ABOUT my blog:
“LISTEN, JOURNEY, SAVOR with JULIAN DOUGLAS”… Julian Douglas, that’s my name and Listen, Journey, Savor is what I would like you to do with me. This blog will center around my life experiences with music, travel and food.
LISTEN to my stories from live music events and backstage at concerts, to reviews of bands and the venues they perform at, to fun question & answer sessions with your favorite rockstars. JOURNEY with me to my favorite destinations around the world. We’ll experience the people, their culture, the history, the sights and most of all the food. SAVOR the dishes I’ve experienced, the places I have eaten and the people that create them; from celebrity chefs to reality cooking stars.
ABOUT me:
There comes a time when you look back at your life and reflect on what you’ve done, what you’ve accomplished, who you were and who you’ve become. We all seem to do this over the years and recently I found myself really reflecting on my life. What did I sum up? Well saying I’ve been blessed is almost an understatement; grateful is more like it.
I truly realize what an amazing life I’ve not only had, but continue to have. I’ve seen and done so much traveling the globe and experiencing what it has to offer. The only thing I’ve loved more than experiencing it is when friends ask me to tell them of my life’s greatest moments. So this is where my blog finds its birth. A platform to not only share what I’ve done, but what I’m up to and where I’m going.
Now that you know why I’ve chosen to blog, you may be asking who I am? It will take more than a sentence to answer that, so maybe giving you a little background (and more) of what I’ve done, well help you gain a bigger grasp of who I am.
LISTEN:
My introduction to music started all the way back in 1972, growing up at the time in Long Island, New York, when I was chosen to play Jiminy Cricket in our elementary school play of Pinocchio. I stole the show, even at age 6. But my music career took a short break when a couple years later my Mom and I moved to Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley.
By the mid 1970’s when AM radio seemed just as big as FM, I found myself signing up under different names to get as many 13 8-tracks & cassettes for only 1 penny from the Columbia House Record Club. Now I could listen to all those songs on my Hi-Fi whenever I wanted. Liking everything from Paul McCartney & Wings, to KISS, David Bowie, Sweet and Electric Light Orchestra, The Bee Gees, KC & The Sunshine Band and Donna Summer. My taste in music was diverse, and it all excited me. I should have known my life would eventually center around the music world.
During that time, while in middle school, attending a private church school, I had to sing in the choir, and quickly was singled out to play the lead in our spring musical. I still remember singing the big hit at that time, “I Write The Songs” by Barry Manilow. Again, about to reach stardom (insert a chuckle), but before that could happen, as the 70’s were coming to a close and the 80’s were about to begin we uprooted and moved to the beach area known as the South Bay.
Over time it seemed one job or another of mine would involve music. My first came in early 1982 when my already vast record collection, got me the “in” to become the DJ for our high school dances. This was back when we only had one turn table so I had to actually use the microphone to talk to the crowd while I quickly took one record off as it faded out and popped the next one on, cueing up the needle. Somehow it worked, and before I knew it, I found myself DJing at a few small bars even though I wasn’t even 18 yet. Then my DJ career took a small detour, as I joined the U.S. Coast Guard and shipped off to basic training, where I eventually celebrated my 18th birthday. My military career was short lived and it wasn’t long before forces introjected and my time in the service came to an early end.
Returning home to LA it didn’t take long for the music itch to hit again. I bounced around a few odd jobs like selling records at The Wherehouse and ladies shoes in Beverly Hills, all while my hair got longer; it was finally time to strut my stuff behind a microphone on the Sunset Strip.
Being that Julian Douglas isn’t a household name, it’s safe to say that I didn’t become the famous rock & roll singer I planned on. In fact, as the 1980’s ended so did my rockstar dream and I did what many singers did, I picked up the microphone and introduced strippers at the local Gentleman’s Club. Hey, I figured if it could pay the bills for Jeff Keith of Tesla… yes, when Tesla’s fame diminished, Jeff became a strip club DJ back in his home town of Sacramento, as did many others. Any how, leave it to me, in a matter of a few years to become one of the most known “strip club DJ’s”, for who we were. In no time I was working with adult stars, helping with their music for their feature shows, to at one point becoming the “voice” of the adult industry’s main conventions of the time, Erotica L.A. and AVN. Believe it or not it grew old, as crazy as that sounds to some, and to some I’m sure it sounded like a dream job, but it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
It was time for something new. But what? I knew I had a lot of talents, one of which was I always seems to be the Pied Piper when it came to activities, especially when it came to clubs and concerts. Everyone seemed to always want to go where I was going. Then the light bulb popped on. Maybe I could get paid to bring people together for fun around music. There was a term for that, a Concert & Club Promoter. The rest is history so they say. With all my deep exposure to the music scene during the Eighties and my continual love for it, my now semi-famous moniker of “Mr. 80’s” was born.
