Palm Springs resident Gregory Douglass has been crafting heartfelt, folk-inspired pop songs for nearly three decades.
Douglass utilizes experimental piano and production, with straightforward acoustic guitar, to deliver strong lyrical messages, touching upon thoughts of preservation (“Don’t stop ’til your freedom bound,” from “Alibis”), frustration (“This world is hung over swinging upside down / I think I’ve had enough by now,” from “Upside Down”) and anger (“Don’t tell me how it’s going to be all right / You don’t know a damn thing about my life,” from “Sail the Sea”).
Douglass is getting ready for what is advertised as a “multi-sensory concert experience” on Sunday, Nov. 16, at Revolution Stage Company in Palm Springs.
During a recent phone interview, Douglass explained how he got his musical start.
“I actually went to a college prep school, and I was the only kid who did not go to college with everyone’s support,” Douglass said. “Back then, it was the Ani DiFranco years … when there was a DIY indie artist movement where you could do it on your own. That’s what I was really determined to do, and I did it for over 20 years. I’ve got 10 albums out, and I was full time (as a performer) for over 20 years, touring around. I was based in Vermont, so I focused mostly on the East Coast and the Midwest.”
After many years of performing, Douglass came out West to explore less rigorous musical opportunities.
“In 2015, (my husband and I) went to L.A., and it was the beginning of winding down from doing so much touring and so much of everything on my own,” he said. “I’ve had a manager and booking agents, but for the most part, I was really managing everything myself, and I just was burning out for all the same reasons that so many others have. I knew that something needed to change, and that the industry was evolving in all sorts of weird ways. … We both dropped everything and went out to L.A. for five years—and then the pandemic hit. I have to admit, I felt a little bit relieved to not feel so guilty about not touring. That was, for so many of us, a reawakening.
Douglass and his husband soon fell in love with the Coachella Valley, and became residents in 2021.
“We discovered Palm Springs just to get away from L.A., and after a year in flux, we just decided, ‘Let’s just go to Palm Springs and see what’s going on,’” Douglass said. “My husband really wanted to get into real estate here, and we knew it was a sanctuary in many ways, and a safe haven for a lot of gay men who we knew—but we didn’t realize the extent of it. Understanding that nearly 50% of the population (in Palm Springs proper) identifies as LGBTQ+ is really fascinating. Who else in the world can say that?”
Douglass wants to keep Palm Springs a sanctuary, which is one reason why, he said, he and his husband started The Palm Springs Guys, an events guide and blog for local gay males.
“We started The Palm Springs Guys, a local gay resource hub that’s providing resources and information,” he said. “… As I’m learning, I’m sharing (what I learn) with other people, and it’s really become helpful and resourceful for people who are curious. … We do these monthly happy hours now called The Palm Springs Guys Happy Hour, and we bounce around and support local businesses.”
Palm Springs has provided a lot of happiness for Douglass, he said.
“There’s so much quality of life that has come from living here, which was a really big shift for me, because I’ve been playing music and touring around ever since I graduated high school, so I didn’t really enjoy my life outside of working and entertaining other people,” he said. “In a lot of ways, I’m making up for lost time, and I have been really having a great time just being involved with the community, and living my best gay life in ways that I really wasn’t able to before.”
While Douglass has found a great LGBTQ+ community in Palm Springs, he said he was surprised to see that Palm Springs proper lacks performers of original music, in his opinion.
“It’s also been interesting to live here as a musician, as a primarily original singer-songwriter, in a town that really has no original music,” Douglass said. “It’s totally bizarre. I did not expect that to be the case. Of course, the high desert is a totally different story, but here in Palm Springs, there are so many cover bands and the Rat Pack-era tributes, and plenty of drag shows and karaoke and whatever, and it’s a lot of fun. All of that has its place, but I’m one of the few who’s trying to make a name here locally more on the original-music end of the spectrum.”
There’s actually a lot of original music throughout the Coachella Valley, as regular readers of the Independent know, but Douglass is right in the sense that many people pass on new music in favor of a Sinatra performer or a great cover band. Because of this, Douglass said, he works to make every performance special, and digs deep into his lyrics to create an emotional and meaningful bond with audiences.
“Anytime I play a show, I usually have a habit of (telling audiences), ‘OK, (you have) permission to feel your feelings tonight, because I know that most of you are not doing that from day to day in this never-ending party town,’” he said. “People have been very receptive to that. There’s just not a lot being offered to them here. I always have this similar conversation with people, about why there isn’t more original music here, and it doesn’t even cross people’s minds, because it’s nowhere even on their radar.”
Douglass trades personal lyrics for more universal stances on issues that people in the LGBTQ+ community face.
“A lot of queer people, regardless of where they’re coming from or what their age is, are dealing with a lot of big issues, and shame is probably one of the biggest, especially with gay men,” he said. “Palm Springs is a very interesting melting pot, but as some people would joke, it’s not very diverse. It’s a bunch of middle-aged, white, gay men, more than anything. If we’re judging a book by its cover, it’s easy to make that assumption, but if you’re really getting to connect with people and get to know people, you have every kind of person here. … People from all over the world are finding a safe space here, so in that sense, it’s very rich and diverse. It’s interesting to get to know people and understand they’re coming from all walks of life, but we’re dealing with a lot of the same issues.”
Douglass said many attendees of his shows leave emotionally moved.
“When I’ve talked to people after shows here, I get more of, ‘Wow, I really needed that,’ or ‘I didn’t realize how much I needed that emotional release,’” he said. “If somebody comes up to me and says, ‘You made me cry,’ that’s the biggest compliment in the world.”
Douglass said he’s picky about scheduling shows.
“I’ve been really particular about where and how often I’m playing, because I want to make sure it is a listening room, and that it is an experience for people,” Douglass said. “Instead of just being, ‘Hey, I’m playing every week at this one place,’ I want to do an event, and I want to do it right. I want people to walk away feeling, ‘That was what I needed,’ or, ‘That was something different than what the norm is here.’”
The concert at Revolution Stage Company will serve as a “pre-release” show for Douglass’ upcoming album, his first in more than a decade.
“The album is called Amateur, and it (has) a very classical chamber-pop vibe with just a string quartet, piano, vocals and harmonies,” he said. “I haven’t really done anything quite like that before. I’m just re-visiting my music again in ways that I am excited about. … I’m sharing new songs for the first time, and I’m collaborating with a videographer to do something more conceptual for that. I’m trying to create an experience for people when they come to a show, so it just feels more surprising and fulfilling.”
Gregory Douglass will perform at 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16, at Revolution Stage Company, at 611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, No. 15, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $33 in advance, or $35 at the door. For tickets and more information, visit www.revolutionstagecompany.com.
