Interview with Ron Sanchez (Donovan’s Brain)

Donovan’s Brain is a music collective based in Montana led by Ron Sanchez. Their new album Insect Accessories is a fine example of a very open approach to genres like Psychedelic, Indie rock, Electronic and others. In this interview, Ron Sanchez talks about losing friends, his record label Career Records, inspiration through dreams, turning points, the twisted tale of the film soundtrack album Chiêm Bao Thấy Bậu, the art of album covers, working with artists like Scott Sutherland (Model Rockets), Joe Adragna (The Junior League, Minus 5), Tom Stevens (Long Ryders), Ric Parnell (Spinal Tap, Atomic Rooster), Matt Piucci (Rain Parade), Peter Holsapple (dB’s, R.E.M.), Deniz Tek (Radio Birdman) or Bobby Sutliff (The Windbreakers) and how a Ron Sanchez solo album would sound.

DONOVAN’S BRAIN:

Robert Pally: What triggered the founding of Donovan’s Brain in 1987?

Ron Sanchez: I bought a guitar in 1984. I hadn’t owned one since 1970. I found I could still play. Jim Kehoe and Colter Lanagan who later were in Donovan’s Brain would come around and jam. They went off and formed a band. I was busy running a restaurant I’d opened. It finally got to a point that I was ready to put a band together to see if would be fun. In 1987 I organized the first Brain line up. We played a few gigs and got a good reputation. I didn’t want to just play covers, so I stepped back to learn how to write and record. I just found a load of cassettes of the first band. Rehearsals and gigs. I’ll listen to those someday. At the moment, I’d rather not look back.

Robert Pally: Donovan’s Brain are not a band in the usual sense of the word. How would you describe your approach and was is always like that?

Ron Sanchez: It does look like we are a random group of people. It took a few years to finally assemble a band of dedicated musicians. We had a few releases by then, so there was some incentive to get serious. Our major debut was at the Seattle Terrastock in 2000. We were sharing the bill with a lot of big popular bands, so we had to play well. We played and recorded more after that. It fell apart in 2007 for several reasons. That was the last time there would be a local line up, musicians from Bozeman.
After that there was a more stable line up, but we lived all over, from Australia to London. It’s easy now. We all have a recording studio, so it was just a matter of exchanging files. In the past when I went to London to record, I had to rent a tape machine. Ric Parnell would come down from Missoula to record at my place. It’s just one way to work. Everyone had a day job, so travelling to record is difficult and expensive. They are all good players so we can make it sound natural. We recently talked about meeting up in Seattle to record at a nice studio together. Once we did the math, it proved to be too expensive. It would be better to record here, but again travel is a consideration. Donovan’s Brain is a real, serious band, we just do it for the joy of making music. The records get released and we sell enough to keep going.

Robert Pally: I read somewhere that Donovan’s Brain was a reply to the «anyone can start a band» philosophy found in the mid 80’s local Bozeman music? True? Can you tell me more about the Bozeman Music Scene?

Ron Sanchez: I moved to Montana from California in March 1980. I’d been working on the radio and in big record shops. That meant I saw music and met musicians all the time. It was a big culture shock moving to a small Montana college town. Local bands were country or cover bands. Not my style. At least there was a good record shop and a radio station at the university. I considered buying the shop, but in the end, I just got a shift at the university radio station.

The college kids were clued in. There was a point when there seemed to be a lot of bands forming. They were playing New Wave or Punk. Silkworm would come down from Missoula to play. Joel Phelps moved to Bozeman to try to form a new band after he’d left them. Locally, Steel Pole Bathtub were formed out of the ashes of a pretty good band called Panache.

A major moment was when some locals organized a two-day event. I guess more than 20 bands played. Some of them were pretty good. None of them lasted long, they’d regroup in different line up. The other day I found a box of cassettes of live shows I recorded. Some of those groups did proper recordings, but not much has surfaced.

Recently there was a documentary about the whole Montana scene from that era. Kirk LeClair did a fantastic job chronicling the era in his film «…so good I can’t take it» They found a lot of video and did some great interviews. Steve Albini was one of the guys in Missoula. Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam was also a major player. There is a companion soundtrack album too, Without Warning. Sadly, the film never got distribution, but I think it’s still streaming.

The thing about the local scene is that very few people could see beyond their neighborhood. No vision. I suppose that’s fine. You play for a few years and then move on. If you want to continue, it’s just the grind of playing the bar circuit.

Robert Pally: Can you name me some turning points in the history of Donovan’s Brain?

Ron Sanchez: Right from the start I had the idea we’d look further out. Playing around Bozeman is a dead end. Getting the Magical Jack deal and then Get Hip was what I was working towards. The local band members couldn’t really see that. One of the guys just wanted us to learn forty covers and do bar gigs as his backing band. Those first two deals came in right after I threw him out of my band.

Then I got us the Terrastock gig. Richard Treece came over from London to play with us. That is when we became a real band in my mind. We had the German ep, a single on Get Hip, a track on the first Hit The Hay and two CDs on Get Hip at that point. That’s a bit more than making a cassette and giving it to your friends. After that we did a tour with Roy Loney And The Longshots and Penny Ikinger from Australia. We backed Penny, which was good fun and a challenge that we needed. There are two tracks from our rehearsals with Penny on her «Travels And Travails» collection. I’ve threatened to release the complete Donovan’s Brain version of her debut album Electra.

Bobby Sutliff and I formed a new band in 2009. That was another big step. I was finally playing with a band that all had experience and experienced a taste of the big time. It was now in a different league. Now people don’t think of us as a Montana band. It’s just where I live.

Robert Pally: How many members have come and gone since you founded the band in 1987?

Ron Sanchez: I suppose it depends on how you count. As best as I can tell there have been at least forty-three people who have recorded as Donovan’s Brain. Some just did a session when they visited. There have been two long term line ups, the 2000 – 2007 band, Colter Langan, Ron Craighead and Jeff Arntsen and then 2009 – 2012 which was Bobby Sutliff, Ric Parnell, Tom Stevens, Scott Sutherland and myself.

Early on it was pretty fluid which added to the numbers. When Bobby and I reformed the band, we also had an extended family who worked with us. That included Matt Piucci, Tony Miller, Joe and Kris Hughes, Deniz Tek, Jim Dickson, John Goodsall, and Peter Holsapple. These are people we chose to participate.

