Axeman. Lover of beer
and slow jams. Label head. Newest member of The Weird Al Band..? This edition of Fistful of Questions goes out
to Great Electric Quest guitarist Buddy Donner.
He just completed a trek across the country on the “Red, White ‘N Brew
Tour” and has generously agreed to answer my queries.
What is your full name?
Michael Page Donner
Do you have any aliases?
Everyone has called me “Buddy” since Preschool, A lot of
people don’t know my real name is Michael.
What bands are you actively involved with?
Great Electric Quest is my Main Focus, But Mucho and I did
Team up with Miles Ricketson (Lead Guitar for Red Wizard) to start a Power Trio
Sabbath Worship Project “Sabbath Buddy Sabbath”. Ironically Miles plays Bass
and Sings, although he Rips Lead guitar with “Red Wizard”.
What’s the name of the first band that you were in?
My First Band was called “The Convicts”... I was 15 and No
One in the band was convicted of anything… But Hey, it got me playing guitar so
whatever.
What inspired the name Great Electric Quest?
Our original bassist Mike Hurrin was inspired by the Muppets
Band “Dr Teeth & The Electric Mayhem”. Mike plays in a Band called “Ritual
Potion” nowadays. They are a rad local
supergroup.
What instruments do you play?
Guitar is my main deal, but I have played bass to do fill in
gigs for our friends “Monolith” & “RattBlack”. I also gave Drum lessons to
kids down at the local music shop as a side gig for a while, but it was real
basic stuff.
What musician has most influenced your approach to playing
guitar?
Lately, my bandmates. We all have different influences which
is very useful for keeping our new tunes original and not just beating the same
ideas to death. I’ve always been
obsessed with David Gilmour, George Lynch & Dimebag being in a single
guitarist band. But of course, I love
all the classics. Lately, I’ve been jamming a lot of Steely Dan stuff. Both the leads and rhythm are next level.
They make it seem so easy.
What was the first instrument that you played?
I would guess the recorder. I played a bunch of instruments
growing up at school. I was all about anything musical.
Tell me about one of your first musical memories.
I really was obsessed with music… I remember in elementary
school I got caught sneaking into the music class during lunch to play around
with other instruments not assigned to me. I didn’t get in trouble though my
teacher was very supportive of me. She worked at my elementary school as well
as the middle school. Later on she ended
up getting me set up to leave the elementary school once a week to go play with
the middle school class because I had already soaked up everything in my own
class.
Tell me about Glory or Death Records.
Our vocalist Tyler & I teamed up with Jeff Wilson of the
band “Kook” (Also Killer Booking Company “Heavy SJC”) to start this Record
Label. Our main intent with this was to help our friends and killer bands we
find while touring around. We were constantly running into these insane
musicians that either didn’t know how or didn’t want to take the time to record
and get there music both out to an audience and “Put Down Forever”. It is quite
a task managing this whole process and a lot of people just don’t even attempt
to get started in it. We hate to see these bands on the road killing it and
having nothing to leave with the fans. Plus we want the tunes for ourselves
too. One of the biggest payoffs of the label is hearing what everyone’s working
on. We’re the biggest music fans ourselves.
Our tour bus is constantly blasting the music our label put out or is
planning on releasing. Do yourself a favor and check out these bands we are
working with they are killer; Bedlams Edge, ROAST, Fellow Travelers of the
Illusion Machine, Red Wizard, Worshipper, Mothership, Wo Fat, White Dog, Duel,
High on Fire, Slow Season, Egypt, Mos Generator, Kook, GOYA, Spirit Adrift,
Isaiah Mitchess, Earthless, Gygax, Love Gang, Smokey Mirror, Malahierba, Dizz
Brew, Zeke & Poison Idea. Plenty more to Come!
What is your favorite thing about touring?
Absolutely seeing friends on the road. Also discovering new
rad bands.
What is your least favorite thing about touring?
Last tour.. Mosquitos. Most Tours; hot weather (Our bus doesn't have
A/C).
Tell me about the touring vessel?
Other than the A/C needing repair we LOVE it. It’s like a
mobile living room. It has bunk beds inside and we can watch movies and play
video games, so drive times are a breeze for the most part. Usually, we’re just
jammin tunes and checking out the sites though.
