About That Song: Taylor James Donskey
About That Song #32
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
For our 32nd installment, I had a fun exchange with Taylor James Donskey, a Twin Cities artist who constantly impresses me not only with his own amazing music but also his tireless support of other artists in our community.
Taylor James Donskey. Photo credit: Sammie Jean Cohen.
Sarah: Hi Taylor! It’s so good to get a chance to speak to you about songwriting. In addition to all the fantastic songs you write, you’ve become the ultimate champion of songwriters with your Twin Cities Songwriter Rounds empire. Over the last few years you’ve released stellar albums like Joyride and Paper Over It and now you just released a new single—I can’t wait to hear more about the songs that brought you to where you’re standing today. Do you remember the song that you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Taylor: Well, at first I was a songwriter by necessity; the freshman year pop-punk band that had graciously let me learn bass on the fly suddenly found out I could sing when they heard me singing along to Frank Sinatra as a joke. They went “Wait, we’ve been screeching at audiences for months and just now you’re telling us you can sing?”
Sarah: That’s incredible. I did not anticipate that this story would start in a pop-punk band, and that Frank Sinatra would play a role!
Taylor: So suddenly, I was front and center. Unfortunately for me, I had no choice, and what made it worse was I was stuck trying to learn bass parts and singing parts of these Green Day and Nirvana songs, bands famous for having very chill, and rarely singing, bassists. So, the next best thing would be to write my own songs that I could definitely sing. They were not good. They definitely all sounded the same. Some blatantly ripped off other songs. (Because I could play & sing them at the same time!) Luckily the band just went along, and eventually I scraped together enough skill to hack it through.
As far as the first song that made me want to be a songwriter, that's a bit tough to pin down. I think hearing songs like Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago” or Conor Oberst’s “First Day of My Life” at an early stage showed me that I could tell stories, so I began to strive for those. In reality I couldn't quite reach that right away, so I took the “wtf is he singing” route and started mumble/nonsense singing like Billie Joe Armstrong or Kurt Cobain.
Sarah: It sounds like it was a bit of an unexpected path, and we (the listeners, yay!) get to benefit from the fact that you more or less said all these tiny yesses to the musical twists and turns. Once you began writing, did you feel like a writer immediately? Was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Taylor: That writing-out-of-necessity bit didn't really confer “I am a writer” status, but as I began to suss out and understand the underlying structures in other media like book series and television shows, I realized that everyone's telling a story and saw that as an opportunity for control of my life in my teens. It wasn’t immediately apparent that I was becoming a writer; I was just piecing together feelings and ideas and concepts and yelling them at my friends.
Sarah: I mean…sometimes you need to yell your feelings at your friends!
Taylor: Nowadays I’ll go through old demos I recorded to my cellphone almost a decade ago, can't believe I still have some of them, but there are tunes that come back from the dead and I recently just found one titled “The Truth.” It's got sort of that classic relationship-love-song-adjacent theme, with a really strong chorus, and you can tell I’m just really having a good time singing it. You can kinda tell when someone’s smiling while they sing and it’s great. I can’t say for sure that was an a-HA moment, but more of a joyful ha-HA! moment.
Sarah: I do love hearing anyone sing something that you can tell they’re finding JOY in singing. Speaking of joy, I’m enjoying the heck out of your new single “Diogenes” (is it actual harp? AHHH!), in which you ask the famed Greek philosopher how some modern day technology might strike him. Can you tell us about that song?
Taylor: Yes! That's the uber-talented harpist Nikki Lemire of the Foxgloves rocking some harp on the new tune! She's on a few more songs as well.
Sarah: NIKKI! She is a joy.
Taylor: The tune itself is a product of a song-a-day project that I started and spent six months doing. Yes, writing a song every day for six months. It was actually supposed to go for a year. At that time I was sort of scraping the bottom of the inspirational barrel. We were still in those lockdown-adjacent times, and spirits were low, so developing an idea every day became taxing.
I enjoy a good jaunt down a philosophical path every once in a while, and in this particular moment, I was neck deep in Cynicism trying to suss out the meaning of all this. Diogenes is noted as the father of Cynicism, sleeping in barrels or clay pots, living messily and challenging everyone at all times. His one hope was to find “An Honest Man” as everyone he came across had the potential to be one but seemed to fall short in various ways. He was obsessed with dogs, saying they truly lived life without concern for worldly constraints.
Taylor James Donskey. Photo credit: Zoe Prinds-Flash.
Sarah: I remember you mentioning doing a song-a-day—I think that sounds fun/scary as all heck. I imagine you’d get real comfortable with “Oh, I’m just writing about this shoelace” being as much a day as “Whoa, that’s really something I needed to say.” Congrats on six months of that experience! Does this new single mean a new album is a-coming? I’m wondering if there is somewhere we might be able to hear you sing that song, or any other song for that matter, in the near future?
Taylor: Yes! A new record is on its way! Everyone’s good friend Dave Mehling has been running much of the production work with me and it’s currently finishing up mixing with Jason McGlone. Oh boy, when to hear me play? Lots of opportunities! I’ll be down at Big Turn on February 16th! You can also see me often at MSP Airport playing music for folks on their way.
Sarah: Lucky travelers! And YAY for new music! You’ve been lifting up our local songwriting community the last few years through songwriter rounds, so I know you’ve heard nearly alllll the songs our beautiful cities have to offer. Was there ever a song that totally knocked you out of your chair—in surprise, in delight? If so, could you tell us about that song?
Taylor: Ooooooooo that's a hard one. The talent I’m so lucky to see is always wonderfully crafted, with stories honestly spun and masterfully performed. What I like to say to folks is that my favorite song is always on the next edition of the Songwriter Rounds. It’s always just about to happen, so ya better not miss it!
Sarah: I think that’s sage advice! Words of An Honest Man? Thank you, Taylor—for this conversation, for the wonderful songs that you share, and for the beautiful way you bring so many people together in our community.
So many of our ATS friends will be performing at Big Turn Music Festival February 16–17 in Red Wing, MN, including Taylor James Donskey! Learn more and get tickets.
Listen to “Diogenes”
“Diogenes” Single Credits
Taylor James Donskey: written, performed, guitar, BGV, bass, production
Dave Mehling: production, keyboards, pianos, guitar, percussion, vibes
Alexander Young: Drum kit, Aux Perc
Marin Wilts: BGV
Nikki Lemire: Pedal Harp
Jason McGlone: Engineering & Mixing
Anthem Mastering
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
