Reviews, Bio, Resume, Performances & Songwriter
Reviews
(Horses of the Sea) "a beautiful collection of songs and stories about Ireland. It’s a wonderful album, and one that has become a fast favourite on this radio show."
(Jan Hall, Folk Roots Radio)
(Horses of the Sea) "And a terrific set of songs it is, delivered with panache and emotion. Songs of ancient kings and not so ancient conflicts."
(les siemieniuk, Penguin Eggs magazine)
(Horses of the Sea) "Wonderful CD"
(Austin Comerton, Irish Radio Canada interview)
(Horses of the Sea) "Was I supposed to cry ALL the way through? Absolutely beautiful Doug!"
(Dale Barcellos - Avalanche Choir, San Jose CA)
"Doug always is an arresting performer who never worries about boundaries and delivers an entertaining 45 minutes - some stories sung some spoken stories and tales - from A Pictograph of Crazy Horse to the literary scene of Jack Kerouac, Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London who Stumble From Vesuvio into the San Francisco fog".
(Tears Like Rain - (les siemieniuk, Penguin Eggs magazine)
"It can take a life time to sing with one’s own pure sound in a voice that echoes with the gift and the journey of the artist. With his new CD, Thunder into Heaven, Doug McArthur has come into his own, singing with a subtle, lyric authority that haunts the listener long after. Each cut rings true..."
(Catherine Joyce - Lowdown)
"Born in the dawn of 2007 this album will gauge how I listen to new recordings this year."
(Chopper McKinnon Host "Canadian Spaces" CKCU.)
"At his best (Doug is) a lyricist with the poetic ability of Leonard Cohen"
(Joe Matyas; London Free Press)
“First and foremost, he (Doug) remains a composer of inordinately beautiful love ballads and flinty protest songs. Its that duality, that tension, that lifts his current songbook into the quiet realm of art."
(Craig MacInnes; Toronto Star)
"(Doug) is a Canadian Guy Clark."
(Dick Pleasants; WGBH Boston)
(Angels of the Mission Trail w/Jeffra) "Absolutely Haunting! CD of the year!"
(Dave Stafford; KKUP San Jose)
“Congratulations to the two of you (Doug & Jeffra) for doing so much for the history and heritage of California."
(Kevin Starr; State Librarian of California)
“Definitely a wake up call”
Sandy Shore; KPIG Freedom CA
(Angels)
“beautifully-written songs that bear up well under repeated listening.”
(Steven E. McDonald; AMG)
“McArthur sings memorable song after song.”
(Doug McArthur with Garnet Rogers) Gene Wilburn; Northern Journey
(Angels of the Mission Trail)..."a quietly elegant song cycle steeped in the frontier and literary history of California..."
(Mike Regenstreif; SING OUT!)
"(Angels)...a delicious, lyrical, theatrical, historical Roots CD with sound quality to die for"
(Neil Matheson; MUSIC Sebringville, Ontario)
"Hi Doug,
I was traveling for a few more weeks after buying the CDs of 'Letters from the Coast' and 'Sisteron'. I got back home this week and wanted to tell you I enjoyed listening to them as much now as I did 42 years ago."
Your biggest fan
(Pierre)
Performance
Festivals: Mariposa, Festival of Friends, Eaglewood, Home County, Calgary, Northern Lights, SummerFolk, Faro Yukon, Winnipeg, others.
Clubs: Hugh’s Room, Riverboat, Smale’s Pace, L’Hibou, Yellow Door, many clubs and universities in Canada, New England and California.
Support Tours & Shows: Stan Rogers, Garnet Rogers, James Cotton, Valdy, Tom Paxton, Deep Purple, John Gorka, David Lindley, Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen.
Songwriter
Valdy, Canada’s premiere folk performer recorded “Don’t You Believe” and “Hero” (from Letters From the Coast”) on A&M records.
A third song from Letters: “The Devil’s Pony” was recorded by Bill Hughes, lead singer of the major folk group Lazarus.
Garnet Rogers recorded “Black-Eyed Susan” and “Break the Law” on his debut album and added a cover of “Ain’t Goin’ Home” (from Sisteron) in a later recording.
“Black Eyed Susan” has been recorded by several US singers.
Stan Rogers often performed “Lord Douglas”from “Letters” and his live version of "Skyway" was released as part of a box set.
Randy Bachman performed Doug’s early song: “Tears Like Rain” during the early days of Bachman Turner Overdrive. Recorded but never released.
Colleen Peterson recorded Doug’s “Gentle People” (from Sisteron) on a CBC Christmas record.
Mark Haines & Tom Leighton recorded Doug’s song “Boots & Saddles”. This has become their most requested song in performance.
Nancy White also regularly performs “Boots & Saddles”.
Doug’s song “Merlin” has been recorded by several “Filk” (science fiction/fantasy folk singers) in the US (most noticeably Kathy Mar)
Bobby Watt recorded “The Black Douglas” on his debut solo CD.
Paul Langille recorded "Don't You Believe".
Bio
Doug was born in southern Ontario and grew up there in a harbour town.
After a high school assembly performance he realized that girls were more interested in his music than in his athletic ability so no more football.
He performed for a summer in Grand Bend, another Lake Huron resort town, and began to write songs.
Toronto, Kingston, Hamilton, Montreal and London became his formative turf, performing at Smales Pace and Knight 11 coffeehouses and, with the help of manager Walter Grasser, stepping up to Toronto's Riverboat and the early festivals across Canada.
Randy Bachman was an early supporter, buying up his publishing (and graciously returning those rights in later years) and Valdy recorded two of Doug's songs on A&M records, giving his career a certain early legitimacy.
Doug started to release albums of original material in 1974 and was among the first Canadian folk artists to self-release their albums outside of the regular music labels.
He toured in the Maritimes and New England with Stan Rogers in the early days and continued across the country with Garnet Rogers after Stan's passing.
Doug toured along the California coast with San Francisco singer Jeffra and they recorded a well respected CD "Angels of the Mission Trail".
Turning to arts administration, Doug was one of three directors of Winnipeg Folk Festival, worked at Roy Thomson Hall and the du Maurier Jazz Festival, Gathering at Island Lake in BC, before continuing on as Artistic Director and CEO with Festival of Friends and Eaglewood.
In 2004 Doug moved to Wakefield, Quebec where he found a relaxed and productive artistic milieu.
He founded and continues to run Wakefield Sound & Light, a successful business recording, filming and producing various CDs and videos.
Over the last couple of years, Doug has developed his interest in the visual arts, taking up photography, wood carving and painting.
WS&L has become the umbrella organization for his various artistic pursuits.
Resume
Currently owner and engineer at Wakefield Sound and Light, recording videos and CDs.
Producer of "Stonehands", a video series on the rebuilding of the Canadian Parliament buildings.
Previously:
Recording and Special Effects engineer for Pathword's six language Audio Guide project for the Bytown Museum.
Co-sequencer (with Ian Tamblyn) for True North CD "Dancing By Myself" (the songs of Bill Hawkins recorded by Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLaughlin, Lynn Miles, etc.)
Artistic Director - Eaglewood Folk Festival
CEO & Artistic Director - Hamilton Festival of Friends
President of Board – Ontario Council of Folk Festivals
Associate Production Manager - Roy Thomson Hall
Co-Founder Gathering at Island Lake - Fernie B.C.
Web Designer & Graphics Director - JW Long & Associates - Houston Texas
Associate Production Manager - duMaurier Jazz Festival
Stage Hand - San Francisco Bay area
Board Member At Large - Ontario Council of Folk Festivals
Audience Development Co-ordinator/Tour Manager - Orchestra London
Entertainment Manager - Change of Pace - London Ont.
Talent Booker - Knight 11 - Hamilton
(One of three) Festival Directors - Winnipeg Folk Festival