Doug Spears

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and isn’t having too much trouble getting back in the groove in the New Year. Everybody wants to be in Florida in January. Record snow fall and freezing temperatures around the country makes that even more so this year. But, though there’s been no snow, it hasn’t been exactly balmy here in the Sunshine State either. More hard freezes than usual are not doing the citrus and ornamental plant industries any good. My tangerines in the back yard have done…

Well, I’m sitting here in my “music room†with a cup of coffee gazing out at the sun glinting off of the fog over the lake through the cypress trees and Spanish moss and thinking about another year, another decade really, that has come and gone. Benjamin Franklin said “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.†With that in mind I look back at 2010 January 1, 2010 was the official release date for “Welcome Home,†which I say…

Notes from the Road - Day 2 - Saturday, July 24, 2010 Man is it hot! When I first started this annual SE tour part of the reason was to get out of Florida's heat and up into higher country. However, I'm rethinking the timing here. Not only is booking more difficult in the summer here (a lot of the established series shut down in the SE for the summer), but this year in particular the weather forecast for everywhere I'm going is hot and more hot.

I headed out of Bainbridge around noon after making some…

Notes from the Road - Friday, July 23, 2010. And so it begins. I hit the road about 10 a.m. - first stop Bainbridge, Ga. for a KOA Campground show. The new owners booked me for the date back a few months ago and were very enthusiastic. It was over a five hour drive from home at my ponderous 60 mph, plus stops for gas, food, etc. Though the "Navigatrix" on the dash wanted me to head west on I-10 from I-75 I continued north to Valdosta before turning westward. That way I got the benefit of cheaper Georgia…

The first formal written review of Welcome Home is in from Don Sechelski of "The Muse's Muse."

CD REVIEW: Doug Spears - Welcome Home
By Don Sechelski - 01/24/2010 - 08:32 PM EST

Artist: Doug Spears
Album: Welcome Home
Label: Cypress Moss Records
Website: http://www.dougspearsmusic.com
Genre: Acoustic folk/pop
Production/Musicianship Grade: 10/10
Songwriting Skills: 9/10

CD Review: Fourth generation Floridian, Doug Spears, knows the traditions and customs of Florida as well as anyone and he shows it on his new CD,…

Radio play for Welcome Home is cranking up - Thanks to: Steve Jerrett, KOPN Radio, Colombia, MO; Al Kniola, WVPE, South Bend IN; Taylor Caffery, WRKF, Baton Rouge, LA; Ken Batista, WYEP, Pittsburg, PA; Diane Crowe, WMCB, Greenfield, MA; Maggie Ferguson, WXOU, Auburn Hills, MI; Gerry Goodfriend, CKUT, Montreal Canada;  Bill Hahn, WFDU, Teaneck, NJ; Sonja Hedlund, WJFF, Jeffersonville, NY; Craig Huegel, WSLR, Sarasota, FL; Roz Larman, KPFK, Woodland Hills, CA; Eddie O'Strange, 
783 KHz AM, Wellington, New…

Notes from the Road – Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Day 3

Saturday, October 17 – After having to get up early on Friday for the workshop gig I elected to sleep in Saturday and miss the first workshops. Around 10 am I wandered up to get some breakfast and a gallon or two of coffee. I finished in time to hear the closing minutes of the “road dog” workshop headed by Jack Williams and Still on the Hill. Next was the presentation by Still on the Hill and people from the Folk Arts Center itself about…

Notes from the Road – Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Day 2

Friday, October 16th – OK, so where was I? Oh yeah, I was asleep. So, this morning I had to get up early because SOMEBODY (Kelly, it was you! Or was it Donna – don’t remember) tagged me for the panel in a workshop on writing about your home place, your culture, etc. at 9:45 am, so sleep was curtailed long before I would have liked! Anyway, Larry got up before me and made coffee (he’ll make someone a lovely husband – oh, hey Christy!) so I…

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Notes from the Road – Midwest Folk Alliance Conference – Day 1

Good morning from Bolingbrook, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It’s cool (40’s – 50’s) and rainy since we got here (Judy’s tagging along for this one), but relief from the hot and humidity is welcome regardless of its packaging. We arrived just after noon yesterday on Southwest (one of my favorite airlines – very musician friendly) and though it was rainy and windy at Midway we landed on only the second bounce (ok, it was a jarring landing…