Daniel Donato
Nashville Guitar Slinger
interview by Eric Dahl
I first met Daniel Donato in the parking lot of the Nashville Fair Grounds as I was attempting to find a Guitar Show . Donato was kind enough to recognize the lost bewildered look on my face and stated , “ The Guitar show is up and to the right , you don ’ t look like you ’ re headed to the gun show .” From this point on Daniel and I have stayed in contact as he became a lower Broadway guitar playing sensation ! Donato secured one of the most coveted Broadway gigs in Nashville by filling the lead guitar position at Robert ’ s Western World in the Don Kelly Band a tradition at that location since the mid 90 ’ s . Previous guitarists that have held this position included Brent Mason , Johnny Hiland and JD Simo . I caught up with Daniel recently to discuss his guitar playing and some of his favorite pieces of music gear .
ERIC DAHL : How old were you when you started playing guitar and who motivated you ?
DANIEL DONATO : I was 12 years old and by happenstance had turned on Paradise City by Guns N Roses because the album cover looked cool . I haven ’ t looked back since . Plus my dad always had a guitar around the house as I was growing up .
ERIC : What was your first gig ?
DANIEL : I started out busking on the streets of lower Broadway in Nashville .
ERIC : Who has the best hot Chicken in Nashville ?
DANIEL : KFC
ERIC : How old were you when you started playing in Don Kelly ’ s band at Roberts Western World and how long did you stay ?
DANIEL : I started playing with Don when I was around 17 years old and stayed for a little over 3 years playing a total of 464 shows .
ERIC : You recently left your regular gig with the Don Kelly Band in late 2015 and joined “ The Wild Feathers ” band . How did you end up joining the band ?
DANIEL : My friend Sadler Vaden , who is an awesome guitar player , had introduced me to Joel King , who is the bassist in the band . We all got together and things seemed to click pretty quickly . We ’ re recording music starting in June .
ERIC : “ The Wild Feathers ” are scheduled to play the Ryman what are your thoughts on this and what other venues do you dream of playing ?
DANIEL : It ’ ll be a gig for the books ! I ’ ve wanted to play the Ryman since I used to busk in front of it years ago . I ’ ve always been a fan of the venue itself and its history . The Ryman is number one on my list . Carnegie Hall would of course be a dream as well .
ERIC : If you could only have one guitar and amp on a desert island what would they be ?
DANIEL : An old Telecaster with this awesome Twin Reverb that I played at Carter Vintage Guitars the other day .
ERIC : What is it about the Telecaster that attracts you to it ?
DANIEL : It ’ s the blankest canvas of a guitar that I ’ ve come across . I try to keep my sound very ‘ guitar through an amp ’ sounding . Similarly to how bluegrass players simply want a great acoustic and a great mic , I mainly
I ’ ve wanted to play the Ryman since I used to busk in front of it years ago . I ’ ve always been a fan of the venue itself and its history .
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