INTERVIEW WITH TIM DONAHUE


Hi Tim, we're honoured to have the chance to talk to a talented musician like you. What's the reason why you chose to play a fretless guitar, which has been used only in the jazz/fusion music so far?
TD: The honor is mine Stefano! I've been playing fretless guitar for 22 years, simply because I love the sound of it. It gives me a unique musical voice. I can control the pitch and articulation of each note more effectively on the fretless than on a regular guitar. But it took a lot of work and dedication to bring it to this point. As you mentioned, fretless guitar can be found in jazz & fusion music. That's because I've been playing that kind of music on fretless guitar for so many years! But I'm a rocker at heart, so after I recorded VOICES IN THE WIND album with producer Eddie Kramer, I really wanted to do more heavy rock albums. That said, I've released a lot of music on fretless guitar- from fusion to jazz to metal to TV space music. MADMEN & SINNERS is my 6th solo album.

What's the technique that must be used to achieve a good outcome, in your opinion?
TD: Fretless guitar really forces you to listen carefully to everything you play. Ear training is especially important. Also, it's important to have a musical reason to play the fretless. I don't think guitarists should play it just because it's unique. They should love the fretless tone enough to put the time and effort into mastering such an instrument. That's what I did, and now I'm enjoying a unique, artistic guitar style in my music.

Can you tell us, please, what's the main meaning behind a wonderful album as "Madman And Sinner"?
TD: MADMEN & SINNERS is based on the craziness of modern society and the hypocracy of established religions. The insanity of nuclear war is discussed, and there are a lot of cynical references to religious extremism in the lyrics. MADMEN & SINNERS will only appeal to sophisticated listeners. It's certainly not for simple-minded people. For me, the MADMEN album has the perfect blend of beauty, technical playing, melodic songwriting and orchestration. It's the kind of balance I'd like to hear more of in prog/metal today.




I'd like to ask you a little bit malicious question: why did you chose James La Brie as a singer? Did you think you couldn't get such a great performance from a different, but less famous, vocalist?
TD: Of course, it's always better to have a "famous" vocalist on an album. I don't understand why fans like famous people, but that's the way it is. To me, the most important thing is the vocalist's ability to sing my music the way I think it should be sung. My philosophy is- when recording an album, it doesn't matter how famous you are. I only respect someone's musical talent- not fame. James was the first vocalist I thought about for the MADMEN album. I started writing MADMEN & SINNERS with his vocals in mind. But I'll be honest and say that Ian Parry's vocals were also in my mind, for some of the tracks. That's nice because James & Ian are two of my good friends and favorite vocalists.

Can you tell us, please, the song-writing process? Did you face the whole alone with the help of James just for the vocals part or was it all done together?
TD: It usually takes me over a year to write an album,. I started writing the MADMEN album in 2002, and each month I sent the new demos to James, so he can hear the direction the music was taking. James was not involved in the writing process, mainly because I had such a strong vision of the melodies and overall composition. I must say- my music is not easy to sing. There are unusual melodic moments and odd time signatures everywhere. But even so, James sang great!

Can you tell us who are the Madmen and the Sinners?
TD: We are all madmen & sinnners...that's the point of the album.

"Madman And Sinner" is surely one of your album that maybe will let you get more famous both for the song-writing and for the performance. In your opinion, is there any other record of yours that has the feel similar to "M.A.S."?
TD: No, not really. MADMEN & SINNERS is certainly unique. But to be honest, every Tim Donahue album is different. It's difficult to compare my earlier music to the MADMEN album.

Considering that you are fond of the fretless guitar, do you think of getting a Jazz/Fusion album with fretless bass players like John Patitucci o Jimmy Haslip one day?
TD: Yes, it's possible. I could certainly go in that musical direction someday. Actually, I did some very fusion-sounding work on an album called GUITARS FOR FREEDOM VOL. 2, with Jimmy Page & Jeff Beck on it. The track I did is called "Ambiguity" and is very much in the Allan Holdsworth vein. I love the "Ambiguity" track, and everyone asks me how I played it. But right now, I'm very much into the prog metal thing, because I can explore compositional textures which remind me of my favorite music from the 70's. At the same time, I can include the heaviness of 2004 metal. By the way, I'm now composing MADMEN & SINNERS 2!




Will we ever see you on tour here in Italy, also with James La Brie?
TD: The support for MADMEN & SINNERS has been fantastic, especially from Europe. So I may be able to go there and perform this year. I have a new manager in the UK, and we are now setting up live dates and TD fretless guitar clinics. James & I are also discussing MADMEN & SINNERS live dates. But I have TD guitar clinics coming up this year, and he will be touring soon with Dream Theater. So, our schedules are the hardest part for us to coordinate. Fans can always get the latest news about TD / MADMEN & SINNERS live dates from my website: www.virtuosityone.com/donahue/index.htm

Ok, we're at the end. All the Tempi Duri staff and all the Italian fans salute you and thank you for your kind collaboration. Do you wanna say something more?
TD: Thank you Stefano, Tempi Duri staff and all my fans for supporting the MADMEN & SINNERS album! Your support gives the inspiration an artist needs to make great music. Let's look forward to MADMEN & SINNERS 2...

Stefano Bonelli