Episode #5 - Singer Donnie Vie (Enuff Z'Nuff) calls in to talk about his career and new solo record "Beautiful Things"
00:00- Intro
00:47- Discovering Enuff Z'Nuff
02:50- Donnie Vie Solo
04:28- Other Podcast Episodes
05:08- Donnie Vie Intro
05:44- Learning How To Play Music / The Beatles
07:28- The Name Enuff Z'Nuff
08:30- Former Enuff Z'Nuff Members
09:25- Soundtrack Song
10:45- First Album
12:05- Second Album
13:15- Howard Stern
15:45- Third Album
18:45- The Horse Story
22:27- The Truck Story
23:42- Other Music Projects
25:20- Drugs
27:50- Near Death Experiences
34:15- Staying Clean & Sober
40:15- Songwriting
45:50- Production
48:22- Grammy Nomination
50:00- Stand Up Comedy
51:06- Chip Z'Nuff Relationship
53:43- Anti-Bullying
56:15- Pancreas Liquify
57:15- Live Shows
59:36- Theme Song / Wrapping Up
Chuck Shute Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chuck_shute/
Donnie Vie Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/donnievieofficial/
Anti-Bullying:
https://www.stompoutbullying.org
Thanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!
Episode #5 - Singer Donnie Vie (Enuff Z'Nuff) calls in to talk about his career and new solo record "Beautiful Things"
00:00- Intro
00:47- Discovering Enuff Z'Nuff
02:50- Donnie Vie Solo
04:28- Other Podcast Episodes
05:08- Donnie Vie Intro
05:44- Learning How To Play Music / The Beatles
07:28- The Name Enuff Z'Nuff
08:30- Former Enuff Z'Nuff Members
09:25- Soundtrack Song
10:45- First Album
12:05- Second Album
13:15- Howard Stern
15:45- Third Album
18:45- The Horse Story
22:27- The Truck Story
23:42- Other Music Projects
25:20- Drugs
27:50- Near Death Experiences
34:15- Staying Clean & Sober
40:15- Songwriting
45:50- Production
48:22- Grammy Nomination
50:00- Stand Up Comedy
51:06- Chip Z'Nuff Relationship
53:43- Anti-Bullying
56:15- Pancreas Liquify
57:15- Live Shows
59:36- Theme Song / Wrapping Up
Chuck Shute Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chuck_shute/
Donnie Vie Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/donnievieofficial/
Anti-Bullying:
https://www.stompoutbullying.org
Thanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!
[inaudible]. Welcome
Chuck Shute:to the Chuck Shute podcasts. We've got another edition of our guests today. Another, I guess what you'd call quote unquote hairband guy. Uh, Donny VI. He was in a band called enough's enough. Um, which I'm going to talk to him about that name cause I think that might've been why they did not become a bigger band was maybe because of that name. I know he doesn't like it. Um, but they are really, we're a great band. I thought. Um, I think so. It's interesting. I think, I'm trying to remember how I found them and I, and I don't know if people remember this, this is going to date me, but I actually got their CD way back in the day. It was back when they had the clearance cds and they actually used to cut like a piece of the CD out in a corner. And I don't know why they did. I guess that was the way to mark that it was a clearance thing. Um, but there's like a little piece of the see the jewel case missing. And that meant it was, you know, obviously on sale or clearance or whatever. So it was, I think it was$5 or$6 or whatever. Like, you know, half the price of a city says, oh, I've heard of this ban and I'll check them out. And I think it was actually their second album called strength and I put it in, I popped in, it was very, um, a little bit different than a lot of the music that I was listening to. I think at the time I was worn to the heavier stuff like Metallica and, and stuff like that. Megadeath uh, skid row, but, uh, it was very poppy, um, kind of, I guess they were called Glam Rock, but, uh, it really had like more of a power pop feel to it. And I enjoyed it. And then later I got into their first album and it was always kind of more of a casual fan of them. Um, you know, occasional song here or there, whatever. But, um, they actually came to Arizona in like 2012 and they played this little tiny place called Martini ranch was really just a bar. Um, but they were playing on like a Sunday night and it was, I think it was like$10 or$20, something very cheap. And I thought, well, I like these guys, like this would be kind of a cool concert to see this up and close, you know, this, this, um, for such a good price. It's such a small venue. So I went out, there was a Sunday night, it was not very packed. I basically had a private show, but they killed it. They went on stage and they played a bunch of songs that, um, I didn't know. And then I later went back and got those songs and downloaded'em cause I was like, this is a really good song. How have I never heard the song before? And so I think that's kind of when I became a little bit of a bigger fan of theirs. Um, and then Donny, the singer home and interview today. Um, he actually ended up leaving the band shortly after that and did a solo, did some solo stuff and I think he was technically maybe still in the band for, but not necessarily for touring. He had some issues, which we will talk about today. We'll get into the guys really led a fascinating life. Um, if you listen, hopefully he'll talk about all that today, but even if you just do your own research about, um, all the things that he's been through and I'm gonna try to bring up as many of them as I can. Um, he's a lot of fascinating life. He's a fascinating guy in my opinion. I think he's funny. He's interesting and I think he's really a brilliant songwriter. Um, his new album called beautiful things is out. And I, I actually listening to the full album, I know we're living in the days of the single and I download the first song. I was like, oh, this is a really good song. I like this. And I thought, okay, I'll download one more. So I download the second song. And I was like, I really like the second song. So then I was like, alright, you know, for whatever six or$7, you can complete the album on iTunes. I thought, okay, I'll just complete the whole thing. It's like 10 songs and I've just been listening to it. Nonstop. Really good stuff. If you like melodic rock, it's not even really, I wouldn't even know if I'd call it hard rock. It's really just melodic kind of pop rock. Um, similar to the Beatles. Definitely very Beatles influenced. Um, but with the more of a, um, modern take I guess you'd say.
Speaker 4:Um,
Chuck Shute:but yeah, just seventies rock I guess you would say. Um, but I really like, it's catchy, catchy tunes. Um, so check it out. Um, so he'll be on shortly. Um, also possibly having a comedian on this week as well, so look out for that episode. Um, I've got a couple of other facades in the can. Uh, Keith Douglas from tour. Toro was on last, uh, last time. And then a episode before that we had Marcus got from trickster and also have a comedian Anthony Davis was on. So you can check out those episodes and also always check us out on the chuck and Josh podcast that we've got 50 episodes and we've had comedians on there like Justin Rupple, we've had a few guests on there, so check out those episodes. Um, and so, uh, without further ado, I think we're going to just go ahead and get done on Donny on the phone here. So if everyone just hangs on and I'll see if we can, uh, get'em on here. Please welcome Johnny V. Dani, how are you doing? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Let me one more time. Are you there? Okay, sorry. Technical difficulties. We're back. Uh, how are you doing exactly? Same thing. Yeah, good for my age. So I want to talk about, I want to talk about your new album, beautiful things, which I think is brilliant. But before we do that, before we get to the fun stuff, um, I do want to talk about all the shit that you've been through because I'm reading up on you and you've really had a fascinating life and I want people to really understand, you know, who you are, where you came from, and kind of how you got to that point of having this really, I think at your, you're at your peak right now. So can we start at the beginning, you grew up on blue island, which is a middle-class Chicago suburb. And you're quoted as saying that you had kind of a rough childhood. So what point did music become a part of your life in terms of like listening to it and playing it?