Since Joe Adragna («Fire Printing») came on board, we feel like the three of us can do it all ourselves. That said, Scott McCaughey has helped out on the last two albums. He asked if he could be in the band and we are not going to say no. McCaughey is an old friend who I’ve known since 1972. Scott Sutherland has known him for more than thirty years, and Joe has been working with him for maybe 20 years now. He’s not a random guest. Besides being a friend, he’s been a mentor to all of us.

We may reach out to our close friends again in the future if we feel there is something unique for them to play on.

I was trying to think of another band that has existed like Donovan’s Brain. Guided By Voices and of course Minus 5. I like the idea of having a compact group now. We work well and very fast together. There are no plans to get out and play live so three is enough. A live band would have to have six of us on stage. That worked well at Terrastock.

Robert Pally: Looking back what do you think about your first album?

Ron Sanchez: I count «Shambaholic» as our first album. Due to the confusing nature of our releases, it didn’t come out officially until 2015. That one was mostly me. I’d been writing and recording for about 4 years when I realized there was a very good album in the mountain of material I’d recorded. It had all the elements of what I wanted to do. It was a little psych rock opera. Shame it didn’t come out in 1968. I’d done a cassette before that. There was one song on that which I think of as the first Brain song. That would be «50,000,000 Years Before My Time». When I recorded that one, I knew I’d captured what I was hearing in my head. The goal then was to keep writing at that level. Shambaholic was the result.

The original recording was done on 8-track with a drum machine and MIDI keyboards. That gave me a little more to work with. I wisely moved all those tracks over to the computer. I knew there would be a time I’d want to finish the songs with a drummer. Ric did the drum tracks between working on songs for Turned Up Later and Heirloom Varieties. Tom Stevens redid some of the bass and Scott Sutherland sang a little. The whole thing was remixed. I added three of the «Butterfly Wheel» cassette tracks to the CD. Those were also remixed. That is the birth of Donovan’s Brain.

I write about my life sometimes. That album is a mix of a true story and dreams. The true story was a break up with a longtime girlfriend which precipitated my move to Montana. When I finished the album in 1994, I felt confident that my vision was valid. I just needed to find others who would join up with me to pursue that vision. It was those songs that got the Brain the original recording deals. It was also what Deniz Tek heard and took notice of what I was doing over here in Bozeman. He was down the road in Billings Montana at the time.

Robert Pally: Which was the most challenging album and why?

Ron Sanchez: The early albums were fun because I’d found some people who could play the songs. It just didn’t feel so much like a band. When Tom, Ric and Bobby died, I didn’t know if that was the end. As I was finishing «Faith In Failure», I took inventory of all the unreleased material we had. I could have assembled one more album, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do.

There were some songs which were good enough to release. I talked to Scott and he said we’d figure out something. Scott McCaughey introduced me to Joe Adragna in June of 2023. It almost too good to be true. I asked him if he wanted to come on as a full partner with Sutherland and myself. We finished Fire Printing very quickly. I still wasn’t sure if we’d continue.

Working on «Fire Printing» was difficult for me because we were salvaging the end of the pervious era and trying to find our footing for the next phase. When we got done, I think we were all surprised how well that went. But what next?

«Insect Accessories» which we just finished in April was the real test. I had to recognize there was a new balance in the band. Scott was incredibly prolific. This was the first time I didn’t have the majority of the writing credits. Joe is a very strong partner. He contributed greatly to the new songs. He’s always got a good idea. I had to loosen my control of the band which I did gladly.

It turns out Joe was a fan of Scott’s work with The Model Rockets. The two of them formed a strong working partnership. In the end we all shared ideas. There were some surprising results. I was the one who had to adjust. I tried to set a limit to how many songs we’d consider for the album. We raced past that goal line a couple of times. I said twenty-four was plenty, then we wrote one more. I’d submitted an idea. Joe took it and completely rewrote it, in the style I’d suggested, but better. In the past I might not have been so receptive to the idea, but at the end of a busy year, I was fine with Joe running with it. He asked if it was okay that McCaughey wrote the lyrics. Well, that was just perfect. I’d hijacked other people’s songs in the past, so this was fair play.

Early on I had to be a strong-armed leader of the band. In the middle period I thought of myself as the facilitator. Everyone had a say, but it all had to ultimately come through me. This is the first time I’ve felt like an equal member of the band. Even though we work long distance, it often felt like we were all in the same room when recording and especially mixing. Joe has a very good ear for the final mixes. Nothing was finished until he approved.

Robert Pally: What is your favorite Donovan’s Brain album and why?

Ron Sanchez: It would be easy to say the new one. To be honest I have a special fondness for «Heirloom Varieties», the LP version. We just hit a sweet spot on that one. Bobby was writing some fantastic songs. Scott had two great songs on that one and Tom and I wrote one together. Matt Piucci came in and played some great guitar as did Deniz Tek. It’s one I’d point people to listen to first.

We lost a little of that magic after that one. Bobby decided he wanted to do a solo album, which I encouraged him to do. He just wasn’t as prolific at that point, so any song he finished, he kept for himself. The Brain got some tracks he couldn’t find words for, and a couple of little ideas he didn’t use. He was there, but not singing.

Every album we’ve done has its own feel. Our style is broad enough that we can explore different directions, and still sound like Donovan’s Brain. I think we’ve been consistent from the start. Of course, we hope we getting better with each new release. If pressed I could say there are a couple I think could have been better. In one case it was the mix and final song selection. Another just wasn’t that fun to make. Both are fine. The former might be our best-selling album.

Robert Pally: Some of your contributors live far away from your studio Gods Little Ear Acre Studio in Bozeman, Montana. How do you work and write songs together?

Ron Sanchez: We all have some sort of recording set up. I have the biggest studio space. We can record full bands here. It’s easy to trade music files. We don’t need the same software, it’s all WAV files that we exchange. There is a protocol to make sure everything lines up on everyone’s computer. We’ve encountered occasional issues, but we can always resolve any problems.

We all present our ideas to the band. Sometimes it’s a basic demo, sometimes a fully realized song. We discuss what we think we should do and proceed. Scott and I used drum loops for the rhythm. Joe replaces that with live drums. Then we talk again about what can be added. Usually the ideas are close to the final arrangement. There have been instances when changes are suggested. With drummers as good as Ric Parnell and Joe Adragna, it’s best to let them work out the drums. Songs have taken major direction changes when the drums are added. I’ve done edits to add a guitar solo section or cut a part that I felt was too long.

