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Doug McAlexander
Electric Bassist

Doug McAlexander, bass player, bass guitarist, electric bassist, atlanta, georgia

Contact Information
Cell Phone: (770) 841-8009
Office Phone: (678) 474-9636
Home Phone: (678) 584-0524



Fretted and Fretless - Sight-reading - Live Performance - Studio Recording

INDEX (Click text to advance to area of interest)

Bio:

Doug practicing trombone in 1971Doug's musical career started in the fifth grade when he began playing the trombone. In junior high school, he started participating in marching band. During his four years of high school he was a member of the famous "Rebel Regiment" marching band from Effingham County, Georgia. They won "best in class" and "sweepstakes" trophies at nearly every marching contest they entered between 1975 and 1979 under the direction of band director/writer/arranger/adjudicator/clinician, William F. "Bill" Locklear. Doug also joined the Effingham County High School Chorus under the direction of conductor/clinician/adjudicator, Jack Mullis. He was even fortunate enough to be among those who had the opportunity to take a college-level music theory course taught by Mr. Mullis during his senior year. Because of the training Doug received from Mr. Mullis' theory class, he was able to skip to sophomore level music theory when he entered college.

Doug started playing electric bass in 1979, his senior year in high school. He has made a career out of playing electric bass. It all started with seeing Chuck Mangione live in concert 2 years in a row in Savannah, Georgia, back in 1979 and 1980. He had been a trombone player since the 5th grade but switched to bass his senior year, having been inspired by his band director, Bill Locklear (more on Bill later) and bassist Charles Meeks, of the famed Chuck Mangione Quartet. Doug learned every bass note Charles Meeks played from the Feels So Good era. He even purchased a MusicMan Stingray bass, because that's what Charles Meeks played. Doug's career has taken him on a journey through many, many styles, but he would say that his all-time favorite songs are from Chuck Mangione LIVE at the Hollywood Bowl.

Doug took private lessons from a formidable fretless bass player named William F. "Bill" Locklear. Yes, the same William F. "Bill" Locklear who was his high school band director. Bill supplemented his school income by playing in jazz clubs at night. Doug's approach to bass playing encompasses a combination of the training he received from Bill Locklear and Jack Mullis. "Bill made me use the right technique and Jack's approach to vocal instruction and music theory literally ingrained musical intervals into my brain. I like to say that Bill Locklear gave me my technique and Jack Mullis built my ear."

Currently, Doug is the bassist and business manager for an Atlanta-based suite of wedding reception, corporate, and convention party bands called Mixed Company. Arsis Productions, his management company, also manages Elvis impersonator Mark Puette and the Contemporary Christian Praise Band CrossTalk. He also spends as much time as possible working in recording studios, often serving as producer, arranger, bassist, and session leader. Doug has also flown to various parts of the U.S. for LIVE recordings, including gospel music giant Bill Gaither's Praise Gathering in Indianapolis, Indiana. Doug also has a Web page promoting MCATS™ , the artist management software application he developed to manage the booking schedule of the entertainers he represents. MCATS™ literally takes the guess work out of the booking and management process, diminishes human error, and saves tons of time, which is how Doug manages to have family time in the midst of being a professional bassist and artist manager.

Doug enjoys church music and served as the staff electric bassist for First Redeemer Church in Alpharetta, Georgia from September 1996 until September 2000. He currently makes himself available for church rhythm section clinics and freelance bass playing, having worked at such places as First Baptist Atlanta, Perimeter Church, Mount Paran Church of God, First Baptist Alpharetta, Snellville First Baptist Church, Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, and Rehoboth Baptist Church, in addition to working with such worship leaders as Geron Davis, Lenny Leblanc, Russ Cooper, Integrity Hosanna songwriter Tony Sutherland, Christ Church Choir, Dave Boyer, and David Glenn, to name a few. From October 2000 until June 2002, Doug and singer/songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist/worship leader Russ Cooper worked together establishing the praise band at Crosspointe Church, a church plant offering contemporary style worship in the Duluth/Cumming/Alpharetta area. In March 2001 Doug became part of the bass player rotation at Mount Paran Church of God in Atlanta, Georgia. Currently Doug serves as praise band leader/bassist and audio engineering consultant for churches who seek a turn-key solution for their praise music needs. Doug is the bassist for the contemporary praise band CrossTalk. CrossTalk helped First Baptist Church of Alpharetta, Georgia grow from 300 to 1200 in attendance over a 4 year period, attracting worshipers with the most discriminating ear for musical excellence.

