It’s no secret that Dr. Don is the hottest new artist in the U.S., and we’re not the only ones saying so. With over 20,000 subscribers following him via his YouTube channel, Dr. Don is attracting a great deal of interest, and a number of media outlets are beginning to take an interest in him. Today, we had the chance to chat with him and get to know him a little better…
Also read: Dr. Don makes a splash with “I’m Glad I Found You”
What brought Dr. Don to music?
Dr. Don : Dr. Don likes to think that he has the same attraction to music as everyone else in the world. He is always assumed everyone else’s attraction was just as strong. When something good happens, or has happened in his life, he uses music to celebrate it. When something gets him down, he uses music to revive his spirits. Dr. Don found through these emotions that music has a profound effect on him and now believes that writing music could shape his and other’s lives in the same way.
He grew up in New York city (within 30 miles) and had his first guitar lesson at 8 years old. Thereafter, he became a drummer by the age of twelve. At the age of 18 he was “forced to try out” for the West Point choir, but he was not fond of their type of music so he dropped out of the competition. But what really brought Dr. Don to music was the desire to write good songs that compete with the best songwriters. He is still working on that dream.
As an artist, what is your main goal today?
Dr. Don : Dr. Don’s main goal is to create awareness of his music on the USA west coast, then across America, and around the world. Dr. Don wants to keep his songs short to match the attention span he feels society has today – short. Gone are the days (in his belief) of lengthy pieces, anything over 4 minutes. Dr. Don would like to become better known in cities on the west coast and perhaps do a bit of touring. But his main goal is to write and produce as many songs as possible because, as we all know, life is too short and whatever music can be made “now” should be made. Dr. Don wants to write music that is not lyrically too dark or “downer”. He wants people to smile, laugh, dance and sing to his songs. He’s considered songs that have been shelved because they were too negative in tone. Dr. Don wants to express happiness and love as much as he can.
Where is your favorite place to write and compose music?
Dr. Don : Dr. Don’s favorite place to write music is in his studio overlooking the adjacent nature preserve. There are abundant natural resources, streams, lakes, trees, and meadows. There is abundant wildlife. Dr. Don needs to be alone to get into a song writing zone. When he emerges from the “zone”, he will have song reviews with his closest advisors to get constructive feedback about the works he is involved with.
Dr. Don looks for actual criticisms in his music so that he can improve the songs prior to publication. Dr. Don thinks it is nice to be told the song is beautiful, but that does not help him improve his song or his skills. Having people close to him that will give him the hard truth is the most important. Dr. Don thinks one of the most important skills of an artist is to listen to the criticism of his most important stakeholders.
When Dr. Don is near the forest – the nature preserve – he feels eternal peacefulness. There are deer, eagles, owls, squirrels, and many more wildlife. Dr. Don has lived in this environment for nearly two decades and the animals must think he belongs there by now. When Dr. Don creates a music video, it can take many days of practice, and “take after take”. It is very common for Dr. Don to stop the music, and hear owls hooting loudly. He is pretty sure the owls, if they are in the area, listen for him and sing along during his takes.
We’ve read some articles on the web about you being a lawyer as well as an artist… Is this true or just a rumor?
Dr. Don : The rumors are correct that Dr. Don is a lawyer. He is a member of the California, Arizona, and Washington state bar associations. Dr. Don has not tried to hide his identity. Dr. Don has avoided discovery of his identity for quite some time until recently (two months ago) as one of his opposing attorneys told him that his wife loved Dr. Don’s YouTube channel. Right then, he knew the days of anonymity were over. Dr. Don also had a career with an airplane manufacturer, which inspired him to write the song “Save Me From This Flight”.
Which artists have influenced you the most musically speaking?
Dr. Don : The artists that have most influenced Dr. Don are probably The Weeknd, David Bowie, and Coldplay. The list of artists who have influenced him to a lesser degree but whom he enjoys listening to include very influential women such as Dua Lipa and the earlier Lady Gaga stuff, Katy Perry. Of course, Lewis Capaldi. Those are the contemporary artists he likes to listen and learn from. He likes the boldness and creativity of David Bowie, who has of course long passed away. David Bowie inspired Dr. Don to write the song Memories Mark Time. Dr. Don was devastated when he died, like most of the music world was. Dr. Don has been inspired by many male vocalists including the lead singer for Soundgarden, Chris Cornell, and of course Kurt Cobain, lead singer for Nirvana. Dr. Don would listen to news reports on the FM radio in the 90s about suicide watch on Kurt Cobain. When he actually “did it” it was very distressing for Dr. Don. With all those people watching out for him, how could he actual do it? Oh well. When Dr. Don thought things could not get any worse, Chris Cornell suffered the same fate. Dr. Don loves a lot of the Coldplay songs but is inspired to write songs that have better sound quality. Dr. Don likes Post Malone and his use of autotune. He knows that’s a far-out topic for this article, and Dr. Don has always distained autotune, but he actually tried it on his latest song “Kind to Me”. The longer Dr. Don writes his answers, the longer the list of influential musicians becomes.
