Dustin Donaldson

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Dustin Donaldson
Birth nameDustin Thomas Donaldson
Also known asShitty Bicker
Born (1969-04-11) April 11, 1969 (age 55)
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Instrument(s)Drums, Synths, Vocals
Years active1987-present
Member of I Am Spoonbender
Formerly of Thought Industry, Pansy Division, DUH
Partner Robynn Iwata (1995-present)

Dustin Thomas Donaldson (born April 11, 1969 in Kalamazoo, Michigan [1] ) is an American drummer. He is best known for his work in Thought Industry and I Am Spoonbender.

Contents

Early life

Donaldson was born in Kalamazoo and attended Lakeview High School in Battle Creek, Michigan where he graduated "second to last." [2] He picked up drumming at age fifteen.

Career

Thought Industry

In 1987, while in his senior year of high school, Donaldson would meet Brent Oberlin, Christopher Simmonds, and Dan Roe. The four would go on to form a band called Desacrator [sic]. [3] Roe was replaced with Steve Spaeth and released a demo tape titled 111MZD. Desacrator's name was changed to Thought Industry, another demo tape was released and Spaeth was replaced by Paul Enzio. The Group was signed to Metal Blade Records in 1992, where they released their debut album Songs for Insects . After the release of their second album Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh , [4] the band opened for Skinny Puppy and Type O Negative on tour. Donaldson left the band in late 1994 and was replaced with Jared Bryant.

Pansy Division

After moving to San Francisco from Kalamazoo, Donaldson joined Pansy Division in January 1995 after being recommended to band members Jon Ginoli and Chris Freeman by a mutual friend. While in the band, he would become somewhat controversial for things he would do on-stage during live performances, such as getting completely naked. [5] The band recorded one album, Wish I'd Taken Pictures , and two EPs, Valentine's Day and For Those About to Suck Cock... We Salute You with him. [6] Donaldson was fired from the band in October 1996 due to conflicts with Ginoli. [5]

I Am Spoonbender

In 1997, Donaldson teamed up with long-time friend Brian Jackson (whom he had moved to San Francisco with) to record I Am Spoonbender's first studio album Sender/Receiver. Halfway through this recording, Robynn Iwata would join the group under the moniker "Cup". Marc Kate was also added to the lineup sometime before the album's release. The band would release two more EPs with this lineup, Teletwin in 1999 and Shown Actual Size in 2002 before Jackson would leave to form a band called Memory Systems. I Am Spoonbender would then self-release their second studio album Buy Hidden Persuaders in 2004. [7] While not officially disbanded, the group has not released any new material since 2006.

Personal life

Despite his stint with queercore band Pansy Division in the mid-1990s, Donaldson has identified himself as heterosexual. [2] He met his current partner Robynn Iwata in 1995 while Pansy Division and cub were touring together after he was pointed out to her by Neko Case. [8]

Other Work

Film

Donaldson was briefly featured in the 1996 documentary Queercore: A Punk-U-Mentary alongside Pansy Division, though not interviewed or credited. He appeared as an actor in Jon Moritsugu's 2002 film Scumrock. [9]

Egypt Research

Donaldson first travelled to Siwa Oasis, Egypt in 2008 as a research project for I Am Spoonbender's third studio album. He would return with Iwata a few times before the two decided to stay there indefinately in 2015, forming the website The Source in the Sahara to compile their research.

Discography

Albums

Related Research Articles

Queercore is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically society's disapproval of the LGBT community. Queercore expresses itself in a DIY style through magazines, music, writing and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pansy Division</span> American punk band

Pansy Division is an American queercore band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1991 by guitarist/singer/songwriter Jon Ginoli along with bassist Chris Freeman.

Thought Industry, formerly known as Desacrator, was an American progressive metal band. It was founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1989 by vocalist/bassist Brent Oberlin, drummer Dustin Donaldson, guitarist Christopher Lee Simmonds, and guitarist Steve Spaeth who replaced original Desacrator guitarist, Dan Roe. Spaeth left the band due to internal conflicts with Simmonds and started the band Clockmaker. The position was filled by guitarist Paul Enzio in time for 1992's Songs for Insects, their Metal Blade Records debut. This was followed up by Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh. 1996's Outer Space Is Just a Martini Away subsequently saw a significant change in the band's sound and lineup when Donaldson was replaced by Jared Bryant. Oberlin switched to guitar and bassist Herb Ledbetter was added. Thought Industry continued to strip down their lineup and sound with 1997's moody Black Umbrella, which saw the departure of Lee. Bryant, Enzio and Ledbetter also left the band in 1999, which prompted Oberlin to assemble an entirely new lineup for 2001's magnum opus Short Wave on a Cold Day. Engineer Mike Roche, who recorded Thought Industry's Black Umbrella and Fred Thompson Trio's Scary Halloween Sound Effects and filled in on bass from time to time, was added as a full-time guitarist along with drummer Cameron Taylor, bassist Mark Baldwin and guitarist Jeff Borkowski.

<i>Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and Gods Flesh</i> 1993 studio album by Thought Industry

Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh is the second album by Kalamazoo-based progressive metal band Thought Industry. It was released in 1993 on Metal Blade Records and featured cover art from the Apotheosis of Homer by Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. Mods is the final Thought Industry release to include co-founder Dustin Donaldson.

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<i>Pile Up</i> 1995 compilation album by Pansy Division

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<i>The Essential Pansy Division</i> 2006 compilation album by Pansy Division

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I Am Spoonbender is an American/Canadian multimedia group formed in San Francisco in early 1997 by composer/multi-instrumentalist/producer Dustin Donaldson, with Brian Jackson and cub guitarist Robynn Iwata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Freeman (musician)</span> American musician

Chris Freeman is an American bassist and vocalist, best known as a member of the band Pansy Division.

Jon Latimer Ginoli is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a member of Pansy Division.

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<i>Lost Gems & Rare Tracks</i> 2010 compilation album by Pansy Division

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<i>Quite Contrary</i> 2016 studio album by Pansy Division

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References

  1. ↑ "Pansy Division Official Trading Cards". archive.qzap.org. 1997-07-13. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  2. 1 2 "seminal i am spoonbender interview". Archived from the original on 6 February 2005. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  3. ↑ "Desacrator - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives". www.metal-archives.com. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  4. ↑ "Thought Industry". Discogs. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  5. 1 2 Ginoli, Jon (2009). Deflowered: My Life in Pansy Division. Cleis Press. ISBN   978-1573443432.
  6. ↑ "Pansy Division". Discogs. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  7. ↑ "I Am Spoonbender". Discogs. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  8. ↑ Fontana, Kaitlin (2011). Fresh at Twenty: An Oral History of Mint Records. Toronto, Ont: ECW Press. ISBN   978-1-77041-004-6.
  9. ↑ "Dustin Donaldson". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
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