Doug was born at Braidwood, Illinois until he was 14 then moved to Joliet, Illinois, and grew up in a "musical" family where everybody sang. He is probably best known as one third of King's X, where he is the lead singer. King's X is the Houston-based heavy metal band that made their mark in the music world by being the first band on their block to play "progressive soul".

Doug came out in a 1998 interview in Contemporary Christian Music magazine. Hate mail from supposedly loving, compassionate Christians followed. King's X albums were banned from Christian bookstores. Fans stopped liking the band overnight, even though a lot of them had taken to heart their song lyrics, oozing spiritual themes. Anyway, after coming out, he still tours and records with King's X.