The Doppler Effect

The Doppler Effect - Ground Zero - 1995 - Firenze Duomo Records

This album is just simply excellent. The only thing that surpasses the truly amazing instrumental rock performances of Doppler on Guitar, Atma Anur on Drums and Jason Muscat on Bass is the compositions themselves.12 great tracks-my favorites are Self-Portrait, Radio, Illuminations, Yana's Song and Tempest. Doppler is able to articulate lines like Jeff Beck, yet his solos absolutely scream like Vai and Satriani. This album is just too cool. Atmar Anur is an extremely powerful drummer and he actually drives the entire album-he's got great timing and chops out the Wazoo.This is quite simply one of the best and most surprising instrumental rock albums I heard in the 90's. – from ***** The Doppler Effect is an Awesome Phenomena, October 15, 2005 By & © Chase Freedom "F.Grau" (Redwood City,CA USA) © 1996-2013, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates http://www.amazon.com/Ground-Zero-Doppler-Effect/product-reviews/B000001U0I/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Not to be confused with the US Rock & Roll band, the Doppler Affect, this is a rare instrumental shred guitar album from Doug Doppler and his band, The Doppler Effect released by Firenze Duomo Records in 1995. Doug Doppler is another great guitarist who is “flying under the radar” for a few years now. He should be known globally, but he has said “keep in mind that we all have gifts and callings. The greatest part of this is finding out who you are and what your giftings and callings are. No two of us are the same, but I do know that regardless of how well you do or don't play, I know that we all get about the same amount of pleasure from the instrument. Don't forget that it is about making music. The money and business only have a tendency to get in the way of that. So, to any of you out there who are home shredders, enjoy the control you have in your environment. The music business is about business not music, and when you get to create music for the sake of music, you are every bit as close to it as I am, so please don't forget to enjoy the gift that you have been given”. Obviously Doug is more concerned with playing and writing real music for the pure love of it, and not just for the dollars. Musicians like Doug Doppler deserve better. Read an in-depth interview with him @ http://www.guitar9.com/interview91.html and watch out for future releases [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 107 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Self Portrait 4:28
2 The Black M5 4:40
3 Ground Zero 3:52
4 Radio 3:36
5 Beast of Burden 3:58
6 Illuminations 3:28
7 Guitar Talk 4:19
8 Valley of the Moon 4:46
9 Object to be Destroyed 3:31
10 Yana's Song 3:46
11 Tempest 3:10
12 Trading Blazes 4:56

All tracks composed by Doug Doppler except Track 5 by Jagger & Richards

MUSICIANS

Doug Doppler - Guitar
Jason Muscat - Bass
Amir Zitro - Fretless Bass on "Yana's Song"
Marc Paley - Keyboards
Atma Anur – Drums

INTERVIEW WITH DOUG DOPPLER

Q. Doug, why was there a great silence after your beautiful solo CD, Ground Zero released in 1995?

A. That is a long time isn't it. First of all, I have always loved both instrumental and vocal music equally, and my attention has shifted from one to the other from time to time. I had the poor fortune of releasing Ground Zero (we ran the label out of my bedroom) at precisely the moment when Grunge was breaking. The record actually charted in the U.S. and stayed on the Gavin Rocks top 50 for six weeks consecutively. Had it not been for the timing we probably would have been picked up by a "Major" if for no other purpose than a tax write off. I got a P&D (press and distribution) in Japan and sold a couple thousand copies over there as well. The good news is that I had a lot of fun, and most importantly I learned one heck of a lot about the business by doing myself and with the help of my now ex-wife. In Einstone, we purposely made the decision to not solicit the "Majors" until 2001. Instead we began to craft what we feel is an intelligent course of action. What started out as our demo (with the full intention that we would have long since shopped it to the majors) has now become our first disc. We in turn have spent a lot of time fine tuning our live show in preparation for what we are about to do - a ton of shows. We will be playing in December a total of 7 times at a number of the San Francisco Bay Area's most respected venues. We are lucky in that Hayley, Atma and I are reasonably well known here for our various bands and projects, so we have been very lucky in terms of response from the talent buyers at the various venues. We also put together a somewhat flashy package that gets delivered to each club in a Priority Mail box. Having run a small label, I was always amazed at how poorly artists chose to present their work. I got one package I swear was wrapped in a brown paper bag with a stamp on it. Take yourself seriously and at least people won't snicker if you don't look like they do. Our whole strategy is to become successful on a regional level so in turn we can demonstrate to the major labels that we have what it takes and in turn their job will be to do what we have done but on a larger scale. The band is very commercial, image oriented, and most importantly very dance oriented. We have a lot to offer without a hint of selling out. We all love pop music and crafting a catchy hook laden groove. The key for us is that everything has to be in an odd meter, but feel completely round. Since we recorded "Space Lounge" we decided to take the dance element of our repertoire and really focus on how we can build our set into an odd-metered dance fest by grooving the backbeat extra hard. We have added a lot of dance sections similar to an extended dance mix to provide our audiences a thorough opportunity to get their dance yayas out.