There is a song («One Thin Soul») on the new album that Scott submitted with some reservations. I asked him if he’d mind if I rebuilt the track. I had an idea to strip it back to the vocals and start over. In the end I used some pieces of his original piano, but the rest was new. I was thinking of Peter Gabriel or Laurie Anderson when I did the new backing for «One Thin Soul». It came out well. That is not something I’d done before.

Robert Pally: How do develop song ideas? Lyrics or music first?

Ron Sanchez: I can’t speak for the others. Bobby Sutliff told me he needed to get the words and music at the same time, fully formed. He could not return to a piece of music and write words after the fact. The songs he contributed to «Sandbox Shadows» and «Faith In Failure» were tracks he discarded. In fact, he sent me the music for «Faith In Failure» by accident. It was just a 90 second demo. I arranged the parts and created the full song.

I just grab ideas and go. Some songs come from dreams. Usually the words, but I’ve woken up with the complete song in my head. I keep a notebook and type ideas into my phone. I often have a feeling for the music, maybe a riff or a mood. Some music just comes out while sitting at the piano.

My computer has song files with cryptic names like Fast Piano. I cycle though these ideas looking for something I can develop. For example, there is a short bit of film music on the Convolutions boxset called «Big Skies». Just a piano theme. While working on «Two Suns Two Shadows» I came up with the line «I’m a rice paper kite.» I realized that it was in ¾ time, which the piano piece was also in. For the middle section, which would be in 4/4, I just sat at the piano, recording what I sang and played off the top of my head.

The song «Stinging» on «Fire Printing» was one of the salvage songs. I’d written some music which Ric had played on. After listening to it later, I just could not work it into a song. In that period after Bobby died, I returned to it to find what was good and what wasn’t. I cut it up like a puzzle and rearranged it. That evening while walking to go out for dinner, I told my wife I just needed a word or a phrase to generate the lyrics. On our walk I came up with «Stinging». While eating dinner, I ran with that and wrote the whole song in an hour. My wife was impressed.

Just this morning, a few minutes ago, as I was waking up. I got an idea. The piano part and the vocal melody. I have some words I wrote the other day that will fit this idea. I even got the drum part in my head.

There are tracks I have no memory of writing or recording. I don’t know where the idea came from. It’s like I wasn’t there. Those are sometimes the best ones. The muse strikes and I’m just the conduit. You can not question these moments. Tom Waits said something about this. When the muse hands you an idea, you had better grab it. I’ve done it the other way, gone into the studio with nothing and just banged on the piano or guitar until something came out. Brill Building song factory style.

Robert Pally: What gives you inspiration for your lyrics?

Ron Sanchez: Words come from different places. Maybe something I heard, on the street or maybe a movie. «Make A Noise Quietly» is from a Laurel and Hardy movie. «Brighten Up Shop» was from a sign I saw while we were walking through the alleys of Great Falls the morning after a party. «Never Arriving» on the new album is the dialog from a dream I had. It was very specific. A cold war spy story starring Joseph Cotton.

Jeff Tweedy wrote a very good little book about how to write a song. He said just that, grab words you hear or read. Pete Brown, the poet who wrote the words for Cream told me it’s not necessarily the words, but the sound of the words that matter. After he told me that I wrote Central Services. It’s just alliteration. I even mentioned him in the lyrics «It’s a customary cutthroat, confuses the poet again.»

When I was a kid, one of my defense mechanisms was a sharp wit. I could think fast and come up with some wise crack. I think the guys in Man liked me because I could stand up to their sometimes brutal verbal jousting. I use that skill when writing lyrics.

I can sometimes write linier story songs. I’ll never be a storyteller like John Prine or Bruce Springsteen.

Robert Pally: Does politics affect your lyrics?

Ron Sanchez: Oh yes. «Faith In Failure», «Ministry Of False Alarms» to name two. You can’t help to not respond to what’s going on in the world. Joe’s song «Maybe They Couldn’t Fly» is about environmental pollution.

The prog song I wrote for the new album «Alien Infusion» has a subtle but strong comment about a certain president the world is suffering through at the moment. The aliens save us, and don’t ask for thanks.

Robert Pally: Is there a goal you have not reached as Donovan’s Brain? If yes, what is it?

Ron Sanchez: I could complain that we should sell more records. The fact that people do buy our music, play our records on the radio and review our records is very satisfying, so I guess I’ve accomplished the biggest goals. When I talk to some of my friends, I find that we all struggle to reach that sales tipping point. I just work at this with realistic expectations. At this point the band is self-sustaining. We sell enough to pay for the next one.

The goal was to make good records and put them out. They are out in the music universe. The others in the band are happy I’ve got the time and resources to do the work required. Make no mistake, it’s work. Too often I see bands record an album but have no idea what to do next. You have to put it out and show people you take your art seriously. I’ve seen bands put something out, then break up the next week because they didn’t get famous overnight

Robert Pally: Name me your top 5 bands of all time? In what way did/do they influence you?

Ron Sanchez: There are so many more than five, but here you go…

Beach Boys – the came around at the same time I was starting to pay attention to what was going on. I think I heard some girls at school talking about the Four Seasons and Beach Boys. My older brother was also getting into music. He went to see the Beach Boys in the summer of 1964. They came back that fall, so I got tickets and went to see them. My first concert ever. It was all the things a concert might be. Exciting and loud.

I remember looking at the albums and seeing that Brian Wilson was producing after the first couple. I knew that was something important. Their development was so fast. I lost interest for a bit. We’d heard there was a great new album coming out, but then they released that awful Party album. I sort of missed «Pet Sounds», but then «Good Vibrations» came out and then «Heroes And Villains». I was right back with them after that. I could hear how complex the music was. And the voices were just amazing.

There have been a few bits of Beach Boys influence on our records. Bobby Sutliff was a big fan and liked to do the harmonies. There are a couple of very Beach Boy like songs on the new album.

The Yardbirds – In that time I wasn’t listening to the Beach Boys, I was into the Yardbirds. They were doing something no other bands were doing. They moved past the blues quickly, and took the three-minute single to a different place. I went to see them in 1966, but Jeff Beck had jumped ship just a few days before. It was the third show Jimmy Page had moved to guitar. I’d never heard anyone play like that before. I was disappointed to not see Beck, but I saw something just as good. It’s a shame they didn’t make many records. I saw the last Yardbirds tour in 1968 at the Fillmore. It was a preview of what Page would go on to do with Led Zep. In 1968 I saw Hendrix, Cream. Jeff Beck, Yardbirds, The Who, Buddy Guy. Jeff Beck again and then in January 1969 Led Zeppelin. The whole music scene changed that year.