Donnie Vie:Oh, like you said, I had a, I had a pretty abusive childhood and, um, I kind of lived and in my own head or in my own world. And, and when I heard my first, uh, when I heard tickets or ride it was, uh, had a little 45. I was, I was, it just at melody hooked me. I think I was probably four or five years old. And, um, I just followed that and I got two other 45 they've pleased, pleased me and the other one a a lot with it yesterday and whatever, you know, and I think of evolution or no had ever strong with on yet. Let's try to yesterday. And that was it, man. I just, I started studying that shit like a professor and listening to every nuance and every harmony and every, all the ways that they would transition their melodies and chords and an inch of different firm versus into courses. And just that whole way. I mean, I, I really believe that studying the Beatles is, uh, the best way to learn how to construct a proper song. You know, where you, where I and I, I, I categorize a proper song as if you could sit there with an acoustic guitar and play the song.
Chuck Shute:Exactly.
Donnie Vie:Shit, there's a lot of shit you really can't do that, you know,
Chuck Shute:not overly produced stuff that you're hearing today. So you, you started playing instruments and then you ended up, uh, joining Enuff Z'Nuff in 1984. Um, now you said that your'e quoted as saying you didn't like the name. Enuff'Znuff. Do you guys think, do you or do you think that you guys would've had more success maybe with a different name? Do you think that was part of the problem?
Donnie Vie:[inaudible] you know, I mean, would you have had more success if you had a different name?
Chuck Shute:Possibly. Possibly.
Donnie Vie:I don't know how to answer that one. I always thought it was a bit hokey and uh, and like the, the lettering and stuff with the Flintsones type lettering. I mean, I thought that was all.... Pretty Hokey. But you know, I was, I was the young kid. I was the low man on the totem pole. I don't know how I stayed that, being the writer and the singer, but that kind of happened and ah, when Chip and I originally put the band together, we started out playing with these other guys and they actually thought of the name. We just kind of took it with us.
Chuck Shute:So wait, was this the guy?
Donnie Vie:It was spelled out. It was spelled different.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, it was spelled differently. Right. So I read an interview and you said something that you, I'm sorry, I don't want to get in trouble cause like this probably isn't the nicest thing. But I did laugh when I read it that you said
Donnie Vie:you can ask me anything you want.
Chuck Shute:Okay. Cause this was hilarious. I was reading this, the rolling stone interview and you said one of the original guys had a big nerf ball nose and then the other guy was fat. So we dress him up as a priest, a clown or a lobster Santa Claus for Christmas. Are there pictures of this anywhere? I mean I just laugh looking at that image. Are these the people that named the band?
Donnie Vie:There isn't. No, they're not the guys that named the band. And they were the first drummer and guitar player. I do have, we do have a picture of the guy dressed as a priest. But yeah, it was the closest thing he posted thing that he would take a picture and you know, He'd show up to the show, so I get this little hair spiked up a little hairy head and, and like his suit jacket with the sleeves rolled up and stuff. And we're like, uh ah.
Chuck Shute:Gotcha.
Donnie Vie:yeah. Today, today you're a dice.
Chuck Shute:Gotcha. So then the song"Fingers On It", that got some recognition c ause it was on the, a Henry Portrait of a serial killer soundtrack in 1986. So how did that come about and was that, that m ust h ave been exciting to see your song in a movie.
Donnie Vie:Well, the original drummer in that first enough set up thing, he, uh, he was getting into making movies and things like that with John McNaughton and um, that's where they started out with their first movie with Henry. And then they went on to, you know, uh, uh, mad dog and glory and this and that took off from there and ended up with hooking up with Jonathan Downing and stuff like that. So that was our hook up to the first thing. I, I wasn't, I can't say that I was overly excited about it cause we had more going on with, uh, the local radio countdown and stuff that was happening in Chicago. And, and uh, as soon as we, we, we put up Catholic or else it went to number one, it just stayed there till God knows how long. And so that's kind of where our focus was, you know, the movie, um,[inaudible] came later and uh, you know, it was cool. You know, there's, there's been a few things and some other movies since then, but it was cool, you know.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. So then you kind of have to hit the clubs for another three years. And then finally in 19 nine, you guys released yourself a title debut. You had two songs fly high, Michelle, new thing that we're all over radio MTV at a tour with La guns. I mean, that must have been exciting for you after playing the clubs for so many years. But look, things that I've read, it sounds like you were not very happy, it sounds like to me basically because lack of creative control.
Donnie Vie:Well, we actually didn't play the clubs that long. I joined, I hooked up with chip, I do believe in 1985. And uh, I think I was, I don't know, like 18 or 19 or something like that. And he was, you know, he's a few years older and we really only played, uh, like our very first show because of that countdown thing and everything was jam packed. Everything we've ever played since then has been jam packed. It's a, so it wasn't that long. We hooked up with a, with a manager that was kind of a, you know, he had money and stuff like that, but he's out to take advantage. But you know, we, we started limo, you know, moles Roy's willing around and you know, we uh, we are, Derek was here, he can have a consolidated us with Derick Frigo. We just have to just seeing a picture of him didn't even know if he could play.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. Right, right.
Donnie Vie:Yeah, we put that together and, and that got a deal right away.
Chuck Shute:Gotcha. So, and then in 1991 you released the strength album, which also had a couple of singles, mothers eyes, baby loves you. You did another um, tour with Nelson and rolling stone said you were the hot new band of the year. You got all these rave reviews. I read that uh, Robert Plant said that he loved it. He thought it was a perfect combination of pop music and metal. But you later remade this album as extra strength where you just not happy with the original production at the time.
Donnie Vie:No, it's a, you know, when you're, when you get back to Palookaville and I wasn't, you know, I had to drag or leave the band for a while and not 2001 just to, you know, I haven't too strong out, too unhealthy. So I took a few years off and that was just one of the things that I did. And, you know, I just did an acoustic version of it and I thought, you know, that was the interesting and just to show how they originally were written and how the songs came to be and you know, just did that. And I thought extra strength was just a bonus where I thought extra strength. That just sounds good.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, that's it. That's, I like that title. Yeah. So and then,
Donnie Vie:yeah, as it did my first solo record around that time too.
Chuck Shute:Okay. Yeah. And then I think it was around this point in um, in 91 92 at the height of your popularity, you guys were on David Letterman, Howard stern and stern is obviously a huge fan. He wrote the liner notes for one of your cds and he was known to jam with you guys and do wild thing. And he even talked about your new record recently. So can you tell me more about what it's like to be friends with Howard stern because he's kind of set on air that people would be disappointed hanging out with them. That he's actually really boring in real life.
Donnie Vie:No, he's a, actually Howard is, you know, he usually said he gets to be himself when he's on the radio and, and then he, you have to be reserved like everybody else, like in private.
Chuck Shute:Wow.