Q. Tell me about your project... a new band called Einstone , possibly a band for the new millennium?

A. We are lucky in that we have fallen into something quite original - a blessing or the kiss of death depending on how you see it. The idea of having an odd-metered dance band let alone pop band is something that most musicians would not entertain until they heard it. Hayley has a fantastic voice and is blessed with a completely intuitive ability to both write and sing in odd meters. The fashion model looks don't hurt either, but she wouldn't be in the band if she couldn't turn it on both in the studio and on stage. Atma is best known for his work with Shrapnel artists like Richie Kotzen and Tony MacAlpine. What many people don't know is that he is an exceptional writer and has both a great singing and Dance Hall style scat voice. His arrangement skills are off the hook and when it comes to the fat backbeat groove he is the king, especially in odd-meters. Our next disc will be more demonstrative of our latest departure from where we have come as a band. Less playing more grooving, but still enough guitar (both distorted and lead) to make a guitar nut happy. Most of the tones I use are distorted neck position sounds that I clean up by backing off on the volume control. I am using Line6 amps (I have two heads and one combo for smaller venues) and love the ability to jump from the fat Rectifier tone to a really rich clean chorus sound which is becoming a bigger part of our sound for some of the Reggae/Ska influenced breakdowns in some of the songs. We just reworked "If We Share Our Hearts" and I am going to be using a lot of the clean sound on that. There are hints of Calypso in another song that we just finished called "Another Pyramid" that mainly switches back between 7 and 6 and "oddly" enough is super danceable. The breakdown section goes to the aforementioned clean tone. There have been way too many bands who have beaten the Ska groove into the ground, so it is understand that in the band you will NEVER hear me doing the traditional upbeat rhythm pattern. Instead I create a harmonic bed on top of which Atma often goes into his Dance Hall rap.

Q. In my opinion, your career is very amazing! You are a former student of Joe Satriani (and have a strange story in that respect?), a masterpiece solo album printed in 1995, designer of DiMarzio's website and your photo appears in the Ibanez catalog... your name is synonymous of a legend!

A. Seems like you did a little background research. To that I get to add I have been surrounded by a sea of successful musicians, and for whatever reason real commercial success has eluded me to this point, although I am not the least bit bitter. I feel we have a vision and our goal is to share that with the world. We feel that the "Euros" as I affectionately call my European friends will particularly like the band because of our diversity. They love Shaggy and Dance Pop music and we bring a bit of both to the table but with a lot of guitar in the mix! We are grateful for bands like Korn who have blended rock and rap allowing the kids here in the States to broaden their ears. Korn really broke new ground that I think will be very helpful for bands like Einstone in terms of diversity in approach. Per the whole career thing, in many ways I am grateful not to have been too well known for big hair, pointy boots, and too many notes. There are a lot of guys who will never live that down and as an end result will have a heck of a time with their careers. Our whole strategy in this band is do the work, get the result. We live it and I in turn teach it to my students. In regard to "Satch", when I came back from GIT in L.A. Joe asked me to teach at the studio I still occupy in Berkeley while he went out on the road with (yes really) the Greg Kihn Band. When he came back we alternated teaching days and then when "Surfing" hit he split and I stayed. One of the highlights of our relationship was playing with him at the Bill Graham Memorial in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in front of 250,000 people. Other bands that day included the first reunion of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Journey; Tracy Chapman and numerous others. My ex snapped a photo which I keep by my bed. It is good to keep both the path of the past and the present in mind as you move through life. It will provide balance as you chart your course.

