Jonathan Donahue

Jonathan Daniel Donahue (born May 6, 1966)[1] is an American rock musician. He helped form and remains a member of Mercury Rev and was a member of The Flaming Lips for around two years.

Jonathan Donahue
Jonathan Donahue performing with Mercury Rev in 2010
Background information
Birth nameJonathan Daniel Donahue
Born (1966-05-06) May 6, 1966
Kingston, New York, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Years activeLate 1980s–present
Associated actsMercury Rev, The Flaming Lips

Early life

Donahue was born in Kingston, New York.[2]

Music career

Donahue helped form Mercury Rev,[3][4] along with vocalist/guitarist David Baker, bassist Dave Fridmann, guitarist and clarinetist Grasshopper (born Sean Mackowiak), rooster-tail bass flutist Suzanne Thorpe, and drummer Jimy Chambers, in the late 1980s as a source to create soundtracks to the members' personal student films. The members were further encouraged to explore their talents by their mentor, minimalist composer and multimedia artist Tony Conrad.

Donahue also doubled as a concert promoter in Buffalo. After billing the Butthole Surfers and their opening act The Flaming Lips, Donahue joined the Flaming Lips around 1989/1990 as their guitar technician. He later joined the band as the full-time lead guitarist and played on the albums In a Priest Driven Ambulance and Hit to Death in the Future Head.[5]

After being a member of The Flaming Lips for around two years, Donahue and The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne began to disagree over creative issues. Donahue left the band shortly after recording Hit to Death in the Future Head and was replaced by Oklahoma City guitarist Ronald Jones.

After leaving The Flaming Lips, Donahue returned to Buffalo and focused his time on reforming Mercury Rev. Donahue was credited as having played the clarinet line for The Chemical Brothers' 1997 cult hit "The Private Psychedelic Reel", which has been the on and off closing song to their shows ever since. The clarinet part was actually played by former Mercury Rev reed player, Mark Marinoff.

Personal life


An avid hockey player, Donahue grew up a big fan of the Montreal Canadiens during the 1970s and 1980s.

gollark: (well, not *everyone*, but lots)
gollark: People have art on their walls and whatnot.
gollark: People eat nice-tasting food instead of nutrition paste.
gollark: We have buildings other than generic grey cubes, because despite beauty not really being a rational thing to care about in pursuit of common goals (other than just "happiness" or whatever), *people care*.
gollark: Many things are irrational, and yet people are still care about that.

References
  1. Mercury Rev unofficial FAQ
  2. Perry, Andrew (20 January 2005). "Orchestral survivors in the dark". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-08-08 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. Hoskyns, Barney (17 August 2001). "'Most people wait till later for substance abuse. We went right in with album number one'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-08 – via www.theguardian.com.
  4. "Mercury Rev's Jonathan Donahue struggles with self doubt in his songwriting abilities". www.irishexaminer.com. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  5. Hewitt, Ben (24 March 2016). "The Flaming Lips – 10 of the best". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-08 – via www.theguardian.com.
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