Donnie Vie:Howard was, uh, yeah, we used to go to Howard House, we'd have dinner with him and his wife and the kids and even, uh, even offered to lend me at pool house to do some demoing and recording stuff too. We were, we were pretty good friends, you know, and like he had us do all the little house priorities and birthday priorities and you know, all the things like they had the thing on the street and stuff. And then once the band, uh, disbanded, you know, I kind of, uh, lost contact with, with most of our contacts cause chip usually took care of that. Once we lost our management, watch me got rid of management, chip would take care of all of that stuff and he, you know, he had it together. I didn't have it together. He kept the numbers. And so he's been on there a bunch of times since, but questionable his appearances of how they went, you know, uh, I think he could have thought more about music. It's got to be a dick. And so I just, I just sent the record to Howard and Gary, uh, you know, a few weeks ago and, um, you know, I didn't say anything I didn't ask to be booked on or anything like that. It just said yet, you know how I've always been a fan gear you than a fan here. Here's what I'm doing now. And it'll be guys like, and just check it out and then we'll see. We'll take it from there. So I had heard that Howard the other day, I've had mentioned that he's listening to it and so that I know he's listening to it. He likes it.
Chuck Shute:Oh, very cool. Very cool. So
Donnie Vie:see from there? Yeah, these are great, sweet, very sweet guy.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. So then in 93, you guys released the animals with human intelligence, which I really liked that album I got again, ray reviews. Um, it's got some good songs, superstitious, right by your side, innocence. And then you ended up touring with, again with a lot of big bands, poisoned fire, us, def Leppard, Damn Yankees, et Cetera, et cetera. But of course rock was going through a big change at this time. So how do you think the music scene affected, uh, you at that point?
Donnie Vie:Well, what affected us more was that when the labels all started imploding and, uh, reassigning themselves to different, different conglomerations like Sony and, you know, and, and, uh, all of those things, they started, you know, like our label kind of got grabbed and, and put into, I think they might've even shut it down and turned it in to east, west. And, uh, what was happening was we were kind of our president, golden goose at that time, cause we were doing really well and he was doing well and, and, uh, and it was kind of a political thing to take us out to take him out. So we ended up editing. We ended up finding ourselves going to sit on a shelf for eight records, 12 point$6 million deal. You know, and we're just gonna sit on a shelf with, which at that time didn't seem like a very good idea. But at this time, you know, had, I'll sit and I'll sit in a hat, I'll say whatever. You keep that money real. And then, but uh, so we, we, uh, filed a bankruptcy to get a release from ACO Atlantic. And, um, we went, we shopped with a few different labels. John Kalodner at Geffen was one of them. And He, uh, he wanted to sign the band, but, uh, his pitch was to break the band down to square one and, uh, it'll be, he said it'd be about a year before you guys are even the start ready, recorded record. We already think, you know, we're ready now. You know, and, and then Clive Davis, of course, he's got this other pitch where you guys have the best band, blah, blah, blah, this and this and that. And, you know, and, and little did I know then that is a modus where we're for, you know, the power ballads that I grow. And, uh, you know, I kept getting loud at hints about leaving the band and, and doing it on my, and I didn't, I wasn't really hip to the it and nor did I want to leave my gang cause I spent, like I said, I spent a lot of my life alone, you know, and so, and they did, but they didn't have any, any rock rock radio department. They didn't have anything in place, any network or anything like that. So, you know, they were, when we, uh, when our management kind of butted heads with Dan and went a different direction than his ideas and his plan, he sort of watched his passion for the situation and just kind of threw out the singles out there, you know, right by your side and innocence to throw them out there real quick. And, and that was about it. And they gave us a release and let it keep our master's and everything for free. And then India, India, India,
Chuck Shute:the world. And we're viable. So I know that you've recently done some storytellers type shows and I wasn't able to attend any of those. But, um, I know one story that I dug up, um, you gotta tell me this story. So, and I think, I don't know if this was the first record or the second, but you guys were recording it, the royal recorders recording studio in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. And, um, tell me if this is, I don't even know if this is true, but, uh, you decided to steal a horse and then you proceeded to take it through the Burger King drive through. Is that, is that a true story?
Donnie Vie:Yeah. Unfortunately it is.
Chuck Shute:Did they serve you?, Because a lot of times they won't serve you if you try to walk through the drive through or ride a bicycle or I guess a horse. I mean[inaudible]
Donnie Vie:well management management, uh, owned royal recorders. So we did our recording there and like I said, they had money and so we had apartments, we had cars, we had all this through the management, but we had yet to sign the guys piece of Shit contract, you know?
Chuck Shute:ahhh.
Donnie Vie:And so when, when he lay that lay it get heavy on us and, and, uh, you know, start to, you know, shake us down and we wouldn't sign the thing. All of a sudden, you know, we're, we're not staying at an Americana anymore. We're now, we're, we're in you know, those huts, those hotels that are just little huts to where we're in those without wheels, you know, in the middle of nowhere. And, and, uh, so it just, you know, I was taking a walk, I was going to hike it up to up to town, which was about two miles. And, um, I, as soon as I came out of the driveway of the place, I walked about, I don't know, a hundred feet and there's a horse, she's tied up to a hitch. And I'm like, well, poor for a little guy, just like[inaudible] left him here, you know?
Chuck Shute:Yeah.
Donnie Vie:Everything. I never really a horse before.
Chuck Shute:You never rode a horse?
Donnie Vie:I did. Yeah. I climbed up on there.
Chuck Shute:Where's there? At least a saddle on there.
Donnie Vie:Yeah.
Chuck Shute:Oh yeah, he was all saddled up and ready to go. Yeah.
Donnie Vie:Stop it. I didn't even check the saddlebag there was tons of shit in here.
Chuck Shute:Yes.
Donnie Vie:I just thought it was like getting giddy up. Okay. And uh, yeah, he took off down the road and, and next thing I saw was town and yeah, I mean, what are you going to do? You know, I'd go through the drive through it with late, you know, the, the indoor thing was closed and the drive through was open, so,(ka klunk, ka klunk, ka klunk)
Chuck Shute:okay.
Donnie Vie:Yeah, I got it. I got a couple of, I got a bunch of food for the band. I got, I got the horse for a few hamburgers.
Chuck Shute:Oh,
Donnie Vie:He ate'em, he ate'em but the funniest part was, was I brought him back to my little hut motel. I didn't know what to do with him anymore and I forgot where the hitch was. Brought him back with a hotel, stuck him in my hut, put him in my room. And, and uh, we went, we, I think we went to a Bon Jovi concert at Apline Valley that night a nd we came back and t here's just this h orse head sticking out the side of the hut t here. Just h is head sticking out. H e m ust h ave put his head through the wall. Oh, probably a mountain of shit the size of a 50 gallon garbage drum sitting behind his ass. And he's just sitting there looking, looking at me like, what the fuck, you know? And so, u h, I g et, I let him go. I gave him t o t hese chicks that w ent with me to h ear you guys. You want a horse? Okay. T hey g ot a rrested o n that one.
Chuck Shute:Any other crazy stories that stand out from that era in the late eighties, early nineties?
