Doug Haise grew up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a lovely older suburb of Milwaukee, and there had private piano lessons from age 7 to 10 when he “hit a mountain known as ‘the scales’,” but continued to play for his own and others’ enjoyment. Never intending to make music a profession, he obtained a BA from UCLA film school, and worked in “the biz” for 11 years thereafter, including at three major studios – although seldom very happily. His first public performances of ragtime were as a volunteer at a handful of nursing homes in Santa Monica the year of the L.A. Olympics (1984). In 1985 it became a part-time living, and since 1987 he has earned his keep entirely from playing ragtime; adding gradually to his venues, he now plays four times a year at more than 75 senior facilities, residences and day centers – two-thirds of which are in Wisc., another 20% in Southern California, and the remainder in south central Indiana. On each quarterly visit, he tries to perform 10 or so pieces that he’s never before presented. Since he started keeping track (in May 1988), he has (so far) built up a repertoire of 850 selections, nearly all of which (98%) are ragtime. “I may retire when I reach 1,000,” Doug says. He’s been appearing at RagFest on and off for the past decade.