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Fire in the Water, Earth in the Air: Legends
of West Texas Music
"Indeed, Oglesby's introduction of more
than two dozen musicians who called Lubbock home should be required
reading not only for music fans, but for Lubbock residents and
anyone thinking about moving here. On these pages, music becomes
a part of Lubbock's living history."
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Chris Oglesby Interviews
Doug Smith may look, sound, and even occasionally smell like a redneck, but I'm here to tell ya' - Doug Smith ain't no redneck. This man has got the soul of Mozart and the heart of Stubbs. Petersberg is mostly cotton
fields, more absolutely plum full of nothing than Chris: Doug Smith, thanks for inviting me out to Montelongo’s. Doug: Sure! You ate like a pig. [Laughs]. That’s one thing we have in common. Chris: Tell me about when you got started playing piano as a kid. Doug: I started playin' when I was two years old. It
was on a little organ that’s about a couple foot long; a
little Wurlitzer. I still have it in my studio at home. It was around Christmas time. As a toddler, they didn’t
want me - obviously - messin’ around with the instruments,
so my grandmother - it's beautiful to hear her tell the story
- She says they were all in the kitchen. She was cookin’
some food. She said they heard this music comin’ out of
the hall, y’know. The weird thing about it - to hear them tell it; and to my knowledge - I’ve always played music. I’ve never remembered not playing, as long as I’ve lived. They say that I was playin’ two note chords with my left
hand and melodies with my right when I was two years old. There
was no sittin’ down and experimentation about, trying to
get the sound. Chris: Were these tunes that you were making up? Or were they things that you had heard? Doug: They were things that I had heard like Christmas
songs, melodies, nursery rhyme songs; things that I had heard
as a baby. So when that happened, my aunt obviously gave me the organ. I took it home, and I was just infatuated with the thing. I gave my first concert on that organ in the first grade.
I was six years old. I could remember it like it was yesterday,
y’know. It was at Purple Sage elementary school in Kermit.
My teacher had come over to the house - her and my mom were friends
- and she heard me playin’. She asked me, "Would you
be willin’ to play for the class?" That was on Friday. On Monday, I took my organ up there. And
- Man - I was scared to death ‘cause she told the class
that I was gonna play music, y’know. I got up there and
got my rig set up and began to play. The neatest thing that I remember about it is; At the end of that day, when I was walking out to where my mom would come get me, I was walkin’ out to that car and fourth and fifth graders were comin’ up and goin’, "Hey, Smith, that was cool, Man. That was really cool." Chris: Awesome. Doug: And so right then, I connected with the fact that: "Hey! This music thing connects me with people in a way that there is no other medium to make that connection with." To this day, everybody I’m connected with - even yourself - is because of this music; through this music. That’s the neatest thing. I’ve met the greatest people in my life as a result of people that love music- me makin’ it, composin’ it, and performin’ it; And other people benefiting from the exchange; y’know…the people that witness it. Chris: One of the ideas I’m pursuin' is this idea of, "Knowing Yourself and Following Your Dreams." So I think it's great that you're aware of how music has brought those blessings into your life. Are you able tomake a living off of your piano playing?
Sometimes I do shows. I just came off of a show at the Cactus
Theater here in Lubbock. But mostly recording; Through my records is mainly how I earn my livelihood, at this point…. Chris: Do you do shows outside of Texas? Who is your audience? Doug: Well…I’m not sure about that. [Laughs] Actually, most of my work
- performancewise - has been Texas, New Mexico, a little bit
in Colorado. See, I cannot read or write music.
I’ve never had a piano lesson in my life. So
it is crucial that I get my copyrights. Everything that comes
through, I sit down, get it in structured form, copyright it,
and then publish it all myself, too. Chris: How are you distributing yourself. Once again,
who knows about you? Who do you play for? How are you makin’
a living doin’ it?
Explain yourself; I mean, how are you "hearing God?" What’s comin’ from God? Do you know what I’m sayin’? Doug: I know exactly what you’re sayin’. It’s a very difficult question…The reason I give the credit to God is because…Like I told you awhile ago; When I was not even two years old, I just began this musical thing. I sat down and I just did it. Chris: Yea. That’s pretty miraculous. [Laughs.] Doug: Exactly! In itself. Now, the reason I say "it comes from God" is because…If… If I think about, "Who to give the credit to?" I
can’t go to a piano teacher, or any person; an instructor
at the college, a professor, or someone with a doctorate degree
in music. None of these people. It’s coming from the Divine Source. I believe that...Because I can’t give "a human" credit. That’s been my assumption my whole life, is that is had
to come from God; just like Mozart’s work, Beethoven’s
work, Bach’s work, all the Masters. Go to page 2
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To all the outside
world, Doug Smith may appear to be a "redneck." He
literally does have a red neck; his rosy skin burns easy out
there in the Petersberg, Texas sun. Doug's home outside Petersberg
is northeast of Lubbock County, about ten miles from the old
country church where his daddy grew up going. 
Doug:
Sometimes it’s very meek. But - Yes. That’s all I do;
It’s exclusively music.
I
also own my own publishing company, obviously. I publish all
my music myself as an independent publisher.
Chris:
Since you’re talking about your web-site: I went and looked
at it before I came and met you; I saw on your web-page that
you really feel that the music is "in" you, and that
your music is comin’ "from God."