The Who – Being a Who fan in the US early on was difficult. We’d heard «I Can’t Explain» on the radio and were blown away. The album came out but «Can’t Explain» wasn’t on it. Tracking down a copy of the single was not easy. In the end we sent away to England to get those early singles.

The Who did appear on US TV playing live at the Richmond Jazz Fest. The Next year we saw them play and the Monterey Pop movie came out. This was just something you had to look at. Getting to see them up close at the Fillmore West in 1968 and 69 was unforgettable. I will say, they were the best band I ever saw.

I wrote a song for «Eclipse And Debris» called «Moon Shines», about Keith Moon. Our drummer at the time had no clue. We had to rehearse for a week to get him to do it correctly just once. Then I got Ken Whaley and Richard Treece to play on the track. They both knew what to do. I tried to get Jess Roden to sing it, but he couldn’t make time the day we were in the studio. He has a real Who connection, as he sang on «Magic Bus».

A lot of the synth stuff I do is influenced by Pete. The way we record, doing demos and then adding to them is what The Who have done. They were unique. Luckily there is a lot of film and live recordings. You had to be there.

Guided By Voices – GbV take a lot from the Who and others. Pollard is a great writer and can make great records, either his lo-fi 4-track recordings or with a band in the studio. They are great fun live. I discovered them at the same time I was recording «Shambaholic». I was into Green Pajamas and Bevis Frond at the same time. I was inspired by all of their DIY efforts. It’s hard to believe Pollard has released so much music and has generally kept a very high standard. I’m sad to hear that the band has probably broken up for good, and the touring days are over. When people comment about how many records we put out, I just point them to GbV and tell them we aren’t quite that prolific.

Beatles – Well, how could one not be influenced by the Beatles? They did it all. I know a few Beatles haters; I don’t understand that. They learned their trade by working very hard. That environment doesn’t exist anymore. Now it’s all «School Of Rock» kids. Sure, they can play very well, but they just know the notes, they go no soul man. Those kids will never play 8 hours a night, seven nights a week.

Dave Walker, who worked with us for a while told me about seeing the Beatles the first time. He said the audience stopped dancing and just went up and watched them. He said he’d never seen that. He was sure they were that good.

Robert Pally: Which bands should be on a tribute album for Donovan’s Brain?

Ron Sanchez: The Nomads have recorded one of my songs, so they’d be on the list

Minus 5 – Scott would do something weird with it, which would be interesting

Guided By Voices – We recorded one of theirs which Robert Pollard liked. He knows that Donovan’s Brain is from Montana, though I don’t think he’s ever heard us. My Baby on Two Suns Two Shadows was inspired by GbV.

Procol Harum – Let me tell you a story… Bobby Sutliff’s demo track for the song Telegraph Ave had organ up front. I liked it and said to my wife, that would be perfect if we were Procol Harum. As soon as I said that, I stopped in my tracks. The very next morning I woke up with the opening line about the dust man looking for the golden fleece he’d lost. Pure Keith Reid. I sat at the piano and it just came right out. Deniz Tek did a fair approximation of Robin Trower. Sadly, Gary Brooker is no longer with us.

Paul McCartney – I wrote the song «Brighten Up Shop» and tried to record it in the style of The Idle Race. If Dave Walker was still playing with us, he could have sung it like Jeff Lynne. I decided to go back one step and do it like a Macca song. He was obviously Jeff Lynne’s inspiration. It’s got a lot of Wings sound happening, the synth part is pure Linda McC. That is one of my favorite Brain songs.

Green Pajamas – I’d love to hear Jeff Kelly sing one of our songs. I’m sure he’d find one that was influenced by the Pajamas. My song «Biscuit Tin» is sort of a Jeff Kelly story song.

Robert Pally: Can you tell me the story behind the film soundtrack album «Chiêm Bao Thấy Bậu» (2022)?

Ron Sanchez: That’s a twisted tale. I’ve done some film music, which I enjoy very much. Sutherland came up with «Holding My Own» while we were recording «Faith In Failure». I told Scott that one reminded me of one of the Pink Floyd film songs from «Obscured By Clouds». He agreed. We had enough songs for Faith, so it went on the shelf.

At the end of 2021 I got a message from a friend in Viet Nam. She’s a fan of the Brain. Apparently, she met an expatriate who’d moved from Paris to Saigon. The woman was an artist. My friend shared some Brain music with her. This woman fell in with an avantgarde group of artists there. This guy Tam did propaganda films for the government, but on the side did these arty short films.

He was working on an idea for a full-length film. He’d done a script and had some interest. He heard our music and liked it. I got a synopsis of the script. It was about a couple that could only meet in their dreams. They’d have the same vivid dream. The male character was a painter. He did a portrait of the woman over the years. Adding bits from these fleeting dream images. The woman just kept a dream journal. They both looked for clues in the dreams to try to find the other. The dreams are that vivid, they know each other really exists. It ends with the woman seeing this portrait at an art opening. She’s much older now than the woman in the painting, but she’s wearing the same earrings… Brain matter.

I got word via my friend asking for some music they could use. I had some material left over from «Sandbox Shadows», a couple of Scott’s songs. «Des Formes Qui Changent Lentement» is a long synth piece I’d done. That was an attempt to capture a very strange out of body experience I had around that time. It wasn’t meant to be a Brain track.

When Tom Stevens died, I found out in the middle of the night. I got up that morning and wrote a piano piece for him. I asked Bobby to play some Peter Green blues over that for the film. This was a year after Tom died. This would be the very last thing Bobby recorded. Kris said she could write some words. So, I did two versions, the instrumental «Story In A Story» and the vocal version «I Would Not». «Cultured Memory» is the chord changes from «Faith In Failure» rearranged in the style of Neu!

This whole thing was negotiated third hand. We got money to master the recordings which we finished in a few weeks in the middle of the sessions for Faith In Failure. Then nothing. Something happened. Our ex-pat contact disappeared. The best we could find out was Mr. Tam got money from his backers, hired the actors, then went off on a drinking binge with the money he’d got. End of movie. That’s a shame as it seemed like such a great idea. We got an unexpected album out of the experience, but were very disappointed. My friend felt bad as she thought she was helping us be a part of something that looked good on paper. No hard feelings. I just moved on.

Robert Pally: I am often clueless about your CD-Covers (for example the bunny on «Faith In Failure». What is your approach?

