Doug Keith

New York-based singer/songwriter Doug Keith grew up outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota and then Syracuse, New York. An early interest in music led him to his first guitar lessons at the age of ten. His formative years of learning songs by '80s college rock bands like Hüsker Dü and Camper Van Beethoven eventually led to an interest in classic rock, folk, and early blues music. Relocating to San Francisco, he joined the punk trio the Gods Hate Kansas, playing bass and gaining valuable touring experience that would later serve him well when he switched coasts to New York City. Beginning in the early 2000s, Keith spent several years playing with the noise rock combo Up the Empire while testing the waters with his own material and releasing several experimental solo albums under the moniker the First Person to See an Elephant. Following the breakup of Up the Empire, Keith finally decided to attempt a proper solo career, and in 2009 released his debut LP, Here's to Outliving Me. Continuing to develop a more organic, acoustic-based approach, in 2010 Keith followed up with The Lucky Ones, which, like his debut, was released independently on his own imprint, The Village Label. The album was well received and earned praise from NPR and The Washington Post, among many others. His third solo release, Pony, arrived in early 2014 and featured contributions from J Mascis and members of Megafaun.