Doug Pinnick

Doug Pinnick
Doug Pinnick performing with King's X in 2009
Background information
Born	(1950-09-03) September 3, 1950 (age 66) Braidwood, Illinois, United States
Instruments	Vocals, bass, guitar
Associated acts	King's X, Tres Mts., Pinnick Gales Pridgen, KXM, 3rd Ear Experience

Douglas Theodore "Doug" Pinnick (born September 3, 1950), sometimes stylized as dUg Pinnick or simply dUg, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the hard rock/progressive metal band King's X. He has performed on fifteen albums with King's X, and recorded four solo albums. Pinnick has also participated in numerous side projects, and has multiple guest appearances to his credit. He is recognized for his unique vocals (which are characterized by a strong gospel influence), and heavily distorted bass tone (the product of multiple Ampeg, and Traynor bass amplifiers).

Doug Pinnick was born in Braidwood, Illinois then moved to Joliet, Illinois when he was fourteen. He grew up in a musical family where everyone either sang or played an instrument. He was raised by his great-grandmother, a devoutly religious woman, and was reared in a very strict Southern Baptist environment. He has seventeen half-brothers and sisters, from three mothers and two fathers. When he was in grade school, Pinnick participated in choir and played saxophone. As a teenager, he listened to classic R&B and Motown artists such as Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, and Aretha Franklin. Pinnick sang in bands throughout high school, one of the earliest being a group called Stone Flower which he describes as "Chicago Transit Authority meets Sly & The Family Stone". While attending Joliet Junior College in 1969, Pinnick was inspired by hard rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. Around this time, he also started listening to perhaps his biggest influence, Sly & The Family Stone. His dream was to form a band that combined all of these varied influences.

After attending college for roughly six months, Pinnick dropped out and joined a travelling gospel band called The Spurlows.