Riverboat Gamblers Guitarist Ian MacDougall Launches Broken Gold Side Project

By Chelsea Upton Mon., Feb. 28 2011 at 1:16 PM

Categories: DFW Music News

Ian MacDougall, strung up in the hospital following his 2009 accident.

2009 was rough year for Ian MacDougall, guitarist for the formerly Denton- and now Austin-based Riverboat Gamblers. Upon returning to Austin after finishing a tour, MacDougall was struck by a car while riding his bike, causing him some pretty serious injuries. MacDougall's recovery was a slow process, no doubt due to the sheer extent of his injuries, which included multiple lacerations, torn ligaments, a broken hip and wrist, and hemorrhaging under his skull.

But in the year-and-a-half since the accident, MacDougall found a way to move forward. Last week, he released his debut album with his side project, Broken Gold. That band's album, Recovery Journal, is exactly what it sounds like -- the musical interpretation of MacDougall's journal that he wrote in after the accident.

It's not a subtle reference to MacDougall's experience, either, but rather a very literal album with lyrics that sound ripped straight right out of MacDougall's journal.

"Here's what I remember from one of the nights that I almost died" MacDougall sings in "Ambulance Faces", before proceeding to say exactly what he remembers -- surely the perfect song for people who have a distaste for metaphors and figurative language. So, OK, maybe the songs are missing an element of mystique. But at least we can be thankful that MacDougall has at least partially recovered from his injuries and has started moving forward.