Have you watched CMT lately?  It’s like watching models lip synch to music that fringes on pop, which is far removed from the country format.  The best country comes from outside the Nashville scene from artists who are willing to settle for less to retain their integrity.  One such artist is singer/songwriter Douglas Cameron.  Like Steve Earl, Cameron writes from the deepest recesses of his mind.  Sure, he pens a good love song, but his tunes don’t have a slick, glossy makeover, and he ain’t a pretty boy either.



Cameron’s passion for music came at an early age.



“My family first got cable in late ‘83, so I saw the birth of MTV,” Cameron explains.  “I had always loved music, but actually seeing it performed proved too powerful for me.  In third grade I traded a kid at school a bunch of He-Man toys for a stringless electric he had.  I soon traded that up to another electric, and away I went.”



His most adventurous band in the mid ’90s was called Stranger Neighbor.

“I made a serious run at it in this band, toured everywhere west of Milwaukee and had a great time,” he says. “I wrote a majority of the tunes — influences of pop and funk, rock and jam music.”



Despite the release of four independent records of which they sold 10,000, by 2003 the magic and the energy was all but depleted, and Cameron went solo. 



“My dad listened to country while I was growing up; I wasn’t a fan. I was a young rocker,” Cameron admits. “I came back to Idaho a few years ago and discovered what great stories they were telling in country songs.  As a songwriter, I tend to be introspective and write about things I’ve been through, but I wanted to try something new.” After listening to more Southern rock and classic country, Cameron found a new and exciting direction to take his music.



Cameron describes his sound as “diving into a whiskey bottle and hoping for the best.”  The Boise, Idaho, native pegged it with that description as he can drive a dry drunk to drink with one strum of his acoustic guitar.  To date, Cameron has released three discs: The Consequence of My Choices (2004), Crossed the Colorado Line (2005) EP, and his latest, Remedies (2006), which proves to be his best so far.



“There is definitely more of (a) roots feel on this record, and the songwriting and arranging took a step up from previous efforts,” he says.



If Cameron stays true to his art, he might never win a CMA, but he will be an artist who demands respect.



[Eastside Club Tavern, Friday, March 30, 9:30 p.m., 410 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.357.9985]