Hello again all my friends in the excitable 311 nation! Welcome back and cheers to starting off another week with the next 311 fan spotlight. Time to meet Donny Scales!
Fandom came for Donny while hanging out with some friends one night. They went to dinner and then back to one of their houses just to hang out, where they had some “party favors” and played board games. The radio in the house didn’t pick up any stations so they played the one CD they had on repeat, which happened to be Music. “I was hooked! I like what most everyone else likes about them; positivity, lyrics that are sometimes quirky, sometimes funny, cohesiveness of the band, but what really drew me in was miT’s guitar riffs.”
The exact number of shows Donny has seen is unknown, but the range is somewhere in the 30’s. Top three favorites are the 2000 10th anniversary show in Atlanta, Halloween 2010 (also in Atlanta), and cruise four from this year, which was his first. “I wouldn’t even know what order to put them in.” He also said Sweetwater this year holds a special place in his heart thanks to allowing him to hang with a lot of friends as well as make new ones.
Choosing a favorite song was difficult for Donny. “It changes daily sometimes.” However after thinking about it he chose “Lose” as the one that’s meant the most to him over the years. “It’s helped me through a couple of divorces and breakups over the years.” “Running” is another fave just because it makes him smile and then “The Call” is one of his favorites to rock out to. A few special lyrics that stand out to him are “Celebrate the good times, not the wish we could times,” “A ray of hope remains, if we take the reins, we’ll arrive eventually,” and “Things turning inside out all the time just rewind it’s all in your mind.”
The Atlanta area is where Donny was born and raised, from College Park to Norcross. At the young age of 6 he was attacked by a German Shepherd. “I had to have plastic surgery along with 113 stitches to partially reattach my right ear and close up my head wounds. That’s when we moved to Norcross.” He lived all around Gwinnett after that until he bought his home in Winder, about twenty minutes outside of Athens.
Donny’s brother is ten years older than him so growing up his musical influences came from what his brother loved. Music like The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Pink Floyd. His brother was also a guitarist since he was sixteen and still plays in local bands around Atlanta. Some of Donny’s other favorite musicians include Gary Clark Jr., Iration, The Green, Ben Harper, moe., The London Souls, King Johnson, Avenged Sevenfold, and Gov’t Mule. “There are others, but that covers it good.”
Aside from music loving, Donny is also a huge fitness fanatic. “I started working out when I was 17 and still do. I was in my first and only (to this point) bodybuilding show in 2011 (placed first in beginner).” He also played basketball as a kid and was the starting point guard for four out of the five years he played. His talent doesn’t stop there. He won a talent show doing a Muppets skit with his sister. “We were asked to do it several times after and my mom would bribe me with Star Wars action figures lol.”
Donny has also been told he’s a good singer, however he’s too shy to sing in public. He’s also really great at working on machines like cars, motorcycles, lawn mowers, etc., even with no formal training. When not doing one of his many talents, he can be found watching movies…chick flicks are his guilty pleasure! “I absolutely love The Notebook. I like all kinds of movies, but chick flicks is my guilty pleasure.”
If face to face with 311 (or maybe they are reading this!), Donny would like to say these words: “Thank you for your incredible lyrics that have helped me out in so many ways in my life and saved me in other ways!”
Now to all his fellow excitables:
“I love each and every one of you like a member of my own family. Enjoy this trip and make the most of it!”
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The tale of Donny Scales my friends! Thank you so much for reading and hearing Donny’s story of how 311 changed his life. Until we meet again, keep on being awesome and spreading good karma throughout the world!
Much love – The Runt