Pat Dohohue Transcript

March 1, 2008

Dr. Kent Gustavson: Welcome back to “Sound Authors.” On the fourth segment of each show we feature an author of sound and one of the premier guitarists of the world is Pat Donohue.Chet Atkins says about Pat Donohue, “He’s one of the greatest finger pickers in the world today.”And Leo Cottke says, “I first heard him on the radio and got upset. Then I heard him in concert and got more upset. He thinks harmonically, improvises beautifully and writes. If you’re a guitar player, it’s going to haunt you.”And I am a guitar player and it does indeed haunt me. Welcome to the show, Pat Donohue.

Pat Donohue: Hey, how are you doing?

Dr. Kent: Great.

Pat: Very nice of you to have me.

Dr. Kent: Yeah, and your music is so diverse. It goes all the way up from jazz, to folk, to just about anything. How did you get into to doing such an amazing hodgepodge?

Pat: Well, I guess I’ve always just played what I like and so as my taste evolved in music I kind of try to capture different styles that I like to hear because my natural inclination is to try and play it if I like it. So, that’s how it got diverse.

Dr. Kent: And did your jobs get better on the “Prairie Home Companion Show” over the years here?

Pat: Oh, I think so; a little more concise and focused I would say.

Dr. Kent: There’s definitely a great element of comedy in your music. Do you get a hand in those comic songs that Garrison Keillor always dreams up?

Pat: Sometimes we write together. A lot of times he’ll have written the lyrics, or I will. Usually if I’m singing it I’ve written it and if he’s singing it he’s written it and vice versa but sometimes they cross, yeah.

Dr. Kent: Now, your latest album is all solo guitar. We’re not going to play a clip of that on the show today but tell me a little bit about that album.

Pat: It’s just an album that I wanted to have of what it sounds like when I just sit down on a chair in a room and play my guitar. That’s pretty much what it sounds like and if that’s the sort of thing that appeals to you, it’s really great.

Dr. Kent: Do you still get the same kind of joy you did when you were 12 years old first picking up the guitar?

Pat: Yeah. It’s funny you should ask. I was just thinking that the other day and wondering that to myself. But then yes, I do.

Dr. Kent: That’s a wonderful thing. Let’s listen to a little bit, one of the songs you wrote from your “Profile” album. I chose two love songs here. One of them is called “My True Love.” Let’s hear a little bit of that.

Pat: OK.[music]

Dr. Kent: Well, that’s a beautiful tune. Not only are you a gifted guitar player, you’re a singer as well. Did you ease into that or was it always a marriage?

Pat: No, I always sang even when I was a little kid.

Dr. Kent: What did you start with? Were your folks rockers or were your folks…?

Pat: No, not at all, not at all. But I had an older sister who played guitar and sang and so I used to harmonize with her before my voice changed. [laughs] I was the one with the high voice for a while.

Dr. Kent: Oh yes, I know that very well. I had a soprano until the age 15. Now, we’re interrupting you in a middle of a rehearsal right now. What are you rehearsing for?

Pat: We’re rehearsing for a radio broadcast of Prairie Home Companion”, which will be live tomorrow night on your public radio station.

Dr. Kent: Do you still enjoy it?

Pat: Oh yes, very much, very much. I was just listening in the other room. They’re rehearsing without me and it makes me feel like I should get back there. [laughs]

Dr. Kent: We’re getting you in big trouble here.

Pat: No, I just don’t want to be left out.

Dr. Kent: It’s been a true pleasure. I don’t want to hold you too long. Let me ask you a couple more questions…

Pat: Sure.

Dr. Kent: …about your childhood. Very curious, did you listen to Doc Watson? Did you listen to blues players? What was your…what did you love?

Pat: Yeah, both of those things are true. I started off playing drums when I was about 10 and I was in a rock band in high school playing drums and then learning how to play guitar at the same time as a sideline. Then our guitar player was listening to a lot of, well, blues players and also people like Doc Watson and country, the roots music I guess you could say now.

Dr. Kent: And are you a roots musician?

Pat: I guess I’d say so, yeah.

Dr. Kent: But just about anything. What I love about the show is that anytime you tune in it might be a Blind Blake tune, it might be some finger picking, it might be a soft folk tune. It’s awesome.

Pat: Well, we’re just working on a version of “Police Dog Blues” by Blind Blake just as we were talking here.

Dr. Kent: Do you listen to those records? How do you figure it out?

Pat: Yeah, I’ve listened to all the Blind Blake stuff a lot by now so I kind of know it all but at least how it goes basically. And if I don’t I refer back to it. There are some great CD reissues of old blues players now and it’s much more easy to access that music.

Dr. Kent: Those old 78s?

Pat: Yeah.

Dr. Kent: So one more questions for you. Do you have really expensive finger insurance?

Pat: [laughs] No, I probably should.

Dr. Kent: [laughs]

Pat: Get into the digital age…

Dr. Kent: There you go. Well, it’s been a real pleasure. Let’s listen to a little bit of another love song here from the album “Portrait”, it’s a gorgeous album, sorry not portrait, “Profile.”

Pat: ”Profile.”

Dr. Kent: And this song is called “Do you Love Me?” It’s another love song. Thank you so much for being on the show and we’ll listen to you tomorrow night on “Prairie Home Companion.”