Ron Sanchez: Album art is very important. Think of all the great album covers that have become as important as the music. I’ve been the art director or artist for all our covers. I take photos all the time, looking for something striking that I could use for a cover.

Some images are linked to the album, some are just images that I think would work. The spiky glass rabbit on «Faith In Failure» is meant to represent mutations caused by the toxic pollution of our planet. The song «Faith In Failure» is about people accepting the lies of corrupt politicians. There are a couple of other clues on the cover.

The collage on the cover of «Sandbox Shadows» is meant to capture a difficult time in my life. I had to tend to my mental health. The sandbox was at my therapist’s office. Felix The Cat was my spirit animal, it helped me see my state of mind on that day. The other two figures are The Buddha and the gorilla in the room. The thing that can’t be ignored. There is a poster in the box, one side is the stairs to the unknown. The other side is the island in the void. The island is a photo from Yellowstone, a microbial mat in a geyser basin. The stars are an art project at a gallery in our neighborhood. If you look at the box the CDs came in the void is also on the top and bottom. You can see through it. Again, my state of mind at that time.

«Turned Up Later» is one of my favorites. That title comes from something Bobby said to me after his car accident. He meant to say the background vocal needed to be turned up louder. The front photo is also from Yellowstone. Something I saw on a hike. On the LP version the back photo is a photo my wife took in Montana. The praying mantis is standing on a bolt which is part of a water tank. On the CD, it’s red dragonflies also from Yellowstone.

The image on «Fire Printing» is from an old RCA records 78 sleeve. The Magic Brain was an elaborate record changer for 78s that would play both sides. The album title comes from a dream. I was told «That’s fire printing, nobody does that anymore.» I didn’t want to use that title, but it just stuck with me. Same for the «Magic Brain» image. I only decided to use it at the very last minute.

The new album, «Insect Accessories» cover image and title come from an exhibit we saw last fall in Minneapolis at MIA. That suit of samurai armor was stunning. People raised crickets for their music. They figured out how to enhance the cricket’s song by attaching gold or bronze to the crickets. Insect accessories. True.

You can see the pattern. The covers are meant to make you wonder what the image is and what might the music inside sound like. It’s a complete piece of art.

Robert Pally: What helped you cope with the loss of Bobby Sutliff (2022) and Ric Parnell (2022)?

Ron Sanchez: Tom Stevens died unexpectedly the year before. I’d just talked to him on Monday. He agreed to work on four songs for «Sandbox Shadows». That Saturday he died at his desk while waiting for dinner. What do you do?

Ric Parnell was never in good health as long as I knew him. He’d enjoyed every rock and roll excess, excessively. He was a functioning alcoholic. After one episode I made it clear, he had to watch his consumption when he was here recording. He did dial it back, but once he got paid and went home, he was not so careful. The last two times he was here, we were very concerned. He was very depressed as well as frail. I honestly was afraid he’d die on us. He’d been in the hospital a couple of times. Sadly, he wasn’t interested on trying to improve his health or life style. When we got word, he was in palliative care, I knew that it was his last days. He had a friend in Missoula who helped make those last days comfortable.

Bobby’s death was quite a shock. We kept in regular contact. There was a couple of weeks I didn’t hear from him and called to check up. He said he’d been having a couple of health issues, but didn’t think there was anything serious. I checked back, and couldn’t reach him on the phone. Two days later his wife called and said he’d been diagnosed with stage four cancer. He was gone in two weeks. That was hard to accept. He’d survived a horrible car accident and some personal problems. He was finally really happy.

First thing I did was fly out to Ohio to bury my friend. I met up with Tim Lee and John Thomas, two of Bob’s best friends. We did the best we could. Told some stories and held each other up.

Back at home I dug into music. That is the only thing that made senses to me. I had some good talks with my therapist and contemplated life and death. It was several months of work to try and make sense of losing good friends, half the band. In the Spring of 2023, I wrote the lyrics for Hey Bobby! I shared them with my friend Scott McCaughey. He offered to help finish the song, which he did. That in turn led to Joe Adragna working on the song and then joining the band. I think that’s called evolution. It’s also the luck of the Brain.

Soon after, Scott Sutherland lost a good friend and musical partner in the band Llama. He wrote Stay Strong about Jim Hunnicutt. I wrote Echo Of Apology, a song about mortality. The fear of dying alone and being forgotten. That emotion gives the album «Fire Printing» a very down feel. That wasn’t planned, it’s just where Scott and I were at. You do that, cry and swear at the gods when these things happen. As we grow older, losing friends is inevitable.

Robert Pally: How different would a Ron Sanchez solo album sound compared to Donovan’s Brain?

Ron Sanchez: I guess you could say «Shambaholic» is a solo album. There wasn’t a band at that point. I just did it with a little help from friends. So, it might just sound like Donovan’s Brain. I think if I did do a solo album now it’d sound like Harmonia or Neu! That’s what I do when I have spare time. One day Armchair Explorers will slip out. I have a lot of material for that. There just isn’t a gap in the Brain schedule to find time to put it out.

Robert Pally: Working with which musician was the biggest honor for you?

Ron Sanchez: Richard Treece and I talked for a couple of years before he was finally able to record with us. Getting to play live with him was a massive thrill. He’s very good. Going toe to toe with him in front of a knowledgeable audience was both scary and exciting. I think we pulled it off well. It was a big deal for him to play in the States. He’d only played at a party on a pervious visit. His sister has told me, he thought it was the best time in his life. I’m glad I had the sense to record our rehearsals so there is a good document of that moment. I recently found some cassettes from the rehearsals with a couple of more songs we’d tried out. The surprise was finding a ten-and-a-half-minute jam. I had no memory of that. It blew my mind. In the same breath I have to say working with Malcolm Morley and Ken Whaley, also from Help Yourself was very important. They are heroes of mine. To just sit around and groove was a total blast. Richard, I got to know well. He lived here for a month. I don’t think he wanted to go home.

Robert Pally: Apparently, you have a lot of unfinished songs and song ideas. Is there this one unfished song that you cannot finish whatever you do?

Ron Sanchez: There are a few things still on the shelf. I reviewed them recently. There were two I thought had a future. One of them I’ve recorded a new track and will be on the next album. I just needed to try a slightly different approach. There is nothing wrong with the original that Ric played on. There was another that might resurface.

There is one more on the shelf that has been around for 30 years. I’ve kept working on it since. It should have just been on one of the albums, but it never fit. At some point it’ll come out. I don’t know what it is about that one which that isn’t working? Maybe it’s just been around too long. There are others which just are not going to work and are doomed. There are a couple of instrumentals Ric and I did that will get a release, probably on my solo album. It’s hard to pull up old material and push it on to one of the new albums. We have never had a shortage of songs.

