DougDoug Reimer was born and raised in a Mennonite community in Southern Manitoba. Since music is an essential part of Mennonite culture he was brought into contact with various musical traditions: the classical tradition (Choirs Doug sang in performed Handle's Messiah every Christmas as surely as presents were under the tree); African (blues; Negro spirituals: his family listened to a great Blackwood Brothers record when he was young); gospel ("Farther Along"); folk ("Lord of the Dance"); country (Carter Family tunes); even bluegrass (he often listened to bluegrass coming into Manitoba from a radio station in Del Rio, Texas). By the age of 18 he was attending college. Mid-semester he decided it was time to leave and hopped a train riding it all the way to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, with hopes of being a lumberjack. While working different manual labor jobs and traveling the Canadian countryside, he gained insight...and decided to become a writer, a poet, and a "man of culture". Doug moved back to his home region where he raised his three children with his wife. Then moved to Winnipeg. He has since earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in English, written several published books, and works at the University of Manitoba. Doug writes songs that reflect his life experience and effectively articulates a human's natural and spiritual desires while remaining true to the traditional sound of bluegrass and old time music. He sings and writes music that people can relate to and are moved by.
The Doug and Jess Band
152 Sherbrook St. Winnipeg MB Canada R3C 2B4
phone 204-772-0140