Doug really enjoys the recording studio environment, both playing and producing, and has been fortunate enough to be an on-call bassist for The Loft recording studio in Columbus, Georgia, Aural Images Recording Studio in Stockbridge, Georgia, and Sanctuary of Sound in Acworth, Georgia. He has served as bassist, producer, co-producer, and arranger on numerous demo and CD projects for artists at both local and national level. Doug is very thrilled about being part of the Rocks Cry Out studio band and their first release appropriately titled "Rocks Cry Out". To find out more go to www.rocks-cry-out.com.

Doug's favorite hobbies are fishing and HAM radio. Doug's HAM radio call-sign is N4HNH. He likes to work HF (high-frequency bands) from home and when mobile. You might also catch him on 2-meters in the Gwinnett County, Georgia area at 147.075MHz. That is the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society 2-meter repeater frequency. Doug develops database applications in Microsoft Access and created his own contact logging program to keep track of his radio contacts.

Sound Clips:


Click the links below to hear samples of songs Doug has provided bass tracks for:

 -Rise Up! (by the band CrossTalk)

-Lord I Worship You (by the band CrossTalk)

-Glory To God (by the band CrossTalk)

-All The Earth Will Sing Your Praises (Kevin Price and CrossTalk)

-Holy Is The Lord (Kevin Price and CrossTalk)

-How Great Is Our God (Kevin Price and CrossTalk)

Doug's version of a Jaco Pastorious piece recorded many years ago using his Aria ProII. Click here to listen to "Amerika". When finished, click your browzers BACK button to return to this page.

Click here to listen to sound clips of Doug's work with the Rocks Cry Out studio band. When finished, click your browzer's BACK button to return to this page.

Click here to download a sound clip of Doug's work with Mixed Company. When finished, click your browzer's BACK button to return to this page.

Doug thumping

Interested in Fretless or Slap Style?

If you are interested in fretless and/or slap style, there is a video clip of Doug with the original Mixed Company band back in 1996. Doug is using the Pedulla fretless and the Roscoe fretted (see Photos Page), both 5-strings. The fretless is used on "I Will Always Love You" and the freeform funk/slap style is on "Mustang Sally", the last song in the video. Actually, you can't see Doug but you can hear his bass. He had been in a car wreck a couple of months earlier so he is playing from a wheelchair. If you look closely at the 6-minute video, there is a scene where you can see one of his crutches.

NOTE: The video is in RealPlayer format. RealPlayer is free software which allows you to watch and listen to "streaming" media on a large (and growing) number of Web sites.

Download RealPlayer for FREE by Clicking here -> RealPlayer

Click here to see the video.

Doug's Favorite Links:

Roscoe Bass Guitars

Euphonic Audio amps and speaker cabinets

Thomastik-Infeld guitar, bass, and mandolin strings

Michael Tobias Designs Home Page

M. V. Pedulla Home Page

Aural Images Recording Studio, Atlanta, GA

Drummer Jimmy Mouton's Home Page

Drummer Sean O'Rourke's Home Page

One of the greatest woodwind players in the world

Elvis Lives!

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Questions or Comments?

Send E-mail to: BassBase@aol.com

This site created and maintained by Doug McAlexander

Copyright©1997-2006 Douglas R. McAlexander. All Rights Reserved.

Last Update August 7, 2007