In June 2011, Gregory Douglass will release his eighth full-length studio album LUCID. Two years after the sweeping acclaim of his last album, BATTLER -- an album conceived during a brooding winter of the HBO Series Six Feet Under -- Douglass will unleash LUCID, a concept album written with imaginative purpose and explicit vision. LUCID is a personal journey through the intense, often disturbing, dreams. A devout fan of dream interpretation, Douglass was intent on setting his dreams to music: “‘Lucid’ is the first song I wrote about my dreams, which then quickly inspired a slew of additional dream-themed songs. It became a perfect opportunity to realize my longtime wish to create a concept album. In my personal experiences, dreams have been a vital part of self-awareness, so I essentially wanted to set ‘a night in the dreams of Gregory Douglass’ to music.”

 

After collaborating with Righteous Babe Record artist Anais Mitchell and soul diva Grace Potter on his last album, Douglass set out on a solo mission with LUCID: to master Ableton Live, a software program that helps to bring the richly layered, electronic sounds of artists like Imogen Heap and Death Cab For Cutie to life. Douglass' evocative, alternative sound has long been compared to a spectrum of artists from Jeff Buckley to Tori Amos to Stevie Wonder. Now, with LUCID, he will join the ranks of esteemed artists like Florence + the Machine and David Gray who mesh compelling pop songwriting with electronic conviction.

 

Douglass’s numerous accolades include being a finalist for both the 2005 International Songwriting Competition and the 2004 Independent Music Awards; he was the winner of the 2003 GrammyFest Awards in New York City, as well as the inaugural performer on the American Red Cross "Save A Life Tour" in 2003. Douglass actively appears at listening rooms, clubs, festivals, and campuses throughout the United States and has shared the stage with artists like They Might Be Giants, Shawn Colvin, Dar Williams, Eric Hutchinson, Melissa Ferrick, Jason Mraz, Regina Spektor, Third Eye Blind and Margaret Cho.  Douglass' music video for "Hang Around" charted for six consecutive months on LOGO TV's "Click List" Top 10 Video Countdown in 2008, following similar success on LOGO TV with his video for "I Wanted To Run" in 2007.

 

Douglass has mastered the art of grassroots promotion with the help of his fan base. He has independently released eight full-length studio albums over the last decade through "Emote Records," a self-owned and operated record label. His last four albums were financed almost entirely by the support of his fans pre-ordering and contributing donations directly through his website. To compete in the digital age, Douglass produces a weekly webcast where fans tune in, request songs and donate funds. Over 50% of LUCID was funded directly by fans through this weekly webcast on Justin.tv.

 

Douglass was born and raised in rural Vermont, winning local talent shows in his early teens.  He taught himself to play the piano and guitar by ear and took up songwriting in junior high.  While attending Brewster Academy, a college-preparatory boarding high school in New Hampshire, Douglass composed and recorded the material for his first two albums.  On graduation day, Brewster Academy's headmaster presented him with a music award, publicly announcing that Douglass was the first student he would ever encourage not to go to college and instead pursue his passion full time — advice Douglass ran with.