Meet our new Center Stage artist, Doug Hamer!
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Doug Hamer began playing guitar and writing music in his early teens. He studied classical music, composition, and music theory at Olympic and WWSU.
Doug Hamer is an accomplished finger-style guitarist and melodic composer. It is often said that he literally paints his music with color, texture and the many moods of nature. His life interests include a passion for horticulture, his wife and best friend; Children's book Illustrator, Bonnie Hamer, guitar collecting, landscaping, hiking, and photography.
With his love of nature and his Celtic roots apparent in his compositions, Doug's listening audience often finds his timeless music both relaxing and inspiring.
Describe your sound in one ramble-on sentence?
Inspired solo finger-style guitar instrumentals.
What inspires you to make music?
Nature, the creative process, and finding that my music might make someones day a little bit better by listening to it.
What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?
Seeing what musical journey and direction I will be led to next.
What aspect of music gets you the most discouraged?
Sometimes with other commitments, finding a quiet time to get my next musical inspiration.
What's one of your all- time favorite recordings?
There are so many all-time favorite recordings but what first comes to mind is "Rubber Soul" by the Beatles. The writing, the vocal and musical arrangements, the production, the ambience, very beautiful and thought provoking.
Name three people who have influenced your music, and tell us why-Living or dead.
John Fahey, Bola Sete, and John Rebourn . All three were originals in their style of playing and composing.
Do you have any recent or upcoming projects you'd like to share with us. Tell us about it.
I am in the process of composing music especially for film and television documentaries, PBS, etc.
What do you like best about Radio Airplay?
What I like best about Radio Airplay is that Jango gives me the ability to get my music out there. It's great that my music is heard by fans from all over the world. To know that at any one time a listener from the USA, the UK, Africa,Japan, South America, Mexico, the Ukraine, etc. is hearing and enjoying my solo guitar music is just inspiring. I might not be able to travel to some of those far away places but it is wonderful to know that I am there musically for people to enjoy.
Doug still performs in the greater Seattle area doing fund-raising events for a variety of charities, with one of his favorite musical highlights being his featured appearance on KCTS TV, a PBS television station in Seattle, Washington.