Donnie was a sweet man who helped a lot of people with their own desires to play music. I loved to hear him play and there are some songs on which he was playing the guitar at the Hawg Band page of this web site and also the Original Hot Rocket page.
He was probably one of the main reasons Art's Music Shop did so well. He just helped people find what they were looking for to play music with (for those of you with no sense of humor, I know that was incorrect spelling and I was just playing around with your 'I take myself so seriously' assitude [I happen to know that Don would approve]). He fixed guitars so they worked - the point to him was that nobody can play guitar unless it was working right and was not a problem - no matter how good you played. He fixed stuff for my guitars and never told me, "Ed, you're just not a guitar player." He let me enjoy it the best I could. I never knew people had to pay them (at Art's) to change strings on a guitar until Donnie got sick and wasn't there all the time.
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I would like to commend Paul Frehlig, the owner of Art's, for making it possible for Donnie not to worry about his bills while he was so sick. Paul is a quiet guy and every bit a businessman, so, for him to quietly take care of Donnie like he did shows what kind of heart he has. Thank you, Paul.
Whenever Donnie and I saw each other, after I started realizing I needed help to get through life, God is pretty much what we talked about - even in the store. That and about the times we shared in the late 60's and early 70's. We laughed a lot. We wondered about a whole lot in life and both of us were amazed at how much we didn't know. We listed all of the troubles of the world and decided on solutions for a lot of them. I believe that all the questions we had about life and God are now answered for Donnie. He doesn't wonder any more and I think he knows the real answers for all the questions we have. I think part of him has moved into part of all of us who knew him and loved him. I wish I could talk to him where he is now. He is where none of the suffering and selfishness of earth could follow. I believe he is in full time joy instead of just temporary joy like it is here in 'real' time. Donnie has forgiven all of us for our faults because he is in the presence of his own forgiveness. I can't know all this for sure but I believe it to be so.
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I know a lot of people who will miss him.
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I thought I would put some jammin' that we recorded at my house on Bradley St. up here to listen to. We were all just teenagers and having a good time plucking around in the living room. We ranged in age from 14 to 19, I think. Tommy was 14, Jimbo was 15, Donnie was 16 or 17, Steve Stewart and I were 18, and Louis was 19. I think Rickey Parsons (Jabbo) was there some of the time, too, and he was 18. A bunch of kids not trying to make the big time - just playing around having fun. Don came up with a lot of the ideas and rhythms we wound up jammin' with. He had a nice way of making something simple sound like a song. He's laughing and joking around on some of the stuff.
Jam 4 Jam 6 Jam 8 Jam 10 Jam 12 Jam 14 Jam 15