The unused songs usually have one element that might be good enough to be recycled. We are too busy writing new songs to worry much about the rejects. «The Convolutions» box set gathered up a lot of strays which were good enough to be heard.

Robert Pally: Is there still a musician you would love to work with?

Ron Sanchez: I hadn’t thought about that. Scott McCaughey has suggested getting Peter Buck to play on a track. That would be interesting, but not something I’d press to happen. Honestly, at the moment, the current band is very happy to keep it down to just the three of us.

CAREER RECORDS:

Robert Pally: How come you started Career Records?

Ron Sanchez: That was Deniz Tek’s idea. Den and I had both been working with Get Hip. Den with Deep Reduction and myself with the Brain. In 2002 or so we had three albums ready for release. Donovan’s Brain «Great Leap Forward», Deniz Tek And The Golden Breed and the Angie Pepper album. I sent a message to Get Hip letting them know we were ready to go. I got no reply, nor did Deniz. Around that time Den did a gig with us. The next morning, he suggested we start a label to get these albums out. This was the last thing I wanted to do. We talked about it and agreed to pursue the idea. He suggested we might be able to get the Penny Ikinger album and I tossed in Roy Loney’s name. There was a Longshots album that had been sitting in the can for years. We worked out the costs of getting CDs pressed and decided if Get Hip wasn’t interested that might be our only option. We agreed to put up some seed money and see what happens.

Robert Pally: Why did you call it Career Records?

Ron Sanchez: That was my idea. What to call it? I went through the names the names of some great labels in my head: Chess, Checker, Columbia, Capitol, Command, and Career just came to me. It has a couple of meanings and sounded good.

Robert Pally: Advantages and disadvantages of a Record label?

Ron Sanchez: Simply, we get paid. Neither Den or I ever saw any statements from Get Hip and never got paid, even though I was told we’d recouped. When I announced the label, I was contacted by a distribution company. That sealed the deal. That meant our releases would get in shops. That is major. So, we just went ahead. I think we ended up putting out five releases the first year. Penny Ikinger’s record got reviewed in Rolling Stone by David Fricke. We were recognized.

In reality, I run the label. Den was on the board. It’s a lot of work.

I paid the bands when we got paid. We had our own mail order too. But then the bad side of the business surfaced again. The company doing our distro were not very good at paying. The statements said we’d sold plenty of records, but they were not forthcoming with the money owed. I finally told them unless they paid as per our agreement we’d have to end the deal. They said okay, but then went back to blowing us off. This caused me a lot of stress. I was ready to give it up. I finally told them we were done and that they needed to pay all the money in our account. It took a lot of work to get it sorted out. I’m still not sure that all the money was paid.

I contacted some distribution companies. A firm Deniz told me to try suggested I call Cobraside. They responded in twenty minutes. It’s been good since. I have to promote our releases so people know about them and look for them. It’s a struggle. The good news is we now get paid. Bandcamp is a great platform these days. People trust it and know they are dealing with the band. This is the new way of selling our music. A lot of the sales are digital. I understand that some people don’t want to manage a big collection of CDs or records. At least they are willing to pay for music. People think music is free. It’s just a streaming playlist to them.

Owning the label means I set the schedule for releases. I talk to bands about doing their records. Sand Pebbles is a band I’ve wanted to work with for years. They aren’t well known in the States. In the end, The Antagonist did very well all things considered. I’d like to have the chance to work with more bands this good, but they are few and far between.

I do all the work, pressing, promotion, mail order accounting and the websites. It’s work, but it’s ours. We have followers. There aren’t any other options. We own our art, no contracts and those complications. I knew right from the start that I needed to own our music. You hear so many horror stories about people losing control of their masters.

NEW ALBUM:

Robert Pally: How did you develop your new album «Insect Accessories»?

Ron Sanchez: We just started recording as soon as «Fire Printing» was completed. There is never a plan. No concept laid out. Early on I thought this might be a more acoustic record. There is some of that. The title didn’t appear until the fall of last year. I didn’t even tell the band at that point. I can’t see writing for a preconceived idea. The songs just appear. Maybe a new song is a reaction to the song we just recorded, but I don’t think so.

We wrote so much material. I couldn’t turn any songs down, they were all good. I am the one who keeps track of the progress. Towards the end of last year, I worked through the songs. Some needed more work before I could mix. It’s a little overwhelming to look at that long list of songs and wonder if I had the strength to finish them all. The box set was 45 song, then Sandbox was a double album, twenty songs, then we did two albums at once, twenty more songs. Fire Printing and Agitated Brain EP was eighteen songs. The new album is twenty-five songs. I count one-hundred and twenty-eight songs released over the last eight years. That’s a serious work load. Rather than burning out from all this, I feel like we got better. Scott and I and now Joe are very happy with what we’ve done. Even as I work on releasing Insect Accessories, we are writing new material in the background. The machine never rests.

Robert Pally: What idea is behind the titles «Asides» & «Besides», «Seasides» & «Decides»?

Ron Sanchez: I still think of our records in LP format. An album has sides. Each side has a start and an end. If it’s a double album, then there are four starting songs and four ending songs. The first and last songs have to stand out. It’s like a novel or a movie. The side titles are one of my language jokes. Each side has a unique feel. I wrote down the title of each song on a note card. I added some information about the song. I then just sat and worked out the running order for each side.

I’ve programmed all our albums. They should take you on a little trip. Each song leading to the next, with a strong ending. I want the listener to think about what they just heard, and to play it again. I’ve been a radio DJ for more than 50 years. That is the same idea carried out over three hours. I can’t explain it, I just do it.

Robert Pally: How different did you approach the 2 CDs?

Ron Sanchez: I think the most notable thing is that disc two starts with a quiet acoustic song. Just guitar and voice. That couldn’t have been the first song on the first disc, but after the initial twelve songs it works as the opening for the second disc. It might be quiet, but it’s a strong statement, and draws you in yet again. The second disc slowly builds up to the noisy ending. You know you’ve reached the end.

Robert Pally: In an interview I read that Career Records is all about guitars. No Synth-pop bands. «One Thin Soul» (by Sutherland) is a synth-pop song!