Throughout three decades now, I’ve grown to be one of a Southern California’s most beloved and successful concert & club promoters… and one of the most humble too, LOL. Seriously, I took extreme pride when at the “16th Annual L.A. Music Awards”, I unanimously won the “Promoter Of The Decade Award”. During these three decades I’ve had the pleasure to of amassed one special and extensive resume. In just the past ten years alone (and by clicking the following highlighted links), I’ve worked with some of music’s greatest ORIGINAL ARTISTS and TRIBUTE & COVER BANDS, most known concert VENUES & CLUBS and ORGANIZATIONS & COMPANIES.
JOURNEY:
Traveling has always been special to me. Who doesn’t like to take a trip, even for business, let alone for a dream vacation. I’m one of those, but it runs deeper for me. My Mom raised me as a single mother, not an easy task, especially back in 1966. Oops, there it is, you now all know when I was born, lol. Back to my Mom though. She worked at United Airlines in the 1960’s as a ticket agent at JFK Airport in New York. She always wanted to travel, and then working for the airlines she was finally able to do it. Come to think of it, my very first trip with her came while I was still a baby growing in her tummy, and she went to Jamaica, highly pregnant. Just me inside and her. I always laughed at her stories of her fully showing, but how that didn’t bother any of the locals hitting on her as a single lady in Jamaica.
After I was born, my Mom wasted no time traveling every chance she could. Before I could walk we were off to destinations around the world. Where most kids in school learned about history in text books, I was able to learn practically first hand, but seeing the places around the globe where history was made. It was a truly blessed childhood indeed, a part of growing up I will be forever grateful to my Mother for. I was lucky she chose to work for the airlines before I was born, even more as I grew up. Even after I turned 18, I myself went to work at United Airlines for a short time, working baggage claim at Los Angeles International Airport. And with me all grown up, my Mom finally was able to do her dream job, switching over to become a flight attendant. There she lived out her travel bug until after over 45 years with United, finally was forced to retire. She still used her travel benefits and did so until she passed away. The last trip she ever took was flying down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to attend my wedding to my wonderful wife Nicole.
I loved listening to the stories of the places she traveled without me, I loved even more the trips we did together. I was even more fortunate to spend so much of my life continuing to travel even without her. One of the many things I adore about my wife is her equal love of travel.
Through the years, with my Mom, friends, my wife and even by myself, I’ve journeyed to places around the world. Here in America I’ve visited over the years almost every state in the Union, some like Hawaii, about 15 times island hopping between Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the big island of Hawaii. Spending time again & again in places that I consider my home away from home like New Orleans aka The Big Easy, aka The Crescent City. I’ve gotten the chance to sail on endless cruises to exotic locations in the Caribbean, like the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Jamaica to name a few. Through out Mexico, and places like Cabo San Lucas, Cancun, Cozumel, Ensenada, Mazatlan, Playa del Carmen and Puerto Vallarta. I’ve made many countries my destination, like Austria, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland.
Those that have traveled with me, coined my nickname as “Julian McCoy, cruise director.” I take it as the ultimate compliment, because there’s nothing more I enjoy when traveling with family & friends, than sharing what I know about that destination, and planning out all the wonderful places to see & eat. It’s no wonder much of that has led to me writing a blog.
SAVOR:
Who doesn’t like to eat? But most of us know eating is not just taking in food, it’s about the whole experience. I know, I’ve eaten some incredible meals in my life from not only some of the greatest restaurants, but from some of the most quaint unknown eateries, to far away places around this thing we call Earth, to right here in my own backyard. I’ve eaten the most common dishes, and have sampled some exotic fare. Though I have nothing on Andrew Zimmern, so he can stick to his Bizarre Foods all he wants.
Of course, anyone that knows me, also knows I don’t shy away from a good cocktail… well ok, I may have been known to enjoy some bad cocktails too, lol. There’s a reason so many television shows these days are about eating & drinking, and doing it around the world too. Because nothing beats your favorite meal, your go-to drink of choice, and doing it in some incredible place. I’m just like all of them on these shows, it’s just I’ve been doing it for a lot more years than some of them, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you. Come along and LISTEN, JOURNEY, SAVOR.