show menu

Doug Jayne, “The Luckiest Guy In The World” behind Santa Rosa’s Last Record Store, upfront on KRCB Midday Music

Doug Jayne, who says he listens to music all the time, has four shows on the public radio station KRCB, and is a half-partner in Santa Rosa’s Last Record Store. His recording studio/record label has produced his own albums and about 35 for other bands. He has three sons and five grandkids. Jayne considers himself “the luckiest guy in the world.”

2016 Intro to Doug's Radio show

Listen to KRCB FM With Our New Mobile App

For IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/krcb-app/id898992748?mt=8

For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skyblue.pra.krcb

In our recent phone conversation, Jayne tells me he emerged on this planet in Southern California in 1954. He recalls seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show as a youngster and thinking “Holy crap. This is crazy. This is gonna change the world.”

Jayne learned basic guitar chords during his schooldays, but never played publicly until 1978, while living for a year in Durango, Colorado. While working in a music store there, he played at open mics, meeting other musicians. “I’m not much of a musician myself,” he says, crediting his later onstage success to surrounding himself with “tremendously great people. I’ve always been the weak link in any band I’ve played with.”

“But, I write some good songs, and I’m not a bad singer.”

Some tunes from Doug:

Jayne has a sense of humor. He named and piloted the bands Stupid White People and Cluster Folk. Laughing Gravy, named after a dog in a Laurel & Hardy film, is currently his only band. He calls it “my big deal.” As a tribute, they play only songs written or covered by Gram Parsons. Parsons died young after being a member of the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, and discovering Emmylou Harris.

Laughing Gravy at Peacetown. ( photo:The Last Recordstore )
Laughing Gravy at Peacetown. ( photo:The Last Recordstore )

The Last Record Store opened in 1983. Jayne says Santa Rosa had no good record stores and he got tired of driving to Cotati for his purchases. The store is named after the title of the album, The Last Record Album, by one of his favorite bands, Little Feat, to “pay homage.” He moved it to Mendocino Ave., “kickin’ and sceamin,” in 2003 due to an eviction. It was a tough go at first, largely due to free internet downloads and iPods, but it has worked out well. “The real music fans like to collect things and have kept us going. It’s not satisfying to have everything on your computer.”

The Last Record Store is open seven days/week, with facemasking, social distancing, and a seven-person limit at any one time.

The Last Record Store is named after the title of the album, The Last Record Album, by one of Doug Jane’s favorite bands, Little Feat.
The Last Record Store is named after the title of the album, The Last Record Album, by one of Doug Jane’s favorite bands, Little Feat.

Jayne started the recording studio/record label, Jackalope, in 1997, naming it after a jackalope on the cover of the aforementioned Little Feat album. In 2016, he moved it to his garage for cheaper rent. In addition to recording his own music and that of many others, recently he’s been focusing on compilations of local artists for KRCB fundraising.

Jayne first volunteered on KRCB in 1996. “Public radio is awesome,” he says. His noon show, “Midday Music,” features free form rock with a lot of classic and upcoming songwriters. The other three are country/folk/bluegrass, a jazz show, and one focusing on new releases.

The Last Record store online shop >>

The Last Record Store is open seven days/week, with facemasking, social distancing, and a seven-person limit at any one time.

The titles on the RSD 2020 Official List, launched on March 5th, will be released at participating record stores on one of these 2 Record Store Day (RSD) Drops: September 26th, and October 24th.
The titles on the RSD 2020 Official List, launched on March 5th, will be released at participating record stores on one of these 2 Record Store Day (RSD) Drops: September 26th, and October 24th.

check out the Facebook for some events and featured album videos: https//www.facebook.com/Lastrecordstore

Robert Feur
Robert Feur

.

We've moved our commenting system to Disqus, a widely used community engagement tool that you may already be using on other websites. If you're a registered Disqus user, your account will work on the Gazette as well. If you'd like to sign up to comment, visit https://disqus.com/profile/signup/.
Show Comment