Q. What do you think about the lastest guitar trend...incorporating techno with guitar?

A. Satriani is one of the first in this genre and now you are another guitarist with these same ideas... We actually haven't gotten to that phase yet, but I predict that at perhaps a second major label release (if we are so lucky) we will go there. We aren't in that space - yet. I have had some ideas bouncing around my head for about a year since my last trip to Paris and Brussels. I always have music come to me when I am traveling and I can still hum the piece that came to me by the train station in Brussels that my some day be the intro for our live show. No synths, but that huge crashing dance vibe, of course all in odd-meters. We have a song "Every Time" that is more of a disco vibe that will most likely make it to our next self-produced disc that will give a hint of the breadth we have in approaching dance and pop music. We never want to be labeled as this or that. In fact the band changes so much from month to month as we discover more about who we are and where we are going we have decided to use this time to release a self-produced disc every 3 months or so. In this fashion we can chart our growth and give local press something else to write about. I love to redefine myself and the band is deeply committed to exploring and discovering who we are going to be, not just how we are going to be successful.

Q. Since your sound is great, will it be possible to see Einstone on MTV in the near future?

A. We are working very hard (7 shows this month) to fine tune our act so that when the right opportunity avails to showcase for the major labels, we will be ready according to our standards. Rushing is bad, working towards a goal with a rapid pace is a completely different thing so long as when you get to the door you have enough gusto left to either knock it down or a least give it a good kick to say hello. Getting to the door is the easy part, being ready to pass through it is the key. We know we are on to something and we know the band has a certain image that is modern. We believe that when the time is right we will know it and then we will be ready to realize what really lies ahead. In the mean time we have a concise plan in process for the local model of a national/international success. If we can't do it here, then most likely a major could not pull it off either. So we will do the work and presumably get the result, whatever that may be. We are very fortunate to be here in the San Francisco Bay Area. There are a couple of "mini-scenes" all of which we are part of in some way, often for very different reasons. There is a small suburb called Concord where there is a really budding hard rock scene with bands like 3rd Rail; The Blue; Doomfinger; and Sytematic (Lars of Metallica signed them to his label). I have a connection in that scene as a teacher so people are eager to check out my band. In San Francisco, there is a "South of Market St" scene which we are a part of simply because at one point or another Atma has played with all of the best musicians. The upscale .com crowd here in S.F. goes to see Hayley's cover band Superbooty and we are integrating them into our fanbase. If all goes as planned all of these areas will overlap into one and we will have the numbers to demonstrate to the labels that we can get the job done. Selling 3,000 CDs, bringing 200+ people to each show, and getting great local press is the goal, and we, are doing the work. That by the way is the unspoken formula for how a local act gets both the attention and the deal from a major label. The right manager can speed that process up, but always be careful who you sign on. Never burn anyone and make sure that you partner up with the right people. It can be painful if you don't - I've seen it happen way too many times to those around me. Once again, thanks... best, doppler ! [Interview with Doug Doppler © Matt Cafissi © 2003 by GuitarChef - All rights reserved http://digilander.libero.it/guitarchef/interviews_5.htm

