Check Out Doug Conlon’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Conlon.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I lived in Denver in the 80’s and left in 95. I first got active in the local music scene in 1984 with a band called XEQ. One of our first big shows was opening for the Hoodoo Gurus at the now defunct Peral Street Music Hall. We received a favorable review from Gil Asakawa with Westword and started booking the band a lot locally but never went on the road. Denver was an island in those days. You had to travel a fair distance to get to another major metropolis.

A friend of mine let me borrow his PA when he joined the Peace Corp. So, I started doing sound for punk and underground shows for a promoter named Tom Headbanger. He promoted mostly punk, like GBH and GG Alin along with many local bands primarily at the Denver Turnverein, which I believe is still open. There were other venues Tom booked, but that is where most of the shows I did happened. It was interesting for me, because it introduced me to a subculture I didn’t know existed in Denver.

XEQ produced two full length albums and one EP on vinyl. Some of which you can still find online. But after that band broke up around 1988, I formed another local band called Fear of Sleep, with local legend Bob Rupp. We played everywhere, including the Colorado Rocky Mountain Jam, which was attended by 52,000 people. Fear Sleep was stuck in between the glam metal of the late 80’s and the emerging gunge scene in Seattle. We produced two full length albums and recorded with producer Geoff Workman (Queen, The Cars, Motley Crue). We worked hard to get a record deal, which was important back in the 90’s, but ended up not accepting the offers we did get. Bob and I put another band together called Love Garage, which included my now wife, Annette. Love Garage was a very popular garage rock band which included three female backup singers. Even with all the label interest that band dissolved quickly. I started a new band, Somebody’s Sister, with Annette and that band also played everywhere. We open for Denver Joe every Monday night at the world-famous Cricket on the Hill. The Cricket is gone, but it was a staple in the Denver music scene for years. Jill Stein, yes that Jill Stein sent us a cease-and-desist letter, because she had trademarked the name Somebody’s Sister for her band out of Boston. This was after we had released our first and only full-length album and were receiving radio play on 27 stations, which was a big deal in the early 90’s. It was our parody of the Barney the Dinosaur song that was played the most. We moved to Dallas for a terrible record deal and changed the name to Eden Automatic. We constantly toured regionally throughout the south and southwest, signed another bad European record deal, moved to LA and now we are back in Colorado Springs.

A lot happened in those years. We attended the Grammys serval times. Met a lot of famous people. Annette became a Music Supervisor, which is someone who places songs to movies. We had quite a few songs placed in movies. Now we are back in Colorado, performing as duo all across the front range and in the mountains. The Colorado music scene has changed a lot since we left in 95, especially Denver. It is amazing to see how much Denver has grown up. It used to be metal heads, punkers and grateful dead heads and that was pretty much it. Now it is everything. It almost feels as it is a homecoming.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest struggle I think for any working musician is balance between being able to work regularly and being able to play your songs. Most places want familiar material. Brain Nevin from Big Head Todd and the Monsters once told me, “People don’t know what they like, but they like what they know.” Of course, if you are an artist that sits way outside of the mainstream, this does not apply. But for us that write accessible songs, it does.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have always worked a regular job as a Civil engineer, which I love. I think the two work well together. What stands about me is that I have never took a break from either being a musician or and engineer. It can be a complicated balance.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
As far as being a musician, performance is important, but if were starting today I would focus more on songwriting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dougconlon.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougetc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dougconlon/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-conlon-pe-69160b31/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dougconlon/videos

Image Credits
Todd Ryan for the TBRAS photo.