Greg Douglass and the Accomplices

Flight of the Golden Dragon
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Greg Douglass and the Accomplices

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For years, Greg Douglass was San Francisco’s best-kept guitar secret. At the dawn of psychedelia, his band, Country Weather, made a demo to get bookings, and it got substantial airplay on underground radio. Sadly, the group never released an official album.

Douglass went on to play with Steve Miller, John Cipollina, Van Morrison, Greg Kihn, and others. In 1978 he severely injured his right hand when it went through a plate-glass window. Successful surgery and an improvised pick allowed Douglass to play again. He’d break off the end of a thumbpick and Krazy Glue a flatpick onto the thumb loop. Though he doesn’t have complete feeling to this day, as he says, “The human mind adapts beautifully to difficult situations.” The accident forced him to rethink his technique, using a combination of fingers and homemade pick.

A fantastic cover of the Flamin’ Groovies’ “Shake Some Action” featuring Gregory Douglass (a successful similarly named singer/songwriter) and a great whammy workout joins an impressive set of collaborations between the guitarist, now based in San Diego, and singer Michael Muldoon. On electric, acoustic, lead, and rhythm, Douglass’ taste and tone shine. But on slide, he belongs in the ranks of the very best.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s January ’17 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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