Doug Perkins started playing guitar after he realized that the trumpet, besides only being able to play one note at a time, was just not as sexy & cool as the "six stringed siren of the '60s & 70s". After 2 years of playing he started teaching guitar in a local Toledo OH area music store on the day of his 16th birthday, expanding to students spread over two stores and his home and playing with old time 50's rockers "Johnny & The Hurricanes" before leaving to study at Boston's Berklee College of Music for two years at 19. After Berklee and a few years of playing all over Canada in show bands, theatre, etc. while based out of Toronto, he moved to Los Angeles to finish up his guitar studies at Musician's Institute. While a student, he was voted the first Outstanding Guitarist of the year by the teaching staff, and then hired as staff instructor; which included writing both curriculum as well as ensemble arrangements for the then fledgling school. During his stay at MI he had the good fortune to play and teach with amazing guitarists like Joe Diorio, Don Mock, Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, Robben Ford, and many more. Co-instructor Steve Trovato arranged for him to write and record for the Hot Licks series with Steve Freeman and Norman Brown, which is still distributed by Hal Leonard Publications. Besides live work in Los Angeles, Doug has focused on composing and producing music for film & TV in recent years, and has hundreds of tracks that are heard daily around the world on everything from shows like Sponge Bob Squarepants to Justified, as well as many feature films. Although a truly "well rounded player" in most every style, Doug has always loved jazz most of all; and is very excited to be a part of JazzGuitarSociety.com to bring the best of what he and many other great players have learned in their musical journeys to an even wider range of advancing guitarists