interview: Bobby Rees
Where does one begin an intro to this piece?! I was lucky enough to spend some time with Dan Donegan guitarist for Disturbed. It’s rare for Disturbed to have any quiet time. The band has been going non-stop since they hit the scene with a bang in 2000, following platinum album after platinum album and touring constantly. And they are back with their most vicious, volatile and downright infectious offering, the Music As A Weapon 4 tour. Before hopping on on stage, Dan spent some time with us…
AAMM: First of all congratulations on being together as a band for 10 plus years. That doesn’t happen too much these days!
Dan: Actually, David has been with the band for about 13 years, and I have been with Mike (drummer) for almost 16 yrs.
AAMM: It is quit an accomplishment. Have you noticed that you still seem to draw a lot of young fans. It must be nice to see your older fans listening and bringing their kids to the shows….
Dan: That’s part of the challenge of having longevity. It’s such a short lived life for most bands these days. We’ve been very fortunate, and I think we’ve always deliver, and our fans always know that we are going to put out the very best material that we can and when we play live we will always give it 110%. It is good to now that we are still connecting with our old fans and that the younger generation is coming in…it’s a wide spectrum.
AAMM: How did you guys come up with the name Disturbed?
Dan: When we were auditioning singers David came in…we knew right away that he had something original to offer. He was not like most singers out there when they are just starting out they sound like the singer that they are influenced by. David had his unique sound…and his own voice. We were a new band all together and we were about to play a big show in town with a Black Sabbath cover and we needed a name and David suggested Disturbed. Our way of describing it is that it is not actually us that are disturbed but, it is the way society looks at people that are different. The way a suit and tie businessman looks at someone with long hair and tattoos….
AAMM: What does Disturbed find disturbing in the word today?
Dan: There is A LOT of chaos in the world today…economy, housing market…etc. In my hometown, like many, a few years ago there were homes going up like crazy. Today those home are sitting empty due to many different things like foreclosure for one. With the state of affairs that we are in we thought that this Music As A Weapon 4 tour was a way to give back to the fans and give them more for their money. To get their minds off of things for a least a few hours. With this tour we are doing a bigger production, a bigger tour, a bigger line up all for a ticket price around $40! More bang for your buck!
AAMM: Since MAAW 4 exposes us to many local and new acts, are there any up and coming bands that we should keep and eye on?
Dan: We like to give the local bands from the area a chance to be heard by a few thousand fans. I haven’t heard a lot of buzz about local bands either from our hometown of Chicago or otherwise…maybe I am just out of the loop. There is one band that we are trying to pursue and we think we are pretty close to getting signed to mine and David’s deal with Warner Bros called Art of Dying. They are a great Rock band, great musicians…straight up rock! We did a tour with them a while back.
AAMM: Do you feel that, as you said you don’t hear a lot of a buzz about local bands, America is not
representing?
Dan: There are a lot of great bands out there, they just need to come off their hiatus, and represent. When you see a band like Korn taking a break, or losing some members, I’m a big Korn fan, and it is disappointing to see. We need more of those bands to get up and remind people that there is a big audience out there. There is only a hand full of us left that are waving the flag. Lamb of God, Godsmack, Sevendust, Metallica…
AAMM: If you could play with any band today past of present who would it be?
Dan: I would love to do a proper tour with Metallica. We have done a couple of festivals with them in Europe which were amazing in front of 80 thousand people! They can show us how it should be done, and we can learn from it and follow in their footsteps. They’d make us have to step up our game. Keeps the fire lit under us.
AAMM: If there was no Disturbed, what was your plan B?
Dan: Wow…it would have to be in music…somewhere. Personally, for me I had my parents telling me that I needed a plan B, something to fall back on. Seriously, I never had a plan B! Why wouldn’t plan A work!? If I work hard enough, if I try hard and want it more then anyone else why wouldn’t it work for me. If you want it bad enough you can get it. We’ve always been a hard working band, and we will continue to be.
AAMM: What is the hardest part about being in the band Disturbed?
Dan: There is nothing…I can not complain about anything. There is one thing…. when you start out
wanting to be a “rock star” you give up certain things at home. You don’t get to see your friends or your family. Your family becomes the road crew when they are traveling with you. You miss a lot of family functions good ones and sad ones….that is the down side of being in any touring band.
AAMM: What’s the best part?
Dan: I get to play guitar for a living! It’s great. When I come home between tours and album cycles, I get to write songs out of my house. I don’t have the pressure of having to punch a clock. We have a record label and management company that may have certain expectations of us…but, we can really do what we want and at our pace. That’s the way it is!
AAMM: Do you write any new music while you are on the road, if so when can we see a new album?
Dan: I bring a mobile Pro-Tools on the road with us…and every once in a while I put some things down, but it stays on the back burner. For the most part, when we are on tour I like to stay in touring mode. I don’t like to say tomorrow at 3 we should sit down and do a song…I don’t like to do that. At home I am more relaxed and that is when I can be creative. When I come up with a few riffs or ideas I then present it to the group and see what they like, and see what David is feeling. That’s just the way I work.
AAMM: You definitely have a unique sound, who are your influences?
Dan: There have been a lot over the years, definitely the classic metal guitar players like: the guys in Maiden and Priest, Dimebag of course, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhodes….I try to learn a little from everybody. There are so many great guitarist out there…even in the 80s, which got a bad rap for the Glam and Hairbands there were some great guitarist that influenced me. The 80s is when I really stated playing, and when I knew I wanted to be a guitar player. Warren DeMartini from Ratt, George Lynch from Dokken…these guys were great – tasteful and melodic. It doesn’t have to be complicated or busy or try to play as many notes as you can. I am not impressed by that.
AAMM: Which would you rather have a bad-ass Harley or a sleek sports car?
Dan: These days it’s probably a sports car. I have a Harley at home and I barely get a chance to ride it now that I’m a father of 2 amazing kids, a 5 year old daughter and a son that will be 2 in June. I don’t get as much time as I’d like to ride and feel the open road. It’s a good way to clear your head for sure. I’ve always wanted an old muscle car….someday. Today I have to worry about fitting 2 car seats and toys into something. At some point I would love to have a nice ‘67 GTO or an old Mustang. Anything from the 60s would be nice.
AAMM: What’s in your iPod?
AAMM: Being from Chicago, and the MAAW4 tour raps up in that area, what’s that guest list like?
AAMM: Our President Obama is from Chicago, is he on the guest list?
AAMM: Finally, tell us something that we may not know about you?
For the answers to these and other questions pick up the May 2009 issue!
