DOUG COX & TODD BUTLER: Dobro & Guitar

Doug Cox & Todd Butler

Dobro & Guitar

© 2007 Doug Cox & Todd Butler (624481113525)

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Duets of modern acoustic music featuring lap style (DOBRO) slide guitarist Doug Cox and acoustic guitarist Todd Butler. An experiment in the tones of Dobro and Guitar. Rated one of the 'best of the year' by Acoustic Guitar Magazine.

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Dobro and Guitar was nominated by the Western Canadian Music Awards as Outstanding Roots Music CD of the Year

Dobro and Guitar was listed in Acoustic Guitar Magazine as one of the Top CD's of 2003.

After a year of listening to acoustic music of every stripe, Acoustic Guitar's editors and regular reviewers pick their favorite CDs of the year. Here's what Celine Keating has to say about Dobro and Guitar ...

" Original jazz and blues inflected instumentals astonish in their virtuosity, breadth, and aching beauty..."

Review from Penguin Eggs Magazine - Winter 2003

The title suggests rowdy blues and country, but that isn't the case. The music is more akin to the instrumental, folk-jazz hybrid the Windham Hill records became famous for 20 years ago. After the shock and confusion clear and a new age tranquility overcomes the body, an exceptionally high amount of 6-string virtuosity is evident. Considering the set of duets was cut live without overdubs, Cox and Butler have remarkable chemistry.

Former Ken Hamm sideman Cox pushes the accepted boundaries for what an acoustic lap steel is generally confined to. After all, his complex melodies navigate through more chord changes than the average blues or country ditty and he sometimes ads background percussion with his strings. Erstwhile comedy tunesmith Todd Butler emerges as the surprise show-off with his over-the-top flatpicking. The more fast and furious he plays, the better the disc gets as it eases the listener out of relaxation.

Highlights include the pseudo-flamenco East of Dopyera featuring Butler speeding through scales as Cox rolls off percussive arpeggios from his Dobro and the token blues More Musta showcasing the duo's ability to trade-off leads and weave in and out of each other's parts.

- by Bob Keelaghan

a review by Ron Forbes Roberts - Contributor to Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Just Jazz Guitar and Victoria's Monday Magazine."

Typically, the two instruments named in the title of this CD are featured together in blues/bluegrass/country formats like Cox' work with bluesman Ken Hamm in the early nineties. The material here, however, has little to do with those genres. Instead, the 14 beautifully crafted instrumental duets on Dobro and Guitar are a blend of roots, jazz, and folk and even a bit of tongue in cheek faux flamenco. Most of these originals have a reflective quality, which Cox makes the most of with his excellent, elegiac dobro work. Butler, best known for his clever satirical songs, turns out to be a terrific guitarist with great technique and subtlety. He occasionally throws in a volley of hot licks but is at his best weaving creative melodic lines around Cox' lead work. The results of this interplay on tunes like the beautiful Onoway and Closing Credits is stunning.This CD has my vote as the best acoustic instrumental album of the year so far.



Doug Cox is a roots music renaissance man. From his home on Vancouver Island the composer, multi-instrumentalist and music programmer has carved-out a diverse career as a recording artist and session and touring musician. He has played festivals, clubs, camps and concert halls across Canada, the United States and around the world from Seldovia, Alaska, to the Baseball Hall of Fame (with Chuck Brodsky) in Cooperstown, New York, to the Sore Fingers Camp in England. Cox was the first Canadian Dobro player to be invited to perform at 'Dobrofest' in Slovakia and was the first Dobro player to be a featured player at the Montreal Jazz Festival (with Todd Butler).

He has worked as a sideman and frontman with Canadian Bluesman Ken Hamm, in duos with Todd Butler and Sam Hurrie, with American songwriter Chuck Brodsky, the late British Blues Icon Long John Baldry and guitar string-bender Amos Garrett among many others.

Doug's latest release, 'Blues From The Forbidden Plateau,' is a live collaboration with Sam Hurrie.

He also released 'Slide To Freedom' in 2007, a groundbreaking fusion recording mixing Blues with Classical Indian Music. The CD is a collaboration with India's Salil Bhatt, Ramkumar Mishra and special guest, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

Although primarily known as a Dobro player, Cox also spends time on the Guitar, Weissenborn, National Mandolin and other slidey instruments. With his feet firmly grounded in the traditions of Blues and Bluegrass music, each project Cox involves himself with leads into new musical directions.