Current topics or events that Dr. Don is concerned with..?
Dr. Don : Dr. Don is concerned about all people in the world and their relative freedom that they do or do not enjoy. It concerns Dr. Don that not all people have the freedoms that he enjoys in the United States. He thinks the biggest issue affecting him is freedom of expression and freedom of travel and that most people on this planet really do not have these freedoms. This is especially obvious when the currently raging wars are contemplated. Dr. Don loves all women and is concerned that women do not enjoy total freedom in this world. He believes that women in the United States are free but can see arguments that say even that mindset can be challenged.
Many people in this world are not free from hate, and that truly pains Dr. Don.
Dr. Don has always wondered if we are alone in this universe. There does not seem to be a scientific answer to this question. It seems ridiculous that a universe so large would not have more intelligent life than us earthlings. But until we have some sign of it, he assumes we must be alone. It is hard to believe, though. Furthering his contemplation of this topic, Dr. Don plans to release a song soon addressing this topic in a very abstract way.
Dr. Don cannot believe all the wars and humans killing each other. If there were a hypothetical, intelligent alien-being to visit our planet, they might observe people attacking itself in various ways. And such an alien being would wonder why movement of people are highly restricted through artificial/arbitrary borders.
Dr. Don believes that so many resources are spent on science with hardly any progress on medicines needed to cure disease. How many people die from cancer every day? There is so much suffering today and while Dr. Don cares, and the person reading this article cares, we as individuals are powerless to change the world’s course. The governments that do have the ability to change things do not seem interested in changing anything much of the time. The focus of these entities does not really seem to be on the well-being of its people.
Dr. Don does what he can. When the opportunity arises, he will do anything for anyone to help them be happier. This includes Sunday services at assisted living facilities with a local band and preachers all to help the elderly or less fortunate get through their day. This activity was prolific until COVID hit, and now the opportunities are reduced. Dr. Don will take any opportunity to teach a young person how to play a guitar, a piano or how to sing and never ask for anything in return
Dr. Don has unfortunately had too much exposure to people he loves and cares about that have suffered traumatic brain injury or mental illness and he tries his best to help whomever he can. In this regard, having the skills of an attorney are very valuable because he can help people achieve their dreams by setting up guardianships, trusts, and advance directives for the benefit of those in need.
If Dr. Don has not’ yet bored you to sleep with his answers to your questions, just know that Dr. Don is very appreciative of the time and energy required to read his answers. Yes, Dr. Don truly loves you.
What’s your favorite food?
Dr. Don ; Dr. Don grew up a poor boy in New York City and learned to like the very simple foods in life such as Italian food. Dr. Don is an excellent chef especially when it comes to barbecuing over an open fire. He likes to use mesquite and hickory wood for such exploits. When Dr. Don was very young, in his early teens, his parents moved the entire family to southern Arizona, USA where Sonoran Mexican cuisine is very common and Dr. Don is very fond of this cuisine. He also likes Tai food. Dr. Don went to college and while doing so, he worked at a French bakery called La Boulangerie and became and expert at making French bread, pastries, and cakes from the most basic ingredients. The recipe for bread has nearly
nothing in it, including water, flour, salt, sugar and yeast. It turns out fantastic. The dough is also perfect for making pizza. Dr. Don enjoys seafood, beef, and chicken. He has never liked wild cuts such as deer. He enjoys American traditions such as Thanksgiving Turkey.
What are your musical plans for this summer?
Dr. Don : Dr. Don likes to perform live music but has not done so in a couple of years. He also likes to attend concerts of his favorite artists and had an opportunity to see The Weeknd in 2022. He plans on spending as much time as possible writing new material during this summer, but he may be interrupted by family travel in the Arizona area. Dr. Don plans on contacting his friends at the Seattle Times to see if he can get some exposure locally with an eye toward setting up some live performances.
Any final words before we go?
Dr. Don : Oh yes, just one thing… Dr. Don loves you.
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