MORE ABOUT DOUG DOPPLER / THE DOPPLER EFFECT

The "top gun" guitarist, hand selected to take over Joe Satriani's teaching business in Berkeley, CA, Doppler is also Lionized in Japan for his release "Ground Zero" (also featuring Atma and JM). In "E" Doppler is a core songwriter and also provides most of the harmony vocals heard on "Space Lounge". The DOPPLER EFFECT is led by guitarist Doug Doppler and features Atma Anur on drums and Jason Muscat on bass. Ground Zero, their twelve song all-instrumental record is scheduled for a February 28, 1995 release date on the San Francisco based indie Firenze Duomo Records. Doug Doppler is one of the privileged few fortunate enough to have studied with guitar guru Joe Satriani. In the August 1992 issue of Guitar for the Practicing Musician, Satriani had this to say about his former pupil, "I've had a lot of students who've thrilled me in lots of ways.Ever since he walked to take his first lesson, Doug Doppler has had a great guitar sound. It's uncanny."Satriani was not the only Bay Area rock star impressed with Doug's playing. While Kirk Hammet was still in Exodus (shortly before joining Metallica), the two had a chance meeting at San Francisco's now defunct Mabuhay Gardens night club. Upon hearing Doug play, Kirk asked where he learned all the crazy stuff he was doing. Doug told him about this incredible teacher in Berkeley, and the rest is history.The night he returned to San Francisco after graduating from GIT, Doug surprised his former teacher by coming to see him play with the Greg Kihn Band. Backstage, Joe told Doug that the band was going out on the road, and asked him to take over his teaching duties until the end of the tour. After the tour ended the two alternated teaching days until Satch went out on the "Surfing" tour, and abdicated his teaching spot to Doug for good.Right around the same time, San Francisco guitar legend Neal Schon was putting together the Schon Guitar Company.After hearing a tape of Doug's playing, Neal invited him to demonstrate for Schon Guitars at the NAMM shows in Anaheim and Chicago. Neal had this to say about Doug's guitarmanship, "I've heard the best, and he's right up there -- soulful."After the Jeff Beck/Stevie Ray Vaughn concert just before Christmas 1989, Doug came home to an urgent message to call Satriani, no matter what the hour. Doug Doppler's Issue Thinking that he wanted to talk about the concert, Doug got quite a surprise when Joe said he was considering adding a second guitarist to his band for the "Flying" tour. Doug would have two weeks to memorize all of Satriani's material before his audition. After intense preparation, the competition didn't stand a chance. Doug rehearsed with the band for three days before Satriani made his final decision not to add a second guitarist for the tour. This however was not to be the last time the two would play together.Figuring this was a good time for a change, Doug moved to Los Angeles, where he became a member of GIT's visiting faculty. He was also one of ten finalists chosen from thousands of applicants to play at West LA Music's guitarist of the year competition (sponsored by Marshall, BAM, and Music Plus).Deciding he'd had enough smog (and traffic), Doug returned to the Bay Area and hooked up with keyboardist Marc Paley. Together they started The DOPPLER EFFECT and were soon joined by master drummer Atma Anur (of Shrapnel records fame) and bassist Jason Muscat.Just before the first DOPPLER EFFECT show (opening for Stu Hamm), Doug got another call from Satriani. There was a memorial concert being planned to eulogize the untimely death of promoter Bill Graham, and Joe asked Doug to join him on rhythm guitar. On a bright sunny day in Golden Gate Park, Joe Satriani and Friends played in front of 250,000 people. After the show Doug took a limo back to Joe's house, and then drove to Berkeley to teach his students like any other day.Over the next year, The DOPPLER EFFECT became a Saturday night headliner on the local club circuit. Doug was also offered a spot on Guitar for the Practicing Musician's house label (which he declined). In 1993, The DOPPLER EFFECT stopped playing live so Doug could concentrate on working in his eight track studio writing new material. In the spring of 1994, The DOPPLER EFFECT began recording "Ground Zero" at Sausalito's Studio D Recording with Producer/Engineer Joel Jaffe at the helm. Guitarist extraordinaire and fellow Satriani student Alex Skolnick had this to say after hearing the album, "Doug's playing combines instrumental prowess with a strong sense of melody. 'Ground Zero' will be a must own for fans of instrumental rock." : EINSTONE (Doppler's new incredible band):- Einstone is the original odd-metered pop band with a flavor of Dance Hall scat. Fueled by some of the Bay Area's top working musicians, what makes this band so unique is the songwriting. Complementing a killer live show fronted by the "fetching" Hayley, "E" blends catchy lyrics, Dance Hall scat provided by the gorgeous Atma Anur, and grooving rhythms, all set to an odd-metered dance back beat. © 2003 by GuitarChef - All rights reserved http://digilander.libero.it/guitarchef/top_guitarist.htm