July 31 - Sometimes, you just get lucky. On our final night in Nashville, and the last night of our trip during which we would really hang out, we walked down to the ‘Honky Tonk’ area of the city, the downtown area situated on Broadway near the Cumberland River. It seems there are a thousand clubs, with a cowboy boot place for every second music joint. Music is blasting from every angle – you can see many of the bands performing through the windows and it is LOUD! There are additional musicians playing on the street, too.
After twenty minutes or so of just walking through the throngs of tourists and locals, too – this was Friday night, after all – I spotted a place that looked good. There seemed to be a little room inside, they served food, and there was a band kicking some major booty right there on the stage. Turns out it was Robert’s Western World, one of the places on my list that I had more or less forgotten about. It was a disorganized night, the kind of night that turns up after you’ve been traveling for a little while.
We climbed to the second floor bar in the back, ordered some burgers and beers and set to watching the band. Before too long, I noticed this tall, slim kid – he looked a little like a young Jimmy Page – playing the heck out of a Telecaster. He had distinct star power, and the kind of chops that make you immediately forget about the old guitarist defensiveness – the “I could do that” reaction. Turns out it was the Don Kelley Band with Daniel Donato on lead guitar. It was around the point where Don said, “Let’s hear it for Danny – he’s only nineteen years old,” that I realized that we had stumbled onto someone special without even trying.
There aren’t too many superlatives necessary for describing Daniel Donato’s playing. We’ve all heard of the many wunderkind who can play Bach’s Chaconne standing on their head on YouTube. Donato does it in a crowded bar night after night. The bands turn over the stage every two hours or so, and the music is flowing from noon until after midnight. But it was obvious when the next band took the stage that the energy level had peaked for that night. Donato probably went to play somewhere else.
When I checked him out on the internet, I found a brilliant student of the guitar, as well as a budding teacher, and a very intelligent young man. I have already learned something from him as he mentioned in one interview how the high edges of the Tele bridge make palm muting a little difficult, so he uses a replacement model there – aha! I always wondered why I had to choke up so much on the palm muting…
I look forward to the day when Donato takes the national stage. It would be great to hear him rock Madison Square Garden with one of his solos or show the lip-synchers on the Grammys how it’s really done.
You're so lucky to stumble on music you really appreciate..sounds like a great finale to the trip.
Posted by: James Hannigan | 10/05/2015 at 02:32 PM
Thanks, Jim. It was absolutely great. When live music is really flourishing in a city, there's a better chance of experiencing top players up close and personal. I can't wait to go back to Nashville and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next phase of Daniel Donato's career will be.
Posted by: On Practicing Guitar | 10/08/2015 at 09:23 PM