The Donkeys

With so many bands using the musical equivalent of Mr. Peabody's Waybac Machine, San Diego's Donkeys are hardly alone in terms of looking to the past for direct inspiration. Often enough, Americana and country are where punk rockers end up when their anger peters out. These four may not have...

By Tom Murphy

July 30, 2009

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With so many bands using the musical equivalent of Mr. Peabody's Waybac Machine, San Diego's Donkeys are hardly alone in terms of looking to the past for direct inspiration. Often enough, Americana and country are where punk rockers end up when their anger peters out. These four may not have gone that route directly, but their psychedelically tinged pop songs tend to recall the free-flowing aesthetic and mellow vibes of such country-rock heroes of yesteryear as the Flying Burrito Brothers while still forgoing the more washed-out sound of that band's immediate followers. Rumors abound that the band Geronimo Jackson, from season five of Lost, is really the Donkeys. We can neither confirm nor deny this. You'll have to see for yourself if these sun-drenched troubadours bear more than a passing resemblance.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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