Out of all those singer-songwriters of ‘90s NYC, I’m so glad that one has stayed true to her craft and continues to produce great albums. Minnesota transplant Julia Douglass has a supremely engaging storyteller’s gift–and a far better sense of humor than Bob Dylan and far less anger than Alanis Morissette. She also has this artful way of surprising you with non-melodic moments that demand attention and reward you with insight. Very glad that her peregrinations have brought her back to NYC–where she clearly belongs–a second time and that she’s releasing her album this month. Minnesota: NYers win!
Want to witness Julia Douglass’s awesomeness live? She will be performing with cellist Jacqueline Ultan, Sunday, November 15, 2015 at The Living Room in Brooklyn, NY.
~Victoria C. Rowan, Ideasmyth Creatrix-in-Chief
***
I had the lyrics for this song laying around for a long time. I wanted to write the saddest song in the world. To me, teenage car crashes are the saddest things in the world. I think about the close calls I had as a kid and I just shudder. So that is what this song is about. About a father wishing he had just said “No questions asked, I’ll come get you” to his kid. I brought it over to Andy Thompson and we finished it together.
I guess this is a collection of songs for the most part only a middle-aged person could write and sing. You have to have been around the block a few times to write these songs and to understand them. And I’m really proud of them and very happy at the production and arrangements Andy Thompson and the musicians came up with. I’m just so happy these tunes are finally done, and are seeing the light of day. Thank you for listening.
“No Questions Asked”
“When the driver is hammered
and you find you’re two hours away
No Questions Asked I’ll come get you.”
He meant to say to his son that day
He says it when he visits
over and over until dark
It’s pretty there where he lays down flowers
so pretty you’d think that you were in a park
No questions asked
No questions asked
No questions asked
No questions asked
He says it all the time now
under his breath again and again
if you’re walking by you would swear
you would swear that you could hear him say
No questions asked
No questions asked
No questions asked
No questions asked
Friday evenings round town now
teenagers all roll their eyes
fathers lay the law down
and mothers start to cry
~~~Originally a classical musician, Julia Douglass won a scholarship to the Yale School of Music in the French Horn. Upon graduation she immediately quit the French Horn and embarked on her singer songwriter career in New York City. Her music has been described by Billboard Magazine as “a sterling collection of memorable melodies with lyrics that depict thoughtful, touching, amusing and above all, uncannily true pictures of contemporary American life.”
She has been described as having a similar sensibilities of 60s folkie Melanie, Randy Newman and Loudon Wainwright. She lives in the New York area and performs frequently.
