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Donner Party- Slim’s, SF 4/12/00 Sam Coomes from Quasi’s early band!

Have you ever been “late to the party” with a band? Well, Donner Party became one of my favorite bands in the early ’90s because I saw them play at UC David Coffeehouse in 1989. They blew me away. I had my video camera there and did not film because I was worried about running out of batteries (D’oh!)… so I figured I would just catch them next time. Then they broke up and I was to never see them again, or so I thought. In 2000, Innerstate records released their discography in a 2-CD set and they played a one-off show for it’s release. This was the only show they did, 10 years later. I know, because I approached Sam about doing a show in Sac and he politely declined. 🙂 This is my Sony TR-81 video mixed with Jason Sherrett’s Sonic Studios DAT recording. For Melanie Clarin DeGiovanni and anyone else who still loves and remembers the band.

This is part 1 only- you can find the rest of the show on Youtube

Recorded by: Shayne Stacy

Equipment Used: Sony TR-81, Sonic Studios DAT Audio

Additional help by: Jason Sherrett

Live Concert Video
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Donner Party- KZSU live in studio, Stanford University, Ca 2/15/89 xfer from low gen tape Quasi

On this day in history- February 15.
I “discovered” Donner Party in April of 1989- they headlined a show at UC Davis Coffeehouse and I had gone to see opener Jonathan Segel. They blew me away when they started playing. Have you ever heard a band play and you just knew that they would be one of your favorites forever? That has happened a few times for me and that was one of them.

As I was gearing up to bug the hell out of the band and follow them around, taping every show, I learned that they broke up. They all fell off my radar until I got on the internet in 1997 and learned that Sam Coomes moved to the pacific northwest and started a new band called Quasi… and now I bug the hell out of them, taping every show in the area! Haha.

But seriously, give this band a listen. The best band you’ve never heard.

Recorded by: ?
Transfer by: Shayne Stacy
Equipment used: Nakamichi Dragon and M-Audio Audiophile 2496 card

Audio Live Performance
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Donner Party- Kennel Club, San Francisco Ca 8/5/87 xfer band archive VHS tape-MiniDV Quasi Heatmiser

Today’s On This Date in History took about 7 hours to process, believe it or not.

Melanie Clarin (Donner Party, SF Seals, Harm farm, Yard Sale etc) was very kind in loaning me Donner Party’s VHS tapes back in the late 90s. Since there was no good way to digitize video back then, I lined the VCR into a miniDV camcorder so I could at least stop the generation loss of a VHS dub. I eventually authored it to a DVD years later.

If you are unaware of Donner Party, they were one of the jewels of the late 80s San Francisco “alternative before it had the name” scene. I absolutely love the band and Sam/Melanie’s harmonies. Sam Coomes moved to the pacific northwest after the band dissolved and started a number of bands (including Heatmiser with Elliott Smith) and is currently leads the band Quasi. Unfortunately, the board mix on this is not great so seek out their released material for a better representation.

Speaking of released material, it looks like the 1st Donner Party LP (Cryptovision Records) was reissued with bonus demo tracks recently. I need to get me one of those. Someone please let me know when they appear in the US.

Recorded by: ? (The venue maybe?)
Transfer by: Shayne Stacy
Equipment used: Consumer VCR line in to MiniDV camcorder

Live Concert Video
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Donner Party- The Donners Demo mid 1980s xfer f/Band Archive cassette Indie Pitch a Tent Quasi

It’s the Patreon Voter’s Choice! This is a weekly thing where my Patreon subscribers get to vote on what is posted. I have to admit, I was shocked that this actually won the vote. I was thrilled that it won, but shocked.

If you like this, 8 of these tracks are on the NEW reissue LP of Donner Party’s self-titled debut LP. They are bonus demo tracks to accompany a repress of the debut album. The reissue was released by a european label and I could not find a copy without paying a ton of money for shipping… but I was eventually able to find one from Ebay/Deep Discount CD, believe it or not. I think Target even had it on their website. What the heck? Anyway, if you like this, buy the LP. It should sound better on the record. My LP should be here tomorrow.

Recorded by: The band & Hector Penalosa
Transfer by: Shayne Stacy
Equipment used: Nakamichi CR5A into Philips CDR880 CD Recorder

Audio Demo