Listen in as Bart talks with Doug Rappoport in this week’s episode. Doug shares about his background, his love of music, and how he started working with Edgar Winter. He also tells of his one regret in his music career.
Meet Doug Rappoport: Doug Rappoport is a British born, American-raised guitar player. His style is deeply rooted in the Blues while utilizing a more modern hard Rock tone and approach.
His guitar playing skill sets and knowledge base are being compared to legends from Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton to Eric Johnson and Eddie Van Halen.
Doug's rapidly growing popularity is attributed to a blend of modern guitar techniques combined with classic phrasing and melodic sensibilities harkening back to the masters, all rolled into a unique style that is unmistakably his own.
Touring extensively with Edgar Winter for 11 years as well as guitar legend Rick Derringer plus sharing stage and studio with a who’s who of renowned artists, he has honed aggressive chops, confident stage presence, and overall pro savvy through substantial road experience.
“I've been lucky enough to tour all over the world, and I'm often asked what my favorite venue is: my favorite venue thus far is The Royal Albert Hall in London, England. As a huge Classic Rock fan, the significance of playing on that stage was not lost on me!”
An in-demand session guitarist; Doug’s work is featured in many national television and radio commercials. Notable spots include clients such as Ford, Metro PCS (exclusively featuring Doug’s guitar playing), and ORCAN. Plus, he’s been a stand out guitarist on “American Idol”, and his playing can be heard in numerous films and film trailers. Many recording sessions are produced in his home studio, especially for guest appearances on albums and cues for TV spots such as “NCIS Miami”.
A state-of-the-art home recording studio enables Doug to deliver the highest quality audio, tones and masterful guitar work for any type of project. Contact Doug here to inquire about recordings for your project!
Doug’s recording career also includes solo endeavors. His first solo album release “BIONIC”, features a hard-rocking rendition of the Edgar Winter classic, “Dying To Live”-- and a blistering version of the Jimi Hendrix classic “Voodoo Chile (SR)”. The album likewise showcases several originals complete with instrumentals and vocal arrangements. All instruments, engineering, producing, mixing, and mastering were completed by Doug in his home studio (except for drums, provided by the incredible Chris Frazier, and the inimitable Jimmy Paxson on "Voodoo Rapps").
BIONIC is available through iTunes, and many other online music retail outlets. He continues to compose, arrange, and record solo material.
Additionally, Doug is a former faculty member of Hollywood’s world-famous Musician’s Institute - Guitar Institute of Technology (MI/GIT). He now provides private lessons, including Skype sessions for students outside the Los Angeles area. Spaces are typically full, but please inquire about the availability of upcoming slots.
Doug currently lives in L.A. and performs with his solo band, The Doug Rappoport Band. Stay in touch with Doug on Facebook and other social media for upcoming Doug Rappoport Band- tour dates.
What Bart has to say: Doug is one of the best at doing gear demonstrations (‘demos’). He’s one of the most creative people out there doing that these days. This interview was the first time meeting Doug and I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised at how open and nice he was!
In this episode, you’ll hear
Doug was born in South Africa, grew up in England, and settled in Southern California.
Doug plays in the Edgar Winter Band all over the world, so he discussed how Covid has changed touring.
Links to Connect: