Drummer/Guitarist Donny Brown: Albums That Changed My World, Deep Purple to Buckley

The acclaimed Michigan multi-instrumentalist, producer and co-founder of The Verve Pipe reveals the albums and artists that inspired him. Learn more about Brown, listen to the music.

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: All musicians and producers can trace their inspiration to a few key recordings that captivated them and helped shape their musical careers. Today, Local Spins writer Ross Boissoneau spotlights the albums that have most impacted Michigan musician, producer and songwriter Donny Brown. Scroll down for a Spotify playlist of his picks, along with a couple of tracks from Brown’s 2015 solo EP.

Drummer, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Solo artist, producer, busy collaborator, and founding member of platinum-selling Michigan alt-rock band The Verve Pipe.

Donny Brown has packed a lot of music into his life and shows no sign of slowing down.

It stems from his childhood. There was always music around his house in Saginaw. “My parents were music lovers. There was a stereo in the living room. The stereo was on more often than the TV,” Brown says.

He was the sixth of seven kids. Everyone had their own records, and he got to listen to them all. “I inherited their record collections,” from classics like the Parlophone 45s by the Beatles and his sister’s Beach Boys records to pop hits such as “Seasons In the Sun” by Terry Jacks and “Light My Fire” by the Doors. “What the hell is this?” he remembers thinking of the latter. “They had long verses with long solos.

“My sister was in love with the Hollies, and was a huge Doobie Brothers fan. Two older brothers played trumpet and bass.” Young Donnie took it all in. “I learned songwriting from listening to The Beatles, harmonies from the Beach Boys, Spanky & Our Gang, The Mamas and The Papas.”

Fast forward, and Brown and fellow Water in the Pool band member Doug Stout got matched up with brothers Brian and Brad Vander Ark of Johnny with an Eye to form The Verve Pipe. That band gained popularity, initially with college crowds, before hitting it big with “The Freshmen” in 1996.

Albums and tours continued for almost 20 years, until Brown left the band in 2014. He eventually moved back to his hometown of Saginaw, where he continues to write, record and perform with various friends and musical acquaintances, including Greg Nagy, Amy Petty, Thornetta Davis, The Legal Matters and Michael Robertson & The Broken Hearted Saviors.

His original compositions have been featured on “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Roswell” and “Dawson’s Creek.”

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1. Deep Purple, “Machine Head” (1972) – Number one would be the drum sound of all of Deep Purple. Ian Paice is such a (great) drummer.
 
 
Listen: “Smoke on the Water”
 

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2. Pat Metheny Group, “Pat Metheny Group” (1978) – A record that knocked me out of the water. I never heard fusion, I’d been listening to crafted pop songs. My brother loved Stanley Clarke. “Pat Metheny Group” and “American Garage” I stumbled onto at TNT Records, a used record store in Saginaw. I listened, and said, “What is this?” I was really intrigued. Then he flipped it over. I bought it and listened to it over and over. It’s not like anything I play but it was so interesting in so many ways. It broadened my horizons.
Listen: “Phase Dance”

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3. Jeff Buckley, “Grace” (1994) – It came out when Verve Pipe was touring and happening. We’d been in New York. He hadn’t hit yet, but what ended up happening was … Jeff Buckley was given to me before it was released. When I listened to it, my jaw dropped. Everyone in the business was losing their minds to it. Our biggest gig at RFK … with 65,000 people, the tour manager pulled me aside and said, “Jeff Buckley died.” Everybody in the band, the crew loved it so much.
Listen: “Grace”

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Currently Loving – Well, everything. The first Montrose album was untoppable. A hard rock (classic), it’s great. “They Only Come Out At Night” (the Edgar Winter Group featuring Ronny Montrose on guitar) – my brother bought it. My mother said, “Who is that freak?” I still play “Free Ride.” My siblings were in different camps. My sister and brother Ron and I loved the Beatles, British and American (groups). Ron got into the Stones, the Who. Randy was into funk – Tower of Power, Sly & The Family Stone, TSOP. All those records were at our house. I know I was lucky, living in a time this much exists, 78s to stereo, 33 and 45 to amazing facility with digital and back to analog. I grew up in Saginaw. It was a multi-cultural place. That’s reflected in the music.
Listen: “Free Ride”

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ALBUMS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: Donny Brown’s Playlist on Spotify

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