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Mike
Donovan
Drummer
/ Entrepreneur / Drum Lessons - Richmond, VA
Through
years of drumming and playing with great bands and musicians,
I've been able to live an incredible dream. Having played
the smallest clubs to the largest arenas, my life has been
a wonderful journey that I continue to be very grateful
for.
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The
Story
I started in 1975 when I was 13 years old. My father was
a steel guitar player and I played in several country
bands with him before eventually moving on to rock, R&B,
and jazz.
The natural progression of wanting to be versatile and
competitive eventually led me to a world famous school
in Hollywood, CA by the name of Musicians Institute
(previously P.I.T. for 'Percussion Institute of Technology')
where I received an honors degree in percussion performance.
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My set-up at a drum clinic | 2004
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From
1987 to 1993 I played in local rock groups, BS&M and Sketch
as well as numerous jazz groups such as the Skip Gailes Quartet,
Frens, and a fusion band by the name of Secrets that
made quite a name for itself on the east coast. Many recognizable
players filtered through that band including Steve Wilson,
Carter Beauford, Keith Horne and Tim Reynolds. The next couple
of years were eventful as we played popular jazz venues and
opened for such jazz acts as Stanley Jordan, and The Yellowjackets. |
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In 1992
I moved to Nashville to pursue a major artist gig. I landed
the drum chair with Grammy award winner, Lee Greenwood
("I'm proud to be an American") as well as
subbing for other major artists like Faith Hill,
John Berry, Earl Thomas Conley, Vicki Bird, Denny
Jiosa, The Cox Family and others. I experienced playing
large arenas, political conventions, Las Vegas, and numerous
TV shows over the next four years. I even got to play the
Grand Old Opry and the Ryman Auditorium. Another dream come
true.
My wife
and I decided to move back home in 1996 to start a family.
I opened Drum Bum,
an online music gift shop, in 1999 and built a network of
drumming and theme
sites over the next 20 years all the while teaching drum
lessons, doing sub gigs, weddings and corporate events with
bands such as BS&M (now Attraction), Adrian Duke, Sportsbar
Rockstar and others.
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BANDS
/ ARTISTS I'VE WORKED WITH THROUGH THE YEARS
Lee
Greenwood
- Country / Pop
Faith
Hill -
Country / Pop
John
Berry -
Country
/ Pop
Earl
Thomas Conley -
Country
The
Cox Family-
Bluegrass
The
Wooten Brothers - R&B
/ Jazz
Soul
Providers -
Blues
/ Old Soul
Sportsbar
Rockstar -
Rock
BS&M
-
Rock
Alternative / Pop / R&B
Adrian
Duke -
Blues / Jazz
Matthew
Steele Band -
Jazz
Doobie
and the Mudwillys - Rock
/ Jazz
Jeff
Scot Wills - Jazz
Fusion
Vicki
Bird- Country -
Country
First
Impressions -
Jazz / R&B
Betty
Martin -
Country / Top 40
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Sketch
-
Rock / Oldies
Secrets
- Jazz
Fusion
Frens
- R&B
/ Jazz Fusion
Denny
Jiosa -
Smooth Jazz
Eric
Holt -
Blues
Big
Red Boat (Cruise Ship) - Jazz / Big Band / Pop
Skip
Gailes -
Jazz / Latin
Spectrum
- Big
Band / Top 40
Dream
Street -
Big Band / Top 40
Debo
Dabney -
Jazz
SpoonBender
- Jazz
John
Doe -
Rock Alternative
Smack
Dab
- Top 40
Bedrock
- Top
40
Pop
Top - Top
40
Graham
Bland
- Country / Top 40
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STYLES
R&B, Pop, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Fusion,
Bluegrass, Latin, Country
GEAR
Top of the line Pearl drums, cymbals, cases, mics, etc.
VOCALS
I sing lead and back-up harmony. Songs I've sung in the past
include Ain't
No Sunshine - Bill Withers, Wrap
It Up - Fabulous Thunderbirds, Take
It Easy - Eagles, All
The Girls get Prettier - Mickey Gilly, Dancing
in the Moonlight - King Harvest and numerous others.
CONTACT
804-273-1353
| mike @ buygifts.com
Richmond, VA 23230
There
are a few pics and practice clips of my drumming on my Facebook
page.
Drum
Lessons
I teach select students from my office
location in Richmond, VA. Contact me for scheduling.
Also...
Drum Bum is chock full of gifts
for musicians. Please consider shopping for your band mates.
I
run a local Richmond
Bands Facebook group for band promotion. This is free for
any Richmond area band to post their gigs.
Thanks
for visiting!
- Mike
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