Doug's music has begun to appear on many soundtracks in film and on TV including his song 'Cold When I'm Dead' being in Terry Gilliam's feature film 'Tideland.' His music has been featured on CMT's 'The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Series,' A&E's 'The President Slept Here,' & 'Biography,' PBS's 'Real Simple,' Spike TV's 'Roadies,' Discovery's 'Extreme Engineering,' NBC's 'Race Across America,' Discovery's 'Strictly Sex w Dr. Drew,' The Travel Channel's 'Taste of America,' Animal Planet's 'Amazing Animal Inventions,' CMT's 'Dukes of Hazzard Reunion,'MTV2's 'Wildboyz,' CMT's 'Homecoming - Trisha Yearwood' and many more.

Performing solo or in many of his genre-bending collaborations, Cox's performances are always full of musical surprises.
Doug's Tour Dates

An acclaimed educator, Cox has produced a series of instructional packages to teach slide guitar, dobro and guitar playing. He loves guitar camps & has taught at camps from Kerrville, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska, to the Sore Fingers Camp in the Cotswolds, England. He also teaches at many day-long workshops while on tour.

Instructional Materials
What the critics say...

"Cox has mastered a wide variety of roots music and is likely the finest Dobro player I've heard."

KEVIN O'NEIL - JAMBANDS.CA

"Two veteran acoustic guitarists (Doug Cox & Sam Hurrie) achieve an all but perfect two-hander on this fascinating collaboration...one of the best CDs of the year"

GREG QUILL - THE TORONTO STAR

"Doug Cox AND Todd Butler's 'Dobro and Guitar' listed as one of the top CDs of the year."

ACOUSTIC GUITAR MAGAZINE - 2004

"Doug Cox's instrumental competence and creativity promise to open up new territory for listeners who accompany him along his career's unconventional trail."

THE CANADIAN FOLK MUSIC BULLETIN

"This virtuoso brings the Dobro into the drawing room and the concert hall. It's no longer just a case of country backup, it's a front-and-centre solo instrument."

JURGEN GOTHE - CBC's Discdrive

"...Full of wondrous suprises...watch for this young man!"

ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN MAGAZINE

"one of the worlds most expressive Dobro players..."

THE BOSTON GLOBE

"Cox is a musician's musician. Widely recognized for his incredible technique and mastery of a wide variety of roots music...a must see for guitar players and aficionados."

THE WORLD NEXT DOOR FESTIVAL

"...everyone on the CD had a ball and the results show the versatility of the man and his Dobro..."

FOLK ROOTS MAGAZINE

"If you've ever wondered what rips, yelps, and growls have to do with playing the resonator guitar you need to check out the latest Doug Cox instructional video..."

BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED

"Doug Cox has triumphed as a Dobro player..."

VICTORY REVIEW

________________________________________________
Doug's Selected Discography...

Doug's CD Projects

* Canadian Borderline 1993
* Bone Bottle Brass or Steel 1996
* Life Is So Peculiar 1999
* Stay Lazy 2002

with Salil Bhatt, Ramkumar Mishra & special guest, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt

* Slide to Freedom 2007

with Sam Hurrie

* Hungry Ghosts 2005
* Blues From The Forbidden Plateau 2007

with Todd Butler

* Live Blues 2002
* Dobro and Guitar 2003

select recordings with others

* Travels With Charley - all recordings available
* The Irish Rovers "The Boys Come Rollin Home" 1994
* Will Millar "The Keeper" 1994
* Bob Bossin "Gabriola V0R 1X0 " 1994
* Ken Hamm "Eagle Rock Road" 1995
* Diamond Joe White "Honestly" 1997
* Resophonics Anonymous 2000
* Six Strings North Of The Border 2001
* Michael Messer "King Guitar" 2001
* Caring For Our Coast 2001
* Hornby Island Blues Camp 2002
* Rhythm & Green - Cumberland Compilation 2002
* Eric Westbury 2003
* Resophonics Anonymous - Relapse - 2004
* Todd Butler - Idle Canadian - 2005
* Layla Zoe - Shades of Blue - 2006
* Lynne Hanson - Things I Miss - 2006
* Frank Hoorn - Years In The Making - 2006
* David Essig - Presbyterian Guitar - 2007
* Dubblestandart - dub mix - 2007

Instructional Workshops

* Wells Roots Guitar Wkshop - 1996-1998
* Bulkley Valley Guitar Wkshop - 1997,1999 to 2005
* BC Bluegrass Wkshop - 1997, 2004
* Georgia Straight Guitar Wkshop - 1998
* Toronto Blues Guitar Workshop - 1998, 2007 (host)
* Hornby Island Blues Camp - 2000-2002
* Kerrville, Texas Blues Guitar Camp - 2000
* Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp -2003 to 2007
* Sore Fingers,The Cotswolds, England - 2005/06
* Aboriginal Music Performers Camp -2006/07
* Bowen Island Music Camp 2006/07
* 1st Annual Calgary Folk Festival Boot Camp - 2006
* Vancouver Island Music Workshop - 2007

