To those who know him, he’s been referred to
as "The Do It All Guy", from singing old style
country to singing rock-n-roll, to playing
guitar, bass, piano, drums, banjo, lap steel,
etc. "It’s been in my blood since I was old
enough to walk" he grins. His songs reflect
his life and his voice echoes the heart of a
singer who’s lived through some tough times.
Born in Cottonwood Idaho, Doug spent the first
16 years of his life living in the central
panhandle. Doug comes from a very close knit
family and that in itself may have started the
musical ball rolling. From the time he was
old enough to remember he was surrounded by
music. His grandfather played barn dances in
the 30’s and 40’s. His uncle played in bands
starting in the 1950’s and during the 1960’s
his mother had joined one of those bands.
"I remember being at my grandparents house and
it was filled with guitars, drums, fiddles etc.
I would pick up a guitar when I was 2 or 3
and strum it being totally mesmerized by the
sound. I got my first guitar at age 8 for a
Christmas present,the funny thing was that the first one sent was broken so my mom sent
it back and the company, out of mistake, sent a much nicer model."
At age 13 he started playing in clubs. His first appearance in a band was at
an Elks Club in Grangeville Idaho. The first band "Grand Union" enjoyed a fair
amount of success on the local scale playing mostly country and some pop.
The band was targeting a large variable audience ranging from ages 21 and up.
The band consisted of a 12 year old drummer and a 15 year old second guitarist
along with Doug. Two years later the band would include one more member, a 17
year old female singer. The band would break up as a result of Doug’s parents
divorcing and a move to California.
The dreamed of road life became a reality for Doug at age 16 when he would join
up with a trio from Eugene, Oregon. The band traveled mostly on the Oregon
coast but made a couple dips into both California and Washington. However, this
was fairly short lived and Doug would again return to Idaho where he joined past
"Grand Union" drummer Don Grende. The band changed members a few times and
acquired bassist Mike Trench from Terra Haute Indiana and enjoyed local success.
At age 19 through 21 Doug would work odd jobs and pick up weekend work with a
few bands varying from exclusive country to exclusive rock and roll, and
everything in between. When Doug was 22 he moved to Spokane, Washington and
attended a community vocational college learning to weld. This led to employment
as a welder at a large factory where he worked for 4 years. During this time Doug made
his debut in the recording studio at Eastern State University. This would be the beginning
of a love that would ultimately grow into a lifelong commitement. After the first
year at the factory he decided he needed to play music again and joined the
Shirley Fisher band, a local country band that had an established reputation for
being one of the better local bands. It was during this time Doug invested in a 4 track
recorder being fasinated with the recording process. After 2 ½ years Doug was looking
for a change and decided to gamble on a upcoming new country band that featured
players from existing local bands. The gamble was bad and after 6 months the band
split up. It was at this point Doug decided to go back to playing music full time.
Moving back to Eugene, Oregon seemed a natural course since the music scene
offered much in the way of flexibility. "I started really having fun, I would
go out to clubs at night and solicit myself and I’d end up subbing for players
or working "throw-togethers" and surviving strictly by the seat-of-my-pants."
Again, Doug would enter the studio to work as a session player for various
local talent. "Living that close on the edge was somehow exciting." After a
few months of that he answered an add in the paper looking for a guitar player.
"I went and watched this band "Maxey", they where doing the hotel lounge circuit
playing top 40 pop. I thought this looked like a fun gig so I auditioned and got the
part. I was a little leery of the contracts I had to sign but it all worked out
well." The band toured the west coast and Canada but ended during a dispute
with founding members midway through a Canadian tour.
After a short stay in Fresno, Doug again headed for Eugene and put together the
"Theory" which became nothing more than a financial disaster ending with a loss
of equipment and a two thousand dollar debt, Doug headed back to Lewiston, Idaho.
After a week of freelancing for a few dollars at some local clubs he received a
call from Cavander and Associates, an agency out of Spokane. "There was this
band looking to replace a guitar player, I needed a job so I went up and
auditioned and got the part." The band consisted of drummer John Baker, bassist
Eddie Baldwin, keyboardist Gary Lemley, and lead vocalist Lisa Simmons. "This
was another top 40 cover band so a lot of the material I already knew, they had
a good tight sound and Lisa had a great voice for doing Madonna, Heart,
Pretenders and others, the extra bonus with this band was Lisa was very
attractive and could really front a band. As it turned out Lisa and I both
ended up fronting the band quite successfully." The band "Ward 7" toured the
west coast, Canada and as far inland as the Dakotas and Nebraska with routed
gigs. "I did start getting a little tired of living out of a suit case but all
in all I loved most of it. I really grew as a performer during "Ward 7" and
learned about choreography which was incorporated as part of the show. But it
was the trips into the studio that really excited me" Doug became friends with
a couple of the student engineers at EWU and began reading some of their required
text books. "It was at this point I knew I wanted to have my own studio so I bought
John's and David's text books after they completed the program."
After returning back in Idaho, Doug went back to school and graduated from
Washington State University with a degree in pharmacy. "I decided that after
hearing all the promises of stardom throughout my musical career and never
seeing anything ever come of any of it, the only way I was ever going to do
anything in music was if I did it myself. So I decided to find something I
could do that would yield good money allowing me to build my own studio."
During his college years Doug played in a couple of local bands working
weekends at various clubs. The most successful of these was the band "Manic"
which lasted three years. The seven piece band not only played top-forty cover
tunes but also had a show that consisted of approximately 40% original songs.
"Although none of the originals were mine I think I enjoyed those the most, I had
no rules or guidelines to govern me, I could do whatever I wanted and that was
great." Former band member Dan Faller was quoted saying "Kidder is a monster
on guitar, Jeff and I came up with the name "Great Big Kidder" because he had
this incredible huge sound that completed the rest of the package."
"The only dream I’ve ever had was to be able to work in music in some capacity."
The passion and perfection to which Doug brings to music has inspired many.
Most of the bands Doug has played with he’s been the guitar player/vocalist,
however, he’s also played keyboards, bass, and played drums for a year with
one band. Doug really has been "The Do-it-All-Guy" as he now dedicates his
abilities as a engineer/producer for local talent. "Music is a reflection
of my life, I can’t imagine my life without it. I have finally come to terms with my
place in music -- sure I can write and play, and don't get me wrong, I love doing that
but, the satisfaction I get from shaping a young talent and turning their music into
a quality product is a reward unlike any other."
