Origin Story: Doug Hinrichs

About Doug

An accomplished member of the New York percussion community, Doug's performance experience includes positions in several Broadway shows -- including a full-time position in the hit musical "In The Heights", and concerts with artists from a multitude of styles and settings. A recent performance highlight: with Bobby McFerrin at Jazz At Lincoln Center. As for studio percussion, his tracks have been on jingles for ESPN, PowerAde, The New York Knicks, and Miller Lite Beer. His credits as a world music composer include placements of his pieces on the USA, CBS, and ABC television networks.

Doug is also the inventor of Latin Percussion's One-Handed Triangle and the designer of Toca Percussion's Rawhide Shakers. He is a Latin Percussion, Sabian, and Remo endorser.

Doug is a humble guy. His story is like many, do what you love and eventually you will find success.

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Doug's Story

In 2002, I was about five years into my career as a professional musician. I was playing percussion in all kinds of groups in and around the New York area. At that time, and throughout my studies at Berklee College of Music several years earlier, I could not be bothered with anything on the "control room side" of the glass in the studio. Didn't care. I was a player and an occasional composer; the business of recording and producing was most certainly not for me.

Around that time, a producer-friend of mine decided to sell his old digital multitrack recorder. I bought it — only because I wanted to record myself and listen back in order to improve my playing. But once I started creating multitrack percussion grooves and messing around with panning, levels, and some effects, the bug started to bite. "Hmm, I could really get into this."

This new interest in recording inspired me to compose more, and I would lug that old recorder to other musicians' homes to have them play on my demos. After a couple of years I had saved enough money to buy Digital Performer and Reason. I began to dig in deeper. I started listening to music in a different way.

The chance to do this on a professional level came when I was asked to compose and record a bossa nova song for a major motion picture. I asked the great producer and musician Ze Luis to write the lyrics and co-produce the song. He taught me a lot! More similar work followed, and I took it on alone, improving my mixing skills as I went.

I still have a great deal to learn, and during the recent pandemic I dedicated a lot of time to doing just that. It's a journey, as we all know — and one I never thought I'd take!