Dustin Douglas Shares His Top 10 List of Albums, Films, and Books

It’s pretty straightforward when it comes to Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen. They specialize in rock and blues, and it’s a festival of both on their brand new album IV. Appropriately titled to represent the band’s fourth album, it was released earlier this month via MoMojo Records. Led by guitarist and lead songwriter Dustin Douglas, the group has become well-regarded for its combination of groove and swagger. It’s a no-nonsense approach, reminiscent of blues rockers of the 1970s.

IV is dripping with power, heavy throughout, and free flowing. Douglas wanted the album to feel unconstrained. He recorded it without any genre-related restraints or restrictions. He set himself up to take as many chances as he could. It turned into an album that represents the band’s past well, in addition to their future. It’s the follow-up to their 2023 album Black Leather Blues.

For our latest Top 10 list, Dustin Douglas joins us for a list as free-flowing as his songs. He shares with us a combination of ten of his favourite albums, films, and books.

1. The Secret (Book) – Rhonda Byrne

“I’m a huge believer in the practice of manifestation. I feel that visualizing your dreams is a very real thing. The Secret is a book I’m constantly reading and is an extremely important practice not just in my career but in my overall life.”

2. Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway (Book) – Susan Jeffers

“On a recommendation from a friend, this book changed my life. We all have that little voice in our head that stops us from finishing tasks we want or need to get done. Dealing with bouts of anxiety throughout my life, this book really taught me the way to silence that voice and push forward to get things done. I can’t recommend this book enough for everyone.”

3. Wayne’s World I & 2 – (Movie)

“Both Wayne’s World I & 2 have been some of my favourite movies since childhood. Seeing Alice Cooper and Aerosmith on the big stage, the creation of the Waynestock festival, the music industry content, it all just spoke to me. Not to mention Mike Myers and Dana Carvey’s classic, timeless portrayals of Wayne and Garth are forever an influence on me. I can watch these movies over and over and never get tired of them. Schwing!”

4. Hammer of the Gods – The Led Zeppelin Saga (Book) – Stephen Davis

“Growing up, this book was one that my parents had lying around. It was one of the first music biographies that I ever read. The mysteriousness and mystical aura surrounding Led Zeppelin was something I’ve always been drawn to. This book allowed me to peek behind the curtain. For a young Dustin Douglas, it was a gateway drug to the world of rock n’ roll.”

5. Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix – (Album) – Jimi Hendrix

“From the opening riff of ‘Purple Haze’ to the finale of ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ this was my first taste of the wizardry that is Jimi Hendrix. It blew my mind. It changed me forever. I needed to learn every note. I needed to play through Marshall amps on 10. And I needed to be in a power trio. Everything I am today can be traced back to the purchase of this CD.”

Dustin Douglas & the Electric Gentlemen ‘IV’ album artwork

6. Dizzy Up The Girl – (Album) – Goo Goo Dolls

“This may be a surprise for many to hear, but growing up, the Goo Goo Dolls were one of my favourite bands. Although I loved listening to guitar heroes like Hendrix and SRV, something about the huge choruses and hit songwriting of John Rzeznik just spoke to me. Still to this day, I’m highly influenced by this record and a lot of the Goo Goo Dolls albums. One day, I hope to get a chance to write with John. It’s definitely a bucket list item for me.”

7. Aerosmith: Greatest Hits – (Album) – Aerosmith

“Greatest hits CDs throughout my adolescence are a recurring theme. For some reason, my parents bought me a lot of greatest hits CDs. Then later in life, I’d go back and dive deeper into the actual records. Aerosmith, from a very young age, were some of my biggest idols. Joe Perry was my rock god. The low-strung Les Paul, leather pants, long hair and devil-may-care attitude struck such a chord with me. This was blues-rock at its finest. This was my Bible from the first listen. I’m still just trying to be Aerosmith to this day.”

8. That Thing You Do! – (Movie)

“Anything music-related—books, movies, TV episodes, albums—I was all in! This Tom Hanks classic I can watch again and again. The story of The Oneders, a band from the small town of Erie, Pennsylvania really struck a chord with me, being a young boy from a small town in Pennsylvania! Not to mention, That Thing You Do is an amazingly written song. I dare you to hear it and not be humming the hook for days after.”

9. IV – (Album) – Led Zeppelin

“What’s there to even say about this? From the moment I heard it, that was all she wrote. Coming from a household where Zeppelin was both my parents’ favourite band, the mastery of Plant, Page, John Paul Jones, and Bonham runs like blood through my veins. Although the music of Led Zep was on a lot in the house, IV was the first Zeppelin CD I bought for myself. It was like owning a piece of the rock n’ roll holy grail. A sonic textbook I would study for decades to come.”

10. Shake Your Money Maker – (Album) – The Black Crowes

“I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone who listens to my records that The Black Crowes are a huge influence on me. From Chris Robinson meets Steve Marriott, meets Rod Stewart vocal approach to Rich Robinson’s painfully loud, open-G, Stones’ influenced riffs, from the moment I put this record on, I knew this is the music I wanted to make. For me, hands down one of the best American rock n’ roll bands of all time.”

Dustin Douglas & the Electric Gentlemen, photo by Paulette Michelle