Ron Sanchez: Don’t believe everything I say! We are not OMD or a K-Pop band. One Thin Soul is more experimental than synth pop. I was thinking Laurie Anderson when I recorded the track. Marooned is a bit more synthy pop. I quite liked that one and got into it. My first thought was it was in the style of The Cure. When we got done, I was sure it was more like Wall Of Voodoo. Joe played some Copeland like drum fills. We all have a deep knowledge of music of the last 70 years. It’s a little parlor game we play. If you were to dig through our catalog, you’d find that this is not something new. The very first thing I recorded, the original Perky Pat, is pure synth sounds.

Robert Pally: Quite a lot of Synths on the new album. How come?

Ron Sanchez: There is synth on every one of our records. Scott covered a lot of the guitar on this album, so I found I was adding synth textures. It could have just been Hammond organ and piano, but I have the tools. I program the sounds, but I play them live. I’m a big fan of Pete Townshend. He’s found how to use synths in rock music. Something very different from Wakeman or Emerson. You know, the show off guys. Sure, they can play very well, but playing a part is a different thing.

I’ve listened to a lot of Terry Riley, Eno, and Ravi Shankar. The Krautrock bands were not using synths at the start, they were manipulating pianos and organs. I just experiment with the instruments I have in my collection to get the sounds. It’s good fun and a challenge.
Pete Townshend was recently quoted saying you can by a $30 software synth or a $6000 hardware instrument, as long as you use it to write one song, you spent your money wisely. New instruments are always an inspiration, a synth or a new guitar. Seems like Scott and I manage to find new tools on a regular basis.

Robert Pally: Again, you have come with a quite puzzling cover design. What is the idea behind it?

Ron Sanchez: I get excited when I see something that would work for an album cover. The art exhibit that the samurai armor came from was just mind blowing. It’s not easy to get a good photo in a museum with people all around. It just spoke to me. The stone carvings on the discs are from Sweden. The skulls are from a church floor, the runes are from The Rok. That is a very famous artifact we saw. All that is balanced on the inside by the skyline and clouds which are just from our drive around Sweden. The trees are a photo Scott’s wife took in Washington which I liked as soon as I saw it. At bit of nature against ancient art, which is hardly primitive. It’s the world we live in. I think some art is better than photos of the band. We are a handsome bunch, but we don’t have to advertise it. I liked the idea of cricket music and that people were seriously into it. If you look closely, there is an insect on the top of that helmet, and two more insect helmets on the back cover representing the two discs.

Robert Pally: «Sea Legs» sounds quite poppy for Donovan’s Brain and has this familiar intro. It just does not come to my mind where I heard it before. Was this a try to write a radio friendly song?

Ron Sanchez: Ah… I recorded a demo called «Nothing To Say». I told the band it was an attempt to write a Beach Boy song in the style of Carl Wilson. A bit funkier like from «Friends» or «Wild Honey». Joe asked if he could try some ideas. «Sea Legs» was his second try. I took it back and replaced his guitar with organ. Then I added back the bridge I’d originally written. It moved into the early 70s Beach Boys by that point. The intro riff comes from an earlier Brian Wilson song or Booker T.

There was no plan. It’s just what we were hearing. Beach Boys were my first favorite band. Joe and Scott are also huge fans. There is another Beach Boys, or more accurately a Brian Wilson influenced song on the album that Scott wrote. It’s just part of our DNA. This was the last song done for the album. Scott McCaughey wrote the words, a bit of Van Dyke Parks. We are song writers, not stuck in any mode. There are plenty of other songs on the album that point to our influences. Not obvious slavish recreations of our those. We speak the same musical language and we are happy to mess with the listeners. We aren’t that good to do accurate recreations of old bands.

It’s be nice if it got some radio play, but that wasn’t why we wrote the song. We aren’t that calculating. It’s much harder to write a poppy song than it is to write a heavy tune. We are comfortable doing both. I think it’s my favorite song on the album. A great way to finish a year’s work.

Robert Pally: What inspired the song «Alien Infusion»?

Ron Sanchez: I’m a prog head. It’s one of those songs that was written one part at a time, to tell the story. It has some humor in it too. I could never write one of those po faced proggy epics about wizards. A lot of modern prog has become a formula that I can’t do. We aren’t that clever.

There are two little lyric references to Genesis. Thanks Peter Gabriel. It’s just a story. First, why would aliens want to come to our blue planet? No one ever understands. They usually want to kill us or we try to kill them. In the end the visitors see why the world is so fucked up and take away one man who seems to be the problem.

I play a bit of acoustic guitar and leaned into the mellotron. Scott plays some incredible guitar on this one. It takes it off into our own territory. I asked Joe to sing it because he’s a better singer. He didn’t laugh at my lyrics. «Their food is faster than ours.» It’s one of my favorite Brain songs that I’ve written.

Robert Pally: «They Are Not There» has a kind of a meditative feel. What is the idea behind the song?

Ron Sanchez: You should have heard the original version recorded for «Sandbox Shadows». There is a lot of baggage behind this song. «Sandbox Dispatches» and «Two Suns Two Shadows» are a deep exploration of this. There was a time in my life I felt like no one heard what I had to say. As a result, I didn’t share much of what was on my mind. Then when I did, it upset people. This song just spells that all out, «Listen, listen to the words I care to share.»

I spent the last eight years trying to work this all out. That’s a strange thing for someone who is a radio disc jockey and a former restaurant owner. I spent a lot of my life dealing with people face to face. I just had to work out how to speak out with out avoiding what I really needed to say.

Yes, it’s a very heavy song from my point of view. Again, Scott just dug deep for the guitar part. The drum idea is all Joe’s. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was what was needed. The chords I play are inspired by some things Jimmy Page does. You can hear that on the last verse when the drums drop out. I played those chords for a month looking for the clues. The original version was more like Led Zep. I like this arrangement better.

I know if you asked Scott, you’d find most of his songs come from his own complex emotions. We’ve talked about it. These are not calculated Brill Building songs, we are all writing about our experiences, good or bad. It’s a challenge to capture the thoughts and images that rattle around the canyons of my mind.

Robert Pally: «Day After Anything Goes» does his best to sound like Neil Young / Crazy Horse. How came the song together?

Ron Sanchez: This is one of Scott’s. Joe came up with the distorted bass. I hadn’t thought of this as a Neil Young song, but I think you are correct. I thought this one had a bit of Neutral Milk Hotel/E6 sound. A modern sound. I’m glad you asked about this one. It’s a new sound for us. One of the songs that made working on this record exciting.

Scott is a brilliant man. He has a very serious day job. That intellect comes through in his songs. Joe is also a very bright guy. This song is one of the moments on the record when they two of them feed each other and the songs are lifted.

