular punk band, Dag Nasty, and play bass on the albums “Wig Out at Denko’s” (1987) and “Field Day” (1988) and the EPs “All Ages Show” (1987) and “Trouble Is” (1988).
“Coming from the punk rock world has helped in many situations,” Doug C. said. “I’ve had to play at a few biker bars with drunk 400-pound bikers swearing and hurling beer bottles at me.”
After fronting his own band, Pale, and playing guitar in another Hermosa Beach band, Humble Gods — featuring Daddy X, the front man of the Kottonmouth Kings (Doug C. would play guitar and bass on KMK’s and Daddy X’s studio albums in the early 2000s) — he produced music for television and films. He also played in Fletcher from Pennywise’s side project, Conn 800. In 2013, on the side, Doug C.’s own sound blurred the lines between rockabilly, country, bluegrass, folk, and hillbilly.
“I had come full circle back to the bandstand,” he said. “I embraced my roots, where I came from.”
What started as a musical project turned into a releasing of six EPs and performances at outdoor car shows and festivals like the Ink N Iron in Nashville (headlined by Merle Haggard) as well as playing dates with other roots acts like Big Sandy, The Delta Bombers, The Chop Tops, The Paladins and Three Bad Jacks.
“We’ve traveled 15,000 miles and performed 160 shows last year,” he said. “We’ve been all over the United States touring for our ‘Hit and Run’ EP. It’s an inspiration for who we are.”
On Thursday, Doug C comes home to perform for his hometown at the Standing Room. With a sound that’s country enough for a honky tonk in Nashville and raw and abrasive enough to be embraced by retired punk rockers turned greasers, Doug C. is going to play what makes “Americana” awesome.
“I just want to play good time music for the right spot at the right time,” he said. “Getting people to move, to dance, and to have tons of fun is what we are all about.”
Doug C and the Blacklisted play at 9 p.m., April 14, at The Standing Room, 1320 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach, (310) 318-1272. Thestandingroomrestaurant.com. ER