Donnie Vie:Well, the same town, uh, Vic and I came out of a bar and a big e class and there was a, like an 18 wheeler truck that was parked at, it's that it stopped at the stop light and Vic and I said, ah, look, get on the bathroom and take a little ride, you know, so we have done that back in his truck and it, it took a turn and started going and going and going. We didn't realize that there it was highway 50 and that fucker didn't, didn't end until it got on the highway. And we're hanging out and they're doing 60 miles an hour. Know, like there's like we showed them and it was crazy and we're beating on it and stuff is scared to death is pitch black and, and uh, it started to slow down a little bit for uh, for the on ramp to the highway. And so victor thought he could just like put his feet on the ground and just kind of coast and, and Skitch through a staff. And he did that and I just seen sparking chicken. Why is he fumbling around the street? It's fast and I just step off of it, you know, I was like, what's up man? He couldn't see our hands in front of our face, but some fans seeing us get on the thing and followed us cause he do it and thing didn't stop. And there's a lot of stories. Man Ball was, you know, every day there's a story with that band. It was craziness and everybody was a total character so I wouldn't even know where to begin.
Chuck Shute:So then around 94 you guys, like you said, you parted ways with the label and then through the 90s and the two thousands, you continued to release material and two are under enough's enough. Um, I think you, you're kind of on and off with the band. You, you, you did some recording and then you didn't tour, then you kind of did tour. Um, was there a point during this time that where you kind of felt like giving up on music or did you ever consider playing in a cover band or doing something local and like a Chicago, like a tribute band or something like that or just something to stay busy?
Donnie Vie:Yeah, that was never an option for me. That's the kiss of death. You know, I've never, I've been asked to join other bands. I've been asked to produce and sing on other people's records and stuff, but, but what I do and my voice and everything is so unique and, and you know, the character, so you know, to, to, to myself and what I do. So it's just not very practical for that. And I wasn't going to do any top, top 40 or cover band shit, you know, as much as I do do, uh, a little bit of a, a Beatles thing every now and then with my, my great friend filling Gotti, he things harmonies, I'm not on the new record. And, um, we, we, we think the best meet alarm and he's, you could have, you know, in the Bass player on my record, two things. So we'd do these three part of harmonies and yes. Fantastic. And he's going to be in my life, Dan, too.
Chuck Shute:Yeah.
Donnie Vie:But, um, that's the closest I've ever came to that and I really won't stay on anybody's stuff. And, and uh, I'll do background in hiring and he said, if I like it, you know, but a couple of guys just recently, just the other yesterday sent me some stuff. I said, well, let me hear it. I never even responded to them when I heard it.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Negative. Oh Gosh. Right.
Donnie Vie:Do. And yet, I don't care how much money you're going to pay me, you know?
Chuck Shute:Yeah. So during also kind of during this, uh, time you, uh, I mean I think probably when you're in Enuff'Znuff you were using drugs and stuff, but then this time you kind of really went through more darker period of drug use where you were using cocaine, pills, heroin, you call it your medication. But then you actually got into crystal meth and I I wanted to ask about this just cause I think people see this stuff on TV shows like breaking bad and they just think, oh it's just crystal meth. That's no big deal. But I've heard that you only truly get high from the first time you do it. And then after that you're kind of just doing it to feel normal or can you tell me like how you got mixed up in that and to explain to people like what that is like to do crystal meth.
Donnie Vie:That's the like the cocaine or heroin and the other stuff that is the case, you know, you do it the first time he got like free-base or smoke crack or you shoot up heroin, stuff like that. You really do only really get that first initial like, oh my God, where do you fall in love with the thing the very first time. And you do chase it. Crystal meth was just another, I've never been addicted to anything. I've been addicted to everything.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. So you were just, you didn't have a preference, you'd just take anything.
Donnie Vie:Well no, I had preferences. I never liked acid. But yeah it's like Try it cause I'm, I've always gravitated towards uh, the mystery and the danger and stuff like that and I don't know why, but I do and or I did. And they add drug there. Yeah. That one will, will trick you because you've started on that stuff and it's like cocaine without all of the tweakiness as and all the geeking out and stuff like that, like looking, you know, driving, looking through the rear view mirror and all that shit. It's a whole different thing. It's the next thing you know, you start fixing things, you start getting all kinds of shit done. Stuff like you have to bend after it starts to, uh, you stay up too long. You know, I could stay up a couple of weeks on it.
Chuck Shute:Geeze.
Donnie Vie:And you get to a point where you're taking shit apart and you forget where you put the parts and stuff like that and you knew you. It just, it turns into a big problem and start, I mean the, the biggest part of the problem is what it does to your look, you know, you look just goes to shit, you know, and mine did, you know, but I got, I got a, I'm lucky. You know, I look a lot better than I should for my age.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, you look good. But, so one of the other things, one are obviously a one of life's biggest mysteries is what happens when we die. And my dad actually studied this near death experience stuff. And so I'd be remissed if I didn't ask about your near death experiences. So I know that you had one where you almost drown and there was another one where you will, you actually woke up in the morgue with a toe tag. Can you explain this morgue thing? Cause I just don't understand. How did they not realize you were still alive? They put you in the morgue.
Donnie Vie:That's the magic question.
Chuck Shute:I was kind of pissed off about that.
Donnie Vie:Yeah. I was like, good thing it wasn't the days of sewing the pennies over your eyes and breaking your backbone.
Chuck Shute:Yeah,
Donnie Vie:or autopsy. They were just putting the tag. That's what woke me up as they were putting the tag on me and a, you know, you got the clothes on and stuff like that. So you know, we'd go off to the drawer for me and I was, you know, laying there recap. As soon as my eyes open, I was like, I seen the fluorescent lights I seen was something's crazy. I tried to just close my eyes again and recap or I look up the fuck did I do, you know? And I, I remember last thing I remember was partying with a bunch of people and you know, and, and maybe a little too high of a dosage. It's like, yeah, give me that shit. I want to go with a, with a height and when a speed ball or something like that and[inaudible] ended up there. But that was, uh, that was a blank experience. Like unlike the drowning, that drowning, I mean I actually, I actually did drown it. There was no near deaths with the, I go, I go all the way, you know, when I, if I'm going to shoot my foot up, I don't fidget, man. I, I just blast that fucker right off you know? So the drowning, if I could put the experience into other people's brains of what I experienced, it would change everyone's life so drastically. What happened? It, it changed everything for me. I lost my fear of death, which was not necessarily the best thing in the world, but umm.
Chuck Shute:yeah. Did you see the white light then? Do you see God or you see heaven or what is it?
Donnie Vie:Well, God is God as a figure of speech and just like religions and stuff, you know, out of that's written for the original law. And when those things were written, they were written, you know, by guys that were, they were in my men. And also then the days when they're still carving, carving things into the walls of caves and shit. So to take all that shit literal is ridiculous. And it's, there's so many different religions. They all condemn each other for this and that. But back to my, what I'm saying was a no, I didn't see a god. They didn't go up. There was a sort of a lit, it was more of a, it was more of the layers of, of human man, which, which I believe now is all just, all our bodies are at a capable of really doing is suffering in some, some manner. It's like everything to every every good feelings, everything you have, there's the negative, there's you fall in love. There is the falling out of love there. The negative carry ain't hot, cold time. All of these things, age, uh, you know, hunger, all of this stuff are, uh, are just ways of suffering and these layers and hang ups and all this stuff where we're peeling off of me one by one. And I was kind of going out like in like spreading into a, into the air. And so I kind of got a grasp of that. I do believe that we are just, we are energy and energy is isn't born and it's not capable of dying. It just reforms. And so that's kind of what I, what I could take back from it is that we were energy and that was, I was becoming one with connectivity to everything. Like, like when the, like when the world started, you know, yes, your plants and your animals and your water, your dirt and everything worked in perfect harmony. Then comes man, who's the cancer of the earth.
