Donald Keesing

Donald Keesing started with D.C. punk band White Zombies in 1982. In 1988 and 1989 he sang and played guitar for psychedelic band Rain Crow the frontman for the rowdy garage twang bands Mink Ranch 1990 & Dollar Bin 2008-10. An environmental activist, Keesing often plays benefits and rallies. Plays solo acoustic and duos, sometimes with C.B. Heinemann as Donkee Tonk. http://www.donkeetonk.com recent song demos are on this youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/DonkeeTonk?feature=mhee Reviews and press-

Reviews and press-
Dollar Bin-Hug Me Or I Shall Destroy You -2010
Big Takeover 66-30th Anniversary issue- ?a stylistic grab-bag, encompassing bluesy rock, garage, country, surf and Hawaiian music, with a few intriguing covers?while the playing is casual, loose and shambolic, it also oozes rock ?n' roll.If their live show is ?very popular with walk-ins?, then this album perfectly captures the experience of one of those aimless, bleary-eyed bar-hoppers.?-Mark Suppanz, June 2010

DOLLAR BIN donaldkeesing@yahoo.com

Donald Keesing- The Aztec Heart Treatment-2000

"The album is a delightfully demented romp through a musical landscape dotted with psychedelia, country, punk, folk, 60's garage, slippery saxophone and the-sound-of-things-falling-apart grooves. Keesing's smoky baritone provides the narrative focus while a cast of thousands- including Honeypole's Norman van der Sluys and the Black Cat's Bernie Wandel- provides the backdrop. The texture is dense yet atmospheric; think of the Kingdom of Leisure meets However. "The Aztec Heart Treatment" definitely stands up to repeat listenings- just when you think Keesing has done it all, he pulls another rabbit out of his hat. This one's a winner." - Marcus Esposito, Snap Pop, June 2000

"Donald Keesing produced The Aztec Heat Treatment in 2000, but I just learned about it a couple weeks ago. Despite Keesing's presence in the Washington DC punk community for more than twenty years, his cd remained a mystery until recently. I don't know how this came to be, but I think I'd have formed a drastically kinder view of pop music had I heard this when he first recorded these songs.

I have long harbored disdain for pop music, dismissing it as the sad country cousin to real rock. Some things snared my esteem like the Police, the Cars, and the Knack, but for me, the best practitioner of Pop has always been a tie between Bowie and the Kinks. I don't think it any stretch to include Donald Keesing in this august company; his lyrics, his able fusion of humor and melancholy, and the capacity to write catchy tunes which stick in my head hours after hearing them all embody what I wish Pop music would do, instead of following trite and marketable formulas.

Certainly, nobody would mistake "I've hardened my heart (and I don't love you)" or "She only laughs when I'm Hurt" for radio-friendly pablum. No less memorable, "You Are Cleopatra" skitters along with an infectious, but truly off-beat riff, while "You Have Been Deceived" holds its own against the disturbing gems near the end of "Something Else by The Kinks." Listening to The Aztec Heart Treatment, I found myself wondering what people would do if exposed en masse to this disc -- embrace it, miss the point, or coopt the least memorable track as the hit single. It's hard to say, and harder to stomach, but I wish the opportunity would arise -- we need a disruptive influence in our pop music."- Peter Burris

"Where popular music tends to paint with broad strokes, folk and punk cut right to the heart of the issue. From Yucca Mountain to School of the Americas to the power line they want to push through you backyard, the song of dissent is a needed wake up call to the people affected most. Pat Humphries and Sandy O., Tom Neilson, Donald Keesing, Ani DiFranco, Sarah Themsen and Dar Williams are all progressive artists unafraid to play at benefit concerts, actions or marches.. Nukewatch Pathfinder -Paul Vos Benkowski Summer 2006