Doug grew up in the Davis Mountains of Texas, the son of a colorful wainwright, blacksmith, and fiddle-playing ranch hand. Doug briefly pursued a musical degree, which set the stage for his short stint as a fiddler and funny sideman for dinner theater entertainment. He left that to tour the country with various acts, eventually settling back in Texas to write his own songs and front his own band. Basing himself out of Austin, he continued his self-promoted tour, and developed into a unique, western, swing band with his wit and charm playing along with his instrumentation of fiddle, upright bass fiddle, and jazz guitar.