Chuck Shute:haha yeah.
Donnie Vie:You know, we got greed and we got, we have all of, you know, mostly greed. The problem that I think we have here.
Chuck Shute:So, so you weren't in pain at this point? It wasn't scary. It was, it was like a
Donnie Vie:dude that it was, it was drowning. They say that the best way to go then not drowning is when you take that first breath of water, it's, Oh my God. It's like, not only is it terrifying because when you take that, it's like I was, I was in a paddle boat with some chick out on the golf course lagoon and, um, you know, we were, it was horseplay or whatever and, and we got stuck in the weeds. And so, uh, you know, I, I had leather pants on and a$500 shirt, so I said, hey, you're going to have to get in there and undo the weeds, you know, and she couldn't hold her breath for more than about a second. So I had to take my clothes off, swim down there. I got it. I got it un- do ne. And just as I did, she pe daled i t and it knocked me in the head and I was like, maybe three feet under water. And with that knock came the, the instinctual take a breath. And, uh, and then once you do take that breath of water, you no longer float and you just go straight to the bottom. And, and I remember seeing like, you know, the turtle and the beercan and all this and that. And then I, I seen, then I seen myself, you know, going up and, and, uh, and like I said, it kind of spread out and everything. And then I reached a point where it, it, I started getting struck back like a vacuum and everything started, you know, turning back to what it is. And I was never ever so heartbroken is when I woke up back in the side of that lagoon naked getting CPR from some black e m you know, a truck emergency dude like this. It's so much hard reality, you know? And uh, yeah, his thing is like, dad, he's a bit, has been a couple other times I do believe my heart has stopped, but
Chuck Shute:wow. Fascinating stuff.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Locally in the past or anything like that, trying to fuck around.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. So you now you're clean and sober for over five years. Is it, is, I mean, I'm assuming that it is still difficult to stay clean after all this time, or is, I mean, is there any temptation or do you feel like you're totally past all that stuff at this point?
Donnie Vie:Um, if you're me and you're in my position or you know anything about me, you'll know how long that went on. And, uh, and you know, it got lonely right away in the beginning. You know, it started out as like a crutch to go from insecure kid, insecure kid to right to set her stage, you know, the microphone needs. And so it took a little bit of, you know, kind of induced encouragement to get myself there and put, you know, once I was there, I was okay. But, um, that just, it took on a life of its own and it was, it got so lonely and it got Cho dark and, uh, when, when, you know what I mean? When you're high and you're partying, you don't think about any of that
Speaker 6:shit. Right. Care, you know. But
Donnie Vie:what goes up must come down. And then there's every day there's, there's the morning, you know, and stuff. When you wake up nailed in a spawn or somewhere, they say, good. They make you sweat it out and kill you to give you more shit. And, but then there's the, you know, that, I dunno if you've ever partied, but that feeling and the next day of, Oh God, what did I do?
Speaker 6:You and you're trying to do, play by play to stay when I do feel that
Donnie Vie:you're, yeah, you're broke and, and everybody hates you today. And you know, so picture that for about 35 years and it just got to be, uh, it just got to be too much. You know, rehabs didn't work. Uh, meetings didn't work. None of that works. The only thing that worked was, was my, uh, when something just triggered in me and said that this is, this is fucking disgusting. You know, and I, I used to look at the line or I used to look at this, I looked at that and I'd be like, you know, even if even if I had a, I was apprehensive, I'd still indulge, you know, and it would just always, it's always the exact same result. Although I did write a lot of great songs,
Speaker 6:you know,
Donnie Vie:Sandro[inaudible] and a lot a lot of drugs and a shitty girlfriend is the, is the chemical makeup for great, great tunes, you know, but you know, what comes along with that? Is it just too them dark and now it's, I see a drug, if I see drugs or anything like that or you know, a, you know, anything like that. Something like cigarettes, you know, occasional occasional glass of red wine that not very often, you know, I, uh, it's, I've had really bad anxiety and I, I, I refused to take any more, any more medication like that. Cause it's a chain your, your chain build the something. And if you don't have it, you're fucked. You know? And so, you know, like I said, Phil, I see that stuff now and all I see is, is a darkness, you know, even the good memories and one memory, one foul, a one memory over two of dark ones, you know what I mean? So, no, it's like that was the only way it was ever gonna happen for me. But I really, I really dre for the desperate souls out there that, that, uh, going through this and, and sometimes you just have to ask him to take such a beating before, you know, you get to this point and in a lot of people, you know, they'll go to these meetings, they ended up being addicts to these meetings and stuff and you know, it's one eviction to the other. And all I would do in those is play angry birds and wafer latched. It collapsed
Speaker 6:fuck out of there, you know? Right. But you found a way. Yeah,
Donnie Vie:yeah. I've told Nice stories in there and they're eating popcorn, you know? Okay, call me, call me. We're fine. Just like that. That was just my life. You know, it's not, a lot of people in those meetings can ever be late. So I was like, you know, this is for the birds, but it is a good program and I do recommend it for somebody who's not me.
Speaker 6:Right. But,
Donnie Vie:but yeah, I mean if I can do it, that's the one thing I want people to know. I got easy, can fucking clean up his act and find some light at the end of the tunnel. Anybody can, there's just no way possible that anybody else can't. And when the way things snowball out of control in a bad way, when your life goes down that it sort of starts snowballing back up and over the other side to a Sunnier side and you're snowballing better things. And before you know it, you've got like, wow, we get look at all this stuff that's changed in such as, you know, such a really short period of time compared to how long it takes to get off fucked up.
Chuck Shute:You know? But yeah,
Donnie Vie:time theme time seems to drag, you know, when Oh, eight years seems to be a year change to drag. But a year is not very long compared to 35 but you know, and, and, and it's unpleasant. It's uncomfortable, but you know, it's, uh, you just have to make up your mind of what do I want to live? Do I want to live my life and sorrow and despair and, and lose all my family, not my friends and everything that I come in contact with, drive it away and just be good. The worst part is just be that lonely and just that, that free with, I mean, I spent all those years just wishing I was not alive, you know? So if I could do it, anybody can do it. It just, it takes, it takes a little bit of work. It takes a lot more work to go chase him down them drugs and chasing the goose Jake, and to find your shit when the dealer's closed and you can't find them and you're over in the crack neighborhoods with guns.
Chuck Shute:Sounds scary. More words. Yeah.
Donnie Vie:More work than x actually getting it together.
Chuck Shute:Absolutely. So now you've got it together. Um, you've put out a, I really get it. I'm not just blowing smoke. It really is a brilliant album. And so this is the fun part. I want to talk about this. She gets sober, you write this beautiful new album. The thing is getting rave reviews. Even the, um, the Steve Stevie Rochelle guy from metal sludge who slams you, he tells you, he says the, the record is that you're brilliant songwriter even and he's trying to slam me is, you know, he's giving you a compliment. So I want to give you, and also I want to give you props for continuing to give your fans what they paid for despite this whole pledge music thing going bankrupt. I read that you and your sister were putting the orders together yourself out of your own pocket. Um, so awesome for that. Um, and then you were saying,
Donnie Vie:well, we're about 30, 30 K in the red on that.