My song, «Layer Skies» was very much written in the style of Crazy Horse. So, there you go.

Robert Pally: You singing voice sounds special. How did you develop your singing style?

Ron Sanchez: I’m not a great singer. Scott grew up learning harmony from his mother. I’m not sure about Joe, but he has a wonderful voice. He should sing all my songs. I just had to work on it. I have the luxury of being able to work alone in my studio. I have learned what my range is, which keys I can negotiate. I spend a lot of time when I do vocals. First, I have to find how the words fit the song, then I find how to sing them. Bobby Sutliff was very good and giving me confidence about my voice. Over the years, I’ve discovered I do best when I write at the piano. I can find the melody better for some reason. I’m not a great piano player, but putting the two together at one time gets good results.

It’s just what I have. I’ve gotten used to hearing myself. It was hard at first. I remember when I was in grade school choir. The teacher came around to all of us to see who could sing. She made a sour face when she heard me. It just wasn’t part of my up bringing.

PERSONAL:

Robert Pally: What was the first song that really touched you and why?

Ron Sanchez: Memphis by Chuck Berry. I had an older cousin who had loads of singles. I’d sit in the closet of their tiny house and listen to all of them when we’d visit. It was a new record when I heard it. It’s a song that I could understand the words. The story seemed real.

Robert Pally: What made you want to become a musician?

Ron Sanchez: The Beach Boys and The Beatles. My brother and I got a guitar and a bass and learned how to play. I’d tried playing in the school orchestra, sax and clarinet, but I wasn’t very good. I couldn’t read music, but I could play by ear.

Robert Pally: What was your first band? What music did you play and did you release something?

Ron Sanchez: Some school friends decided to start a band 1965. We played current music from the time: Kinks, Them, Stones. Our friend’s sister filmed and recorded our first gig at a party. I wish I knew where those went. Our singer and one of the guitar players were pretty good. There are photos of later versions of the band.

Robert Pally: What means Music to you?

Ron Sanchez: I grew up hearing music. My parents liked to dance, so they had records. I was listening to the radio as long as I can remember. It was just something that touched an emotion. I just knew it was a happy song or a sad song. This was in the 50s and later. We could hear big bands and country music on the radio and TV. It was just always there. I decided I wanted to be a radio DJ then too. I made that happen in the later 60s.

Robert Pally: In the interview you talk about an out of body experience and dreams as an inspiration. Are you a spiritual person? If yes, how does it show?

Ron Sanchez: Oh, that’s a tough one.

Spiritual in that I live in the real world, surrounded by nature. Growing up in California, my family went to the beach or the mountains all the time. I could tell those were special places. Just sitting on a beach, on a cold gray day, listening to the sounds. Same for traveling in the Sierras. Yosemite and other places, Now here in Montana, it’s everywhere, even in town. Once we get away a little, it’s amazing. I’ve written songs about that.

The other thing is I have a very active dream life. Since I was a kid. Vivid images that I can still remember almost seventy years later. I’ve gotten good at capturing those images and visions. I usually enjoy going there. Sometimes it is disturbing, but I just accept it and try to find the source of the static. There are places I visit regularly in my dreams. I write things down if they are important. As I said, many song ideas come directly from dreams. It’s not really much different from being awake. I can close my eyes and go somewhere in my head. There is also that state between sleep and being awake. Late at night, if I can’t sleep, I just turn down the chatter in my head and see where it leads me. Same in the morning. I usually know if I’ve been dreaming, but sometimes it’s not easy to tell.

I’ve talked to a couple of my musician friends about this. They both said they never dream, or I guess never remember their dreams. They are both envious.

That one particular instance came during a difficult time in my life. I wasn’t happy and was unable to find a way out of that darkness. I was on the verge of making a big change in my life. As it turned out, that would have not been a good move. I realized I had convinced myself I had a better place to be. That was an illusion. It’s not easy to accept that what you think is your reality It is not that at all. Like Alice and the looking glass. It was very disturbing and only made my condition much worse.

One night I was listening to music, and I left this dimension, and found myself in a different reality. No drugs were involved. It was just my mind breaking the connection to the world I was living in. I found myself in a room with no limits. Just white, with no apparent light source. There was music, but it came from all around me. I was just a lonely person sitting on a white couch. It was everything, but nothing. The song I mentioned, «Des Formes Qui Changent Lentement» («Slowly Changing Shapes») was the sound of that experience. I remixed it for the album, there was a section that was very disturbing and not easy to listen to.

It was a long while before I felt like the pieces were all gathered up and reassembled. There was another dream where I was standing on the ledge, like Richard Thompson sang. I jumped, and ended up in a different place. I had changed my direction and was able to climb out of that pit of gloom and seek out some help. As is often the case, I didn’t share all this with anyone except those directly involved. None of them were pleased with my behavior.

My therapist finally pointed out that I wasn’t going to make anyone happy if I stayed on that path. That was the turning point in my life. This situation didn’t resolve quickly, it took some time and effort. Just when I was feeling complete again, someone from my past showed up unexpectedly. What might have been a crisis in the past was actually a pleasant moment. That’s when I knew all was good, if not better than before.

……… early morning thoughts to answer your question. A lot of this is the subject of song. The trilogy of «Sandbox Shadows», «Chiêm bao thấy Bậu», and «Faith In Failure» are all part of the same extended thought. «Shambaholic» is the prologue, and connects to the latter events. All this is resolved in my real life, but I can grab those emotions to write a song. «Not A Home» on the new album is a bit more Sandbox music.

Robert Pally: What means success to you?

Ron Sanchez: I saw most of the great bands of the 60s and 70s. That was a different time. I could see some bands got huge, others not so big. Success is just about making good honest music. Think of all the artists who were ignored when they were around, and who are now recognized as true innovators.

I think Donovan’s Brain has succeeded at what I set out to do. We make records. We’ve played live, so I know we could do that very well. The band has continued and improved. These days, it’s what I spend most of my time doing.

https://donovans-brain.net/

Discography:

-Butterfly Wheel (1992) Cassette only

– Shambaholic (1994)

-Carelessly Restored Art (1998)

-Eclipse And Debris (1999)

-Tiny Crustacean Light Show (2000)

-The Great Leap Forward (2003)

-A Defeat Of Echoes (2005)

-Fires Which Burnt Brightly (2009)

-Turned Up Later (2013)

-Shambaholic And Other Love Songs (2014) Compilation