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Musician's CD has 'heartfelt message'
Releasing an 18-song album called "Tips Appreciated," Nevada musician "Dangerous Doug" Harper has reconciled the conflict between making honest music with social value and surviving in a superficial business that is inherently false.
Harper's career has had its peaks and valleys since he graduated from Nevada High School in 1997, worked at KNEM-KNMO Radio as a disc jockey and production assistant and studied electronic media at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield.
He toured from 2006-'07 as a bass guitar player in the Nashville-based band of Nevadan Marci Mitchell, learning he likes Los Angeles and Jackson Hole, Wyo., but always returning to southwest Missouri because this is the area he loves. "A lot of cool things are happening here," said Harper, 31.
"Our music community is special because we're networked and we communicate more than musicians in most cities. I can play the guitar behind my back, but I'm not molded to be a pop star because looks are more important than music.
"This is an honest album --- a heartfelt message about making people and society better with a strong emphasis on local surroundings."
The Purple Shed Records collection is on sale for $10 online and at Harper's 109 E. Cherry St. store, Music Exurbia, and Cavener's Library & Office Supply downtown.
It's a 50-minute stream of alternately moody and exhuberant rock 'n' roll recorded at Harper's brother Matt's Armadillo Sound Studio and live at Smelter Hill, Comedy Tonight Theater and Shooter's here and the South Street nightclub in Springfield.
Having written all the songs, Harper also plays guitar, bass and drums while drummer Nathan Conley and bassist Josh Smith are on "Rock Iowa" and guitarist David Byerly on "If the Mood Is Falling."
Guest singers are John Lender and James Baker of Nevada and Kevin Jaynes of Fort Scott.
"It's a 'best of' project with songs I've been doing in my acoustic shows," Harper said.
"A new song, '78,' means that 78 percent of the people want to see something happen but are afraid to make a move. They don't want a business to fail, but they never get out of the car to go in, buy something and help it succeed. If two percent of Nevada's population supported the music scene, we'd have 600 people at every event."
Working as a disc jockey, Harper plays regional music from 10:05 to 11:45 p.m., Mondays, at KESM, 105.5 FM, in El Dorado Springs. His brother and he will open the show for Kiss re-enactment group Almost Kiss Dec. 17 at the Road House Saloon.
Harper's biggest success to date has been his 2006 composition of "I Found Myself a Monkey," recorded by Springfield group Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin, for a compilation album reviewed in Rolling Stone and Guitar World magazines. It earned him the equivalent of three months' income.
Matt Harper says Doug and he have each staked out their own ground with Doug doing acoustic rock and Matt folk, country and classic rock. Matt produces records while Doug does promotional work, bringing entertainment into the area, and record post-production, or sound mixing.
"We're both passionate about music, but if we were railroad tracks, I'd be the ties and Doug would be the rails," Matt said.
Asked if he has had any colorful experiences around nightclubs, Doug laughed and said, "I haven't seen anyone get shot, but I have seen guns and knife fights.
"I met a woman in Lyons, Ga., who was not only dressed like an alien but actually believed she was a time traveler. She said, 'I'm going to 2045, guys. See you later.' Musicians never know what will happen next.
"I've hung out with Joe Diffie and jammed with guys from the Beach Boys and Righteous Brothers. Touring is hard work. You eat bad food and drive all night to the next place. If you're not a big star, you do everything yourself. As an artist, people didn't believe in me until they saw I was still eating."
Harper also writes poetry, produces YouTube videos, collects vinyl records and Superman and Batman comic books and watches fantasy movies. "I don't like drama because you get enough drama in real life," he said.
Other songs on the album are "Rabbit Ears," "Blame It on Bad Days," "Chances," "Stand Up and Say No," "Dead by Dawn," "Get Away," "Number 11," "New Hit Song," "Condo in Como" and "Last Song."