CHECK OUT OUR INTERVIEW WITH JOHN DOUGLAS BELOW
Delray Beach, Florida: February 2021: Fresh off drumming with Aerosmith at the Grammy’s and performing at the prestigious MusicCares where Aerosmith was honored as the Person of the Year…John Douglas has been getting ready to kick off his 2021 North American Art Tour…and what better place than Delray Beach, Florida. The Opal Grand, Delray Beach’s premier luxury resort OPAL GRAND RESORT & SPA announces their presentation of Douglas’ “High-Performance” Fine Art Tour: in its’ limited engagement, March 25th – March 28th 2021 , with live appearances by Douglas on Friday, March 26thand Saturday March 27th. The event is complimentary to the public and all artwork is on exhibition & available for acquisition. Graciously sponsored by Prakas & Co.
Not only is John Douglas’ artwork of rock and roll icons some of the most famous and highly collected among celebrities and art enthusiasts around the world, but Douglas has toured the globe with multi-platinum musicians including ZZ Top, Slash, Van Halen and Bon Jovi. He is just back from playing the Grammy’s and MusicCares with Aerosmith, and is currently on tour with Aerosmith in their Las Vegas Residency. Along the way, he has created one-of-a-kind masterpieces of rock and roll icons including Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Bono (U2) and The Rolling Stones. These original works of art (several signed by both Douglas and the Rockstar subject) are ..in a word…extraordinary.
JOHN DOUGLAS INTERVIEW
RBR.com: How have you been spending your time during the Covid-19 lockdowns?
John: Trying to not go stir-crazy, which is key. Fortunately, I have the art thing so I’m doing a lot of painting. Then there is the honey-do list that is never-ending. I just tried to stay as active as I could, but it is not over yet. There are no concerts. Aerosmith just pushed their summer 2021 tour to 2022, so there’s nothing going on there, at least for the summer. I don’t know about the fall or winter yet.
RBR.com: Like yourself, people have been trying to keep from going stir-crazy through all of this, but it looks like things are starting to lighten up a bit now. People are looking to get out and to get back to some sort of normal again and test the waters out there. You will be in Delray Beach on March 25-28 at the Opal Grand to kick off your North American 2021 Tour.
John: You are exactly right, we are dipping our toes into the deep end, you know, trying to out there and mix it up a bit. Again, there are still no large concerts going on right now, but I have a lot of paintings of rock stars and icons so I think that is the next big thing.
RBR.com: The best part is that the general public will have access to these amazing paintings and prints. The detail and realism in your artwork is really unbelievable. The one portrait that really stands out for me is the painting you did of Jon Bon Jovi . My eyes always go to the hair in that painting. For me, I think hair is the most difficult thing to paint, yet you do it so effortlessly.
John: Jon was definitely the poster child in the 80’s for that big rock hair for sure. I painted that while I was on tour with Bon Jovi. Sometimes I think it is not a good idea to paint a picture of the boss, but he loved it and was very kind. We ended up making a lot of prints which he sold through his fan club.
RBR.com: When did you first discover that you had this talent to paint? John: The drumming thing came earlier. My parents told e that I was beating on pots and pans before I could walk, so of course I was doing that even before I could even hold a crayon, but if I wasn’t banging on stuff or playing drums, I was drawing pictures of drums or my favorite bands. I used to just draw, pencil on paper, at home. I didn’t really get noticed for my artwork from an art teacher until the eighth grade. It was then that I might have realized that maybe I have more than a knack for it.
RBR.com: There are a lot of musicians out there, like yourself, that are also amazing artists, for example… Rick Allen, Mickey Hart, Paul Stanley, and Brian Wheat of Tesla to name a few. Do you think that music and art are intertwined or share the same artistic DNA? I have noticed that so many great musicians are also incredibly talented artists as well.
John: There must be something to it, The creative process, the creative mind. Also, a lot of musicians are also great photographers, too. The guys you mentioned are also gifted singer/songwriters. We are all so lucky to exercise those skills more so than others that are not into the arts. I do think that you are on to something there. There are a lot of drummers that are artists (laughs), a lot of drummers.
RBR.comI know that you paint mostly on tour, in hotel rooms. When you are painting, do you enjoy listening to music or do you prefer to work in silence?
John: I listen to music most of the time. Most people think that if I am painting a picture of lets say, Mick Jagger, that I am listening to nothing but The Rolling Stones. And they will ask me...”What song did you have in mind when you were painting this?” I am kind of addicted to my shuffle playlist, whether it is Itunes or Spotify or something. I just let it go and whatever comes up, comes up.
I also want to mention real quick that we have a benefit on Thursday night, which I believe is the 25th, there is a VIP event which benefits Habitat For Humanity, which is a very important organization, so I just wanted to mention that.
RBR.com: Thank you, John for talking with Rockbandreviews.com today. It is an honor and a pleasure. Would you be able to sign a snare drum that we will provide, to benefit Disabled American Veterans?
John: Yes., absolutely, of course!
Douglas’ art can be seen in many Hard Rock Café locations as well as their corporate office and is on exhibition and available for acquisition at renowned art galleries throughout North America. His life, journey and story is one that is fascinating amongst rock stars and collectors alike.
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