Chuck Shute:Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Well, hopefully we'll get some more people to discover you and your music after listening this interview. But you were saying at one point you had writer's block with a songwriting. And so kind of going back to what I was, we were saying about the drugs and alcohol use not to numb the pain. I think that maybe sometimes you numb it too much and then um, when you finally, when you stopped and then I think all the emotions started coming back to the surface, not just the pain but the happy emotions. And I think two of my favorite songs are a beautiful things and whatever, like beautiful things just seems like you're just loving life and whatever kind of seems like you were just saying like fuck it. I don't give a shit about all this bs in the world. I'm just going to be happy anyways. Is that, did I catch those themes right in those songs?
Donnie Vie:Well, what actually happened is I, first of all I've written and saying all those interrupt enough records whether I was in the band or not. Um, those, you know, those are all delete me. I'm the lead vocalist.
Chuck Shute:Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
Donnie Vie:Main writer in everything. And so I never had a ever had a time where I didn't have a million ideas going through my head because they're, they're not, I don't feel that they're my ideas. They feel that they come from somewhere else and it's my job to follow the song and let it tell me where it wants to go, which I always do. And that's where the melodies and the lyrics and the way they put together how they go. Everybody says, oh, Donnie, he's so talented, this and that. But, but you know, just fuck up. What? It's not necessarily all count. It was a lot of work and it's a lot of, it's a lot of a god or something centered. He said buffoon like knee's not going to think of all those ideas on my own.
Chuck Shute:I noticed you call yourself a buffet a lot. How do your, you been on David Letterman and Howard stern
Donnie Vie:walks like a duck.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. All right. What happened?
Donnie Vie:Alright, I prayed a lot for, for some help and I prayed and God said, this is it for me. I said, you know, do something about this or take me out. I can't deal with this anymore. And um, and just a day later I got arrested for an old a warrant and that started a, a period of recovery for me, which I already was, was in the mindset of that. I didn't have, couldn't afford that up. You know, he kicked me, can't always, uh, afford that time and that, that, uh, that luxury of being able to take it to make it our world small and just focus on ourselves and you know, without anybody else. And that gave me that opportunity.
Chuck Shute:Cause then you ended up billing it all to Michigan, right? You got, you got your teeth fixed and you got all these like
Donnie Vie:Hepatitis C
Chuck Shute:yeah. Everything is text.
Donnie Vie:Yeah. And plugin cost them half a million bucks a year, so it'll be chose hillbillies.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. It was grabbing dude again, you know, but that kind of saved you too. Yeah.
Donnie Vie:Yeah. My Spirit, I believe that my spirit left my body for awhile. It was time to rebuild the body and my spirit and my energy and that connection I had with that antenna, wherever that was coming from decided, oh, I was like a battered wife, just decided to it's time to get the fuck outta here. And uh, and once I was ready again, once I felt confident and comfortable again and said, you know, is it, was questioning, is, is, is this going to turn back on? Am I still gonna do this? You know, I mean, they came so often and so, so in such quantity and now there's nothing. And like two days later it came, I could save world, you know, and uh, a day after they, I came breaking me down, the day after that came sly, you know, beautiful things and I'll surrender came in one day it was like, Bam, Bam, Bam. I'm like, oh, tracking her back in bed.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, very much.
Donnie Vie:And they were all very positive, positive, posted, posted, dark. Like most of them were, as I always wrote what I was feeling, emotion is where we're songwriting comes from. It. Uh, despair is a heavy emotion, you know? And so I would always, I would always try to write these songs in hopes of, you know, there's somebody out there that I can reach to say, hey, listen, this is terrible. This is unbelievable. Do you feel it too? Is there, is there anything I can say to help you? And that's my always been my main objective. It's not money, it's that super stardom or anything like that. It's just I'm a, I really believe in, uh, I really am a, you know, kind at heart.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, absolutely
Donnie Vie:passionate and I feel connected to, to the world. And, and that's why I stay out of politics and religion and stuff like that because I don't know anything about that.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, me too. Nobody can[inaudible]
Donnie Vie:nobody can, nobody can do a fucking thing about it. Yeah.
Chuck Shute:Right. It's not positive. So
Donnie Vie:go on.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. I love the songwriting and also the production on this album by, is it Mike Folan? Is that his name on the album? See the producer, right? Yeah, it's cheaply produced. I mean, it sounds high quality in the first single, I'm the one you mentioned I could save the world. I love the lyrics, the hook. It's just a great song and it can, I know I'm going to sound really dumb on this part, but there's some sort of, there's one part that you do, it almost sounds kind of like a circus type of flute. I don't know if that was, I know that jellyfish guy did the keyboards, is that the keyboards just had a flute or, I mean it's just so, it really is brilliant how you've arranged all these different pieces to it and then how it just ends so abruptly. I love that ending part, but what does that flute, is that a flute? Am I crazy?
Donnie Vie:The meat. That's the meat, what they called the meat whistle.
Chuck Shute:Oh, okay. Yeah. It's so awesome. How do you put that in with the strings and the, did you, were you the one that Kinda came up with all the arrangements?
Donnie Vie:Yeah, I mean if you heard the demos with which I arranged, I demo it out every song they always do. I'm very sure. I'm pretty much like the songs do, it's just a lesser quality. And we use the, we use the blueprints of those demos to record the actual real versions. And like the drummers that would come in, that'd be like, we'll do your thing, you know, and they're like, I like what you did, you know. And so I both, you know, just Polish that and that's what they would do. And I got some great guy in net walker and Ed Breck and fell, did the drums and you know, just everything, you know, it's a miso and he's a genius. He's, he's better at what he does than I am at what I do. And that's the good. And um, and it was, it wasn't necessarily always the biggest studio. We did a lot of it. And, uh, his home studio, he had the, he had the good gear and everything. He's genius and some of it was in California, some of it was in, uh, uh, Doug McBride's, I don't forget the name of this gravity studios in Chicago. And you know, it just, it was a little mishmash of everything and you know, cause it cost some money to do it, but it didn't cost that much income in comparison to, to the, the younger result, which would require exceeded my expectations.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. I love, I love the whole album. Like I said, I think it's, um, you're on, we're kind of living in the days of the single, but I got the first single and I was like, oh, I like this. I'll get the second one. Then I got the second song and then I was like, I'm just going to complete the album on iTunes. I bought the whole thing and I've just been listening to it. I like every song. There's not a bad song on that. So, um, I did have another question though. Um, I noticed it says repeatedly that you were nominated for a grammy, but I could not find out what song did where you nominated for a grammy.
Donnie Vie:Uh, I've been nominated for a few, uh, enough's enough. We got nominated on the strength restraints.
Chuck Shute:Oh, okay.
Donnie Vie:Um, there was enough. There was another nomination. I do believe though it's for a, I don't know, innocent or something like,
Speaker 6:yeah.