Touring is great.
Does it have a name?
“White Lightning”
Do you have a favorite city, state or venue as far as
touring is concerned?
We’ve always loved Texas. That was the 1st place we toured to and we
weren’t the slightest bit let down. Texas
hospitality is unreal. We have since found that there is a bit of that all
over. There actually are good humans out there believe it or not. There are many
cities that are special to us at this point.
We’ve made very special friends all over the place… We’re about as lucky
as it gets to be honest.
What band or bands have you played with that have really
impressed you with their live show?
Amplified Heat! Those dudes kill it. There’s something real
special about brother bands…
Do you have a pre-show ritual?
Always gotta check my guitar out when we’re on the road.
They bounce around and go through so much weather change the strings are about
as trustworthy as eating Taco Bell. No offense to Jeff Owens.
What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had on the road?
We totally Tommy Boy’d it one time. Luckily somewhere in the Desert on the
I-10. Mucho was driving and we’re all in
the back catching some Z’s when out of nowhere Mucho Screams “Fuuuuuuuck, Not
good dudes… NOT GOOD!!”. We all pop up instantly to see what the hell is going
on and out the front window all we can see is the white hood. Mucho’s got his
head out the side window Ace Ventura style and thank Iommi there wasn’t anyone
on the highway. He managed to pull us
over safely somehow and we used every bit of tape we had to get us to the
nearest mechanic. Which happened to be
“Young & Gay Automotive.” Nice
Fellas! They fixed her up and we’ve
never had a problem since.
If you could insert yourself into any band what band would
it be and why?
Can it be our band but in 5 years? I don’t know if I fit in
any other bands. I don’t want to jack up
anyone else’s mojo. Haha. Mothership looks like a damn good time, but
you can’t beat the power trio tour lifestyle. I wouldn’t be adding a 4th Member
any time soon. How bout Weird Al?
Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had
written it? If so… what was the song and
artist?
So many times man… Literally a few days ago towards the end
of the tour. I said to Jerry can you
imagine how they felt after writing that song??
The Band “The Weight” (Last Waltz Version)
Do you have any non-metal musical inspirations?
Tons. The Band, Steely Dan, Little Feat, David Gilmour
Anything, The Eagles. I’m actually a sucker for ballads. Our crew probably gets
the best sleep when I’m driving. I play
all the slow ones.
The year is
2001…. Where are you at and what
are you listening to?
Climbing on all the school roofs around town. Skateboarding
and listening to Guns N Roses.
What kind of skateboards have you owned over the years?
There was a Local Company called Playground Skateboards,
Actually owned by our Original Bass Player’s Dad, John Castro. He hooked me up
with Playground Decks most of My life. Thanks John!
What is your favorite Guns N Roses album?
In 2001.. Appetite, But By Now its changed a few times and
ended on Use Your Illusion II.
Non-metal song that you’d like to do a cover of?
We used to do “Young Lust”, but I guess for Floyd that is
about as Metal as they get… Other than “The Nile
Song”. “Take Five” (Dave Brubek) is fun to jam, but Jerry hates it because he
works at a music store and some kid was trying learn it on Sax for about a
decade, so it reminds him of work.
What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without bathing?
Definitely on tour… Probably 7-8 days. We do a lot of bird
baths though, so I guess we’re cheaters.
What is an absolute band killer?
Heroin
What do you most look forward to coming off of the road?
My dog. My tiny house
and my huge couch. Also Oceanside
weather.
What’s it like having your wife on the road with you?
Incredible. I am insanely lucky to be able to have her
there. She works SOOO hard on the road. Definitely a big part of our team. Anyone who has seen us knows the work she
puts in on our merch set up. She also drives a bunch. Constantly takes photos/videos of
everything. Helps promote and she even
helps create part of the show... For example, the Anubis Mask she randomly made
one weekend. Sometimes she’s even
working the fog machine remotely from behind the merch booth.
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats or Electric Wizard if you had
to choose?
What happened to The Beatles or Elvis?
Favorite book?
“The Hatchet”
Favorite movie?
“Rounders”
Favorite band?
“Red Wizard”
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