Instructional Books, Videos and DVDs

* Understanding The Dobro DVD (learnrootsmusic.com)
* Understanding the Slide Guitar DVD (learnrootsmusic.com)
* Hot Blues Licks For The Lap-Style Dobro DVD (learnrootsmusic.com)
* Blues Dobro Book (centrestream publications)
* Slide Guitar and Open Tunings Book (centrestream publications)
* Intro To Roots GuitarBook (centrestream publications)
* More Dobro DVD (learnrootsmusic.com)
* Backup Dobro Book (centrestream publications)

Recordings Doug Produced

* Travels With Charley - Uncle Herbs Amusements (co-producer)
* Travels With Charley - Red Rome Beauty (co-producer)
* Doug Cox - Canadian Borderline
* Doug Cox - Bone Bottle Brass or Steel
* Diamond Joe White - Honestly
* Stacy Phillips and Paul Howard
* Doug Cox and Todd Butler - Live Blues (co-producer)
* Doug Cox and Todd Butler - Dobo and Guitar (co-producer)
* Gorden Carter - Rivers and Roads
* Doug Cox and Sam Hurrie - Hungry Ghosts (co-producer)
* Doug with Salil Bhatt, Ramkumar Mishra & Special Guest, V.M. Bhatt - Slide to Freedom (co-producer)

Some Favorite Gigs...

* The Edmonton Folk Festival 1993 with Ken Hamm and Tony Trischka
* Silverstar Bluegrass Festival 1993 with Slavik Hanzlik
* Summerfolk, Owen Sound Folk Festival 1994 with Travels With Charley
* Regina Folk Festival 1995 with the Ken Hamm Trio
* The Vancouver Folk Festival 1995
* The Yellow Door - Montreal, PQ - 1996
* The Harbourfront Centre Molson Stage - Toronto, ON - 1996, 1997 (Blues Fest)
* The Freight and Salvage - San Francisco, CA - 1997
* The Stan Rogers Folk Festival - Canso, Nova Scotia - 1997
* The Calgary Folk Festival - Calgary, Alberta (got to play w Jerry Douglas) - 1998
* The Jasper Folk Festival - Jasper, Alberta - 1998
* The World Next Door Festival - Winnipeg, Manitoba - 1998
* The Baseball Hall Of Fame, Cooperstown, NY. with Chuck Brodsky - 1998
* Fast Folk Cafe - New York City - 1998
* The Ottawa Folk Festival w Rick Fines - 1999
* The North Country Fair, Joussard, AB - 1999, 2001, 2003
* The Kerreville Wine and Music Festival, Kerreville, Texas - 1999
* The Victoria Roots Festival (got to play with Lindley!), 2000
* The Winnipeg Folk Festival, 2001
* The Dawson City Music Festival, 2001
* The Edmonton Folk Festival,(got to play w D'Gary, Corey Harris & Amadou Et Marium)) 2002
* Long John Baldry's Birthday Bash, Vancouver, BC 2003
* The Montreal Jazz Festival with Todd Butler, 2003
* The Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, 2003
* Prince George Folk Festival, 2004
* Sore Fingers Teachers Concert with Tim O'Brien, Darryl Scott and others - The Cotswolds, England 2005
* The Dream Cafe in Penticton - with Amos Garrett 2005
* The Epcor Center For the Arts in Calgary, Alberta with Sam Hurrie 2005
* The Vancouver Folk Festival Collabatory (concerts w Ganesh Ananden) 2005
* The Edmonton Folk Festival with Sam Hurrie 2005
* La Grande rencontre 2005 Parc Lafontaine in Montréal - with Sam Hurrie and Keith Bennett 2005
* Sore Fingers 2006 - played with John Paul Jones!
* House Concert, Perth, Ontario, 2006 w Sam Hurrie
* Blacksheep Inn - Wakefield, Quebec w Sam Hurrie - 06
* Northern Lights Folk Club, Edmonton, Ab w Sam Hurrie - 06
* Saxon Pub, Austin, TX, w Sam Hurrie - 06
* South Country Fair w Sam Hurrie, Vihswa Mohan Bhatt, Salil Bhatt, Ramkumar Mishra - 06
* The Calgary Folk Festival w Sam Hurrie - 06
* Maine Island w Ken Hamm & David Essig - 06
* Ulm, Germany w Sam Hurrie- 07
* Tournai, Belgium w Sam Hurrie - 07
* Bowen Island w Spider & Jeanne Robinson, Corbin Keep & Rene Worst - 07

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