Donnie Vie:One with, uh, the latest one was a song called Mrs though, which I just was just kind of a weird little demo that I recorded out in England as a good friend, Baz, Francis and, and this other kid did mixed it up and I was in jail
Speaker 6:when they went and released that.
Donnie Vie:Yeah. And I said that they said, well look, witness out and it's going to be on a little record and, and I don't know how the hell my sister wheels and deal now I don't know how the, because I'm a member of the grantee association,
Speaker 6:she wasn't yet, but she would always log in as me and all these things
Donnie Vie:made me look like maybe it looked like a, like a, you know, a Douche.
Speaker 6:Yeah, right. Daddy.
Donnie Vie:We'd go tongue in cheek. There's no bitter humor or biting newer. Yeah.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Cause it was your sister.
Donnie Vie:Yeah. And then she got into my, the grammy thing and somehow I got, she entered that song and then I got, you know, but I mean, you know what, what is, what is the nominated for a grammy worth when you're up against Beyonce?
Speaker 6:Omar, why even, why even bother,
Chuck Shute:dude? No, you're awesome. I love you. Um, tell me about this too. I don't know if this is true. Did you, did you try stand up comedy one time? Can you tell me about that?
Donnie Vie:[inaudible] negative. I think, uh, out in California, e verybody's always like, you should be a comedian, you should be a comedian, you know?
Chuck Shute:Yeah.
Donnie Vie:I can't act Everything I say that's funny is you know Spontaneity. Yeah. Spontaneity, you know what I mean? And uh, so there was one time out in California had an open mic night and we were pretty big at the time. A couple other guys were there, D'Molls and Nelson a nd those guys, a nd they're all going up there and playing a song and stuff. And I went up there, I've hammered drunk and everybody's expecting Fly High Michelle or something like that. I'm like, I didn't take the guitar a nd nothing like let's go out. I go, Hello, Is this thing on? I started telling terrible jokes, What's the difference between a pizza and a shoe, you know, all these things like that, you know, these terrible jokes. And I was getting booed off the stage. That was the extent of my comedy career.
Chuck Shute:Okay. Gotcha. Well you did make a, um, I know you don't remember this, you've said in other interviews, but you did make kind of a comedy spoof video rat on a phone. And I don't want, I don't want to stir the pot with you and chip, cause I know you guys are good right now, but I did, I. just g ot t o ask this,
Donnie Vie:I don't give a fuck. I don't give a FUCK.
Chuck Shute:but this was funny. So I noticed at the end of the video, it's Kinda this like cartoon chip and at the end of the video, uh, the guy's bald. And so I'm just, I'm not gonna again, I don't want you to call it chip or anything, but are there a lot of rock stars or quote unquote hair metal guys out there that are bald, that were wigs?
Donnie Vie:Well, you know, the Hair Nation tour, you know, comes through town without any hair.
Chuck Shute:Okay.
Donnie Vie:Nobody's got any hair, everybody's in each other's bands. And this and that, it's just a cluster fuck and n ight, I jumped out of that clown car going a hundred miles an hour.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, no, I agree.
Donnie Vie:I have know chip and I, we were, we love each other and I had to weigh that out. The animosity that I have because he's done some very, uh, very sketchy things to me. And um, you know, like, and just to like trademarking the Enuff'Znuff name and everything where I can't use it for anything. W hat like what, like I would give a fuck. I would use it with, I ever wanted to. I use it, I don't give a shit, but it was in r egards to, u h, h im starting to release new stuff as Enuff Z'nuff, which wasn't Enuff Z'nuff, that's not Enuff Z'Nuff, the shit he pu tting out now. And it's like I'm not knocking wha t he's doing, I'm not knocking his son g wr iting abilities, it's what I would exp ect fr o m Ch ip Z'Nuff, you know, cause I would always take his ideas and I was, you know, formulate them and put them into a, u h, we ll first of all, I t a ke the pl agiarism out of there.
Chuck Shute:haha.
Donnie Vie:And just worked my way through it. And, and that was a good writing combination, but he got, you kinda got the feeling overshadowed in that department, he started getting desperate desperation calls the desperate acts. Well, like I said, I weigh it out. I heard a couple of interviews I did and read one and then I was like, man, I sound like just a whiny bitch and nobody wants to hear that. So I decided to do, I do, I love him more than I hate him. And I decided, yes I do. So that was the end of that. And you know, I mean as far as far as calling the shit Enuff Z'nuff,, you know, it would be great. His records would be great if it weren't, weren't for the 13-14 predecessors.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. So, and then moving on to, I know you're passionate about the anti-bullying campaign. I'm always trying to bring up like a charity on my podcast. So I know two of your cousins actually kill themselves due to bullying, bullying. So I'm so sorry to hear about that. And you,
Donnie Vie:you probably know, I don't wear Aandra pants.
Chuck Shute:You've got Doug, you're fat. I do. Yeah. But I actually worked as a counselor in the schools for like 17 years in. One thing I can say about bullying is that you really gotta treat all three parts so that cause there's the bullies, the victims. Um, but then the, the other part that people forget about is the bystanders. Cause if people, if with anti-bullying, if you're not, you know, teaching people in the bystanders how to step in and, and stick up for the, the kids who are being bullied and the victims. And I feel like, um, you know, nothing's really going to, you can try to treat the bullies. You can try to treat the victims, but you really gotta treat the bystanders to all three categories. So, but I think that's great that you're raising awareness of that.
Donnie Vie:Like the old joke, you know, uh, Eh, instead of slap him, slap his mother, you know,
Chuck Shute:and they slapped my mother, right?
Donnie Vie:It's like that. I, I believe it stems from, from lack of parenting and nowadays it's unbelievable how there's lack of parents and nobody plays outside. No spankings. There's no spankings. That's not child abuse. No spankings is child abuse. That's not the real world. The real world would kick your fucking ass out there and do all that stuff. When bullying, when I started reading the statistics and I flash a bunch of them at the end so people can actually see the ages. It's a, you know, half or one third of all youthful deaths today are due to suicide. One half of those are due to are bullying, you know, and so that's, and there's not a whole lot of awareness. You don't see much in that department. And, um, you know, so the song was, was made out of love out of a bunch of people contributing. I was in the hospital.
Chuck Shute:The instant Karma. Yeah. The Beatles song or the job. That was great.
Donnie Vie:Yeah. A week, a week after I get out of the hospital, there's, I'm on the amount of Peter and Lake Michigan.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. That's a cool video.
Donnie Vie:Yeah. Yeah. It was cool. We never pushed it. Really? We didn't push it really. And IP, our chick went to, uh, went to go to some church, different charities with it. One of them like[inaudible] but who was just starving and she told her Daddy v for nothing else. No, we didn't. Not Him represent it. Yeah. We went really well then Ed. So it's, you know, some of it's going like that, but I don't give a fuck. You know, it is what it is and you can't stop me from caring and he can't, can't stop me from trying. You just can't stop on a tank.
Chuck Shute:Exactly. Yeah. I mean, your pancreas liquefied and you saw, which again, I was gonna ask about that too high. Your pancreas didn't literally liquefy, right? I mean, that's just an expression that your pancreas crapped out. And then
Donnie Vie:what the doctor said was, uh, uh, over half of it liquified. I don't know what that means, you know, so I tried to, I tried to drink it.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. So your pay grade now, but I went in for it month and a half,
Donnie Vie:then lost 43 pounds, which I might, yeah, I might be a little on the, in the, in the spare tire side. But I didn't have 43 pounds to lose.
