A Dirty Dozen with DONNIE VIE – December 2021 (BMA)

According to a recent press release: “Donnie Vie – one of rock’s biggest secrets who has been crafting melodic power pop and rock songs for over 25 years. He and his band were instant critics’ darlings with a debut record that soared up the charts generating two long playing MTV hits, a “Top Pick” from Rolling Stone Magazine, and inciting numerous TV and radio performances with repeat invitations from David Letterman and Howard Stern. That band was Enuff Z’Nuff, and led by Donnie’s songwriting sensibilities and distinctive melodic vocals they continued on to make some truly great records. Donnie is a finalist for the 5th Annual Banger Music Awards in the following category: BEST MUSIC VIDEO.” We get Donnie to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

My latest release is technically a rerelease of all my previous solo releases with an additional single. There are so many nuggets in these songs that my diehard fans are still discovering them after the 10th time around. When I’m creating them, I’m finding the nuggets as I go along, so I know they’re there. I’m listening to the same songs as everyone else. The trick is to come up with new nuggets after 30 years and 25 records-there is a nugget in itself.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician? Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I think the desperate need to feel love and approval is what got me into music. That combined with an isolated existence where melodies seem to become my only source of finding beauty. Through time, they became the same thing. The moment I heard my first Beatles’ record there was nothing else, my creativity became my existence. I never went to any concerts, the Beatles were done touring, and I couldn’t afford it. My first concert was practically my own.

3. What was your reaction to being included in the Banger Music Awards process? Did you ever think what you were doing would be elevated to “award” status?

It still hasn’t sunk in… and I never doubted it for a minute. It would be the greatest honor on the day.

4. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I would describe my music as a colorful awakening or re-awakening to the beauty and effectiveness of a good melody when it’s sung well. I cringed the first time I was summed up as an eighties hair metal lead singer.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Noel Gallagher because I love the sound of what he does, and we’re both used to working with assholes.

6. How important to you is the local music scene and acceptance by not only the fans but also your peers?

I have no pulse of the local music scene at this point. For the most part, there is no such thing as a local music scene because of the internet.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

As a solo artist, that would all be me – so none of that gets done anymore ha.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

The last time I was star-struck was the other day when watching the movie Lost in Translation. It was Scarlett Johansson in her panties. It strikes me every time.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

I don’t consider myself much of a musician – I’m an artist who plays instruments out of necessity. My dream job would have something to do with helping and working with animals. I really love monkeys – especially babies.

10. What is one question you would like an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I wish I was asked more about my creative process and less about the drama pertaining to Enuff Z’Nuff. There isn’t much that they haven’t asked.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

If I had a do-over, I would have found real treatment for my mental illnesses instead of all the self-medicating that led to one long misstep. Mental health care was and is not taken seriously in this country. People struggling with mental illness have nowhere to turn and the effects on them and those around them are devastating.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Van Halen III… I’m pretty sure I could have stolen the gig. What did the record mean to me? That anything is possible… just kidding; Gary – valiant effort.

DONNIE VIE LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

BANGER MUSIC AWARDS

Category: Interviews