Donna the Buffalo News & Rumors

August 2007

Jed Greenberg, Jim Miller To Perform Together In Woodstock, NY
Two previous members of Donna the Buffalo will soon be joining forces for a night of honky tonk fun. On Sunday, 9/2, former DtB bassist Jed Greenberg and former guitarist Jim Miller will be joined by Sarah Hawker of the Lonesome Sisters as well as Boy With a Fish drummer Ryan Cady and Laura Cohan on piano at the Colony Cafe (845-679-5342) in Woodstock, NY. "It would be great to see some familiar faces at the bar," Jed said. "It's been a while." Tickets are $10 and the show starts at 7 p.m. Hope to see you there! (posted 8/23/07)
On Bass In Banner Elk, NC: Nobody
When Donna the Buffalo performed at the Eagles Nest in Banner Elk, NC on Saturday, 8/18, they did so without a bass player. Instead, the band enjoyed the services of Dave McCracken as a second keyboard player. McCracken, who filled in for regular DtB keyboardist Kathy Ziegler while KZ was on maternity leave in early 2006, played the bass lines on keys. Later Dave and Kathy switched, with KZ playing the "bass keys" while Dave played regular keys. This arrangement must have worked out well: The band played an extremely long set, possibly 3.5 hrs. All this happened after having the bus crap out trying to get up the steep mountain. Never a dull moment in the world of Donna the Buffalo. The band's next show will take place on 9/1 at the Rhythm & Roots Festival in Ninigret, RI. (posted 8/19/07)
New Photos: 7/28/07 Floyd Fest
This year's Floyd Festival was an unusual gig for Donna the Buffalo. Coming off a spectacular run at GrassRoots the previous weekend, the band found itself in need of a bass player for the next two gigs because Jay Sanders, who'd been filling in since 7/5, couldn't make it. Longtime DtB friend Phil Weinrobe stepped up for the Rochester gig on 7/26 and joined the band for their performance at Floyd Fest two days later. Warren "Cat" Catlett, a frequent DonnaFans.com contributor who most recently shared photos of Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones sitting in with DtB at MerleFest back in April, provides us with 10 photos of DtB's afternoon set on 7/28/07 in Floyd, VA. Cat, who hosts the wonderful Internet radio station Radio Free Americana (www.radiofreeamericana.com), caught a shot of Weinrobe on bass, as well as one of Nery Arevalo, who sat in on percussion for the entire set. Jason Espie's recording of DtB's 70-minute set, which included Conscious Evolution, If You Only Could, These Are Better Days, Hey Trudy, and more, is available for download from the Live Music Archive at http://www.archive.org/details.php?identifier=Donna2007-07-28.floydfest_aud. Thanks for the photos, Cat! (posted 8/18/07)
Photos From GrassRoots 7/22/07
Donna the Buffalo closed the 2007 GrassRoots Festival in Trumansburg, NY with an all-star jam featuring many of the finest musicians whom the band is privileged to call friends. This year, that list included Mamadou Diabate (joining for Blue Sky and Lifetime of a Fool), Tania Elizabeth of the Duhks and the Avett Brothers (for Angel Band and That's How I Got to NY), John Specker and his daughters (for If I Lose), Kevin Kinsella, Keith Secola, Trevor MacDonald, and many others. John Yust kindly provides us with 11 photos of DtB playing on 7/22/07 in Trumansburg, NY. I put captions to identify the special guests on some photos; if you recognize someone I didn't, let me know: fans@donnafans.com Thanks, John! (posted 8/11/07)
GrassRoots Photos Part III:
The Saturday Night Gig
Donna the Buffalo's approach to the Saturday night headliner slot at its own GrassRoots Festivals is usually in keeping with their laid-back style: go out and simply play their best, without a lot of smoke and mirrors. But at this year's GrassRoots, they decided to do it up a bit. First, to start the show, Tara and Jeb emerged from a smoke-filled stage, each absolutely blazing away on fiddle. Then the full band did the first three songs--40 Days and 40 Nights, Temporary Misery, and Biggie K Is A Superstar--accompanied by the horn section from John Brown's Body and three female guest vocalists. Later in the set came a smoking Funkyside, and an onstage marriage proposal (she accepted). Fortunately, John Yust was on the rail with his new camera in hand, and share with us 12 shots of DtB performing on 7/21/07 at the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival in Trumansburg, NY. Thanks, John! (posted 8/1/07)


"Phil"-ing In On Bass
Who's going to be the permanent, full-time DtB bassist to replace Bill Reynolds is still anyone's guess. But when Donna the Buffalo performed at the Party in the Park in Rochester, NY on 7/26, recent fill-in bassist Jay Sanders wasn't there. The bass player for this gig and at FloydFest was Phil Weinrobe, who helped out the band the last time the bass slot was in transition in October/November 2003. The word is that Sanders had some prior commitments when he agreed to play for DtB that will make him unavailable for at least the next month. Donna the Buffalo has only one show scheduled for between now and the beginning of September: 8/18 in Banner Elk, NC. (updated 8/1/07)


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