Chuck Shute:No, I am
Donnie Vie:now. My ass came back. They look like back pocket.
Chuck Shute:They didn't go grow. Your standup didn't work. I think your last, but I mean you've done it all. You've had songs on radio, on MTV, a tour of the world with some of the biggest rock bands, appearances on stern and Letterman, grammy nomination. You literally died and came back to life and now you've put out a brilliant album. So what's next? What does the future hold for Donnie v?
Donnie Vie:Um, well the next step is obviously a plane's playing some shows with, uh, you know, I've done the storyteller thing and I've got a real good booking agent and I am seven. You know, I was trying with decker records, which is a, which is a buddy of mine and um, and so you know that all of them pretty much agree that, that, that the shows are going to need to be the live act. So I'm putting that together now and got some good cats and I am sticking president of, of, of the deco lunch. It's like keyboards in the day that will work out to that, that I did fire him.
Chuck Shute:Perfect.
Donnie Vie:Yeah, just uh, you know that just that I've already demo it out about like, I like I'm a, you know, I'm addicted now to uh, writing and recording more songs. I got my home studio and stuff. I got 28 news for the next record. 13 and a half of them are, are, are kind of heavy and the other half are more in the pop vein of, of beautiful tags. And I'm covered, I'm covered. And they just keep tapping in. And I'm doing a couple other things just to keep my chops up and keep this, you might voice in shape and stuff like doing a thing called the St Joe County Dope Tours, which we do is we cover a bunch of old standards and then do my version of them, which is laid back and in the pocket versions, you know, with kind of a pop power pop version of these things. And it's pretty cool. And, and a, you know, it started out as just a favor for a buddy of mine who's a good friend that, you know, his dream never came true. And so I try to make his dreams come true, but he hasn't realized these dreams turned into nightmares, you know? So be careful what you wish for Buddy Valley's always checked him at news every day
Speaker 6:in views. Yeah.
Donnie Vie:Take a look and see where you're at. I mean a latched clock is just slower.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, exactly. Well, if you ever get bored, you can always go.
Donnie Vie:Got It. I got another, I have another interview coming up in like five[inaudible].
Chuck Shute:Okay. Yeah, I'm going to wrap it up. I just a yeah, I was going to say, if you ever get bored and you, if you want to write my theme song, you can, that'd be awesome if you want to do that. But I didn't want to thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 6:24 2,500.
Chuck Shute:Okay. I need to do a go fund me then for that
Speaker 6:tell today, probably by the day after tomorrow.
Chuck Shute:Wow. Okay. I gotta I gotta I gotta do a lot of, uh, ubering or something to get that, but thank you so much for coming on. Um, I really appreciate it
Speaker 6:there. I won't even need you there. You'll be unnecessary.
Donnie Vie:That would put your name and what your problem is.
Chuck Shute:Absolutely. Very cool. Um, is there anything else you'd like to promote? Again, I want to tell people to go out and get your new album. It's a really great album. I really enjoy it. Um, is there anything else
Donnie Vie:Hmmm.... let me light a cigarette here..
Speaker 6:yeah.
Donnie Vie:Yeah. Just like I said, like I said again, I would, I do. And all of it's important to me are these, these fans and these people that have been with me for all these years because they're like friends of mine. I, I, I partied with every fan. I think, I believe I've hit every single one of them. I might not remember your name or your face sometimes because you're getting old, you know, but, but, uh, they're there. Yes. Why the, the album cover is what it is. Cause I just realized it's record what I do with this, with this thing. It's for them. And so let's see what you think is beautiful and, and it's all for the fans. And that's where my heart is. And that's, I don't look at the mountain anymore, or the pot of gold at the end. I'm just kinda chased in the waves along the way. And, and, uh, getting rid of all this, this humiliated humility and vanity and things like that, and just being myself and, and I, you know, I just love that. I wish everybody could, could find ways to just find compassion for, uh, you know, for the world and things like that. And you know, most of my fans do their, they started out as the broken people and long[inaudible] has told me, you know, you saved my life literally, or you were the soundtrack to my life and this cause you saved one human life that's worth your whole career.
Chuck Shute:Absolutely. Absolutely.
Donnie Vie:Really is it, there's nothing real price you can put on that cause of a ripple effect, who else's life is affected by that person's life and it ripples and you know, but, uh, yeah, it's just, if I can find a way to, uh, you know, find content, you know, find my spirituality and I just don't think anybody should really put any faith in different religions. I take two. You should put your faith and connectivity and just worrying about what's right and what's wrong and then think you're covered. And, um, hey man, I can do it. You can do it. Absolutely. If I can do it, you can do it. And if you can't, you know, there's my Facebook messenger and I spend a lot of time talking people through some things and like don't flood me.
Chuck Shute:Right. Yeah.
Donnie Vie:Or something like that. But I'm like, I saw yours.
Chuck Shute:Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate you. Uh, again, I appreciate you being on the show on the show.
Donnie Vie:I took one look at your picture. I said, this guy needs help.
Chuck Shute:Hey, well thank you for coming on again. I know it was a big step down. You could do like Eddie trunk and stuff, but it's really awesome and hopefully I hear you on stern soon. That'd be really cool if he a, how'd you on there?
Donnie Vie:There's, there's, there's nothing too small or too big when you're, when you do what I do. And, and uh, you know, when, when you're, when you're, when you're bigger than, than you know, any other person on the face of the earth, any of church, if this lost the whole kind of stuff, cause everything. And, and of course, thank you. Thank you for thinking of me and thank you for men.
Chuck Shute:Absolutely. So, yeah, if you ever get down to Arizona or the southwest, I'll have to come see you perform. If you, even if you go to Vegas, I'll drive five hours. I don't care. So
Donnie Vie:I'm not a big fan. Arizona, it's too, I don't want to be anywhere where there's an oven oven.
Chuck Shute:Okay. Well I will drive as far as I can if, if you get, if you do get a tour up and going and stuff. So awesome. Thank you again so much.
Donnie Vie:Thank you very much.
Chuck Shute:All right, take care. Okay. Bye. Bye. Okay. Wow. That was a, so that was Donnie v from a formerly singer of enough's enough. Now he has a solo record out again. I, um, I know I've said this probably 20 times, but it really is a good record. I really do enjoy it. Um, I think he's an interesting, fascinating guy. Um, a brilliant songwriter. I really do think he's a brilliant songwriter and I think that's rare nowadays. You hear a lot of songs on the radio, uh, but a lot of it is a, it's electronically produced by 15 different people and whatnot. And, uh, you know, he's doing it on his own and, uh, I mean, he's got a little help, but with this production and such, but I think he's writing most of those songs are 100% written by him. So, um, check out, especially if you like the Beatles and you're like that kind of seventies power pop, uh, melodic rock music. I think you'll really enjoy it. And I hope you enjoyed this interview. Again, you can always check out our other episodes, uh, the chuck shoot podcast, also the chuck and Josh podcast. We're on everything, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, all that stuff, uh, rate us, review us, and thanks again for listening.