12/10/98 4:45:16 PM

Geoff Gould: We have Donna Jean here with us tonight.

GG: Welcome

Donna Jean: Great to be online with all of you folks

FourWindzS: Geoff trying to get Donna outta the shower singing?

GG: no rob

DJ: four; I want to major in singing outside the shower

SKULLnROSE: Donna, how did it come to be that you joined THE OTHER ONES this summer?

DJ: skull: because Phil asked me to, and it was very much my pleasure

GG: too bad you didn't come to Shoreline.

Greta331: Hiya, any plans for coming on this summers' Further tour?

Hexfest: Are you going to be touring the East Coast in 99? Spring or Fall?

DJ: hex: I certainly hope so; the Donna Jean Band has been performing, especially on the east coast for the past 2 summers, the northeast, and then there were some dates in California, starting at the House of Blues and going north to San Francisco

NSMCD: Donna my favorite era of music was '77-- when was it most fun for you

DJ: nsmcd: I especially enjoyed the later years when I started writing, and the expression of who I was could come out; and going to Egypt, and going down the Nile!

GG: mmmm....pyramids!

NSMCD: yes I remember the announcement of Egypt at Giants Stadium I was at that show and it blew my mind

DJ: I would definitely say when I was writing and when Jerry would encourage me to write.

Hexfest: Is Devin still on keyboards in your band?

DJ: hex: YES

DJ: in fact we're hoping to have Devin play with a Heart of Gold Band reunion in San Francisco.

GG: Single date or tour?

DJ: maybe 2 or 3 gigs around the bay area, and see what kind of response we get

GG: With Kimock and Anton?

DJ: Yes with those guys, and possibly a live recording.

TENNJED79: Nice show with Bobby and Ratdog in Alabama last spring!

DJ: tenn: that was a real kick. It was great. I loved doing that show: the crowd was really exuberant, and was amazed what happened to the audience when I walked out onto the stage.

JkStraw72: Donna were there any hard feelings after leaving the dead?

DJ: JK: certainly not on my part; we actually went to Thanksgiving dinner afterwards, since it was a mutual split, there were no hard feelings

GG: That's good.

 

DJ: The band knew that we needed to be out, and so did we…so it was not weird at all

Llama420: Is the Heart of Gold Band, the same formerly on Relix Records?

DJ: llama: the original was released on Relix.

Llama420: thank you Donna...I have a copy of it here in front of me! = ))

DJ: but it contained some things that weren't really the Heart of Gold band. I want to clarify that The Ghosts weren't mine or Keith's band.

GG: who else was in The Ghosts?

DJ: mainly a band that was put together to do a record by a guy named Don Gaynor. We were hired to put together a record with them. Greg Anton was with them.

GG: So, how did you meet Kimock?

DJ: Greg and Keith and I had stayed together after The Ghosts, and we were looking to put another band together. And that's when someone told us about Kimock, who had played with the Goodman Brothers

GG: Steve was in the Goodman Bros?

SKULLnROSE: Donna what is your favorite song to sing? Dead or other wise?

DJ: skull: gosh thats a hard question; it may too hard of a question

SKULLnROSE: ok top 3?

GG: That's fair

DJ: It all depends on what my mood is.

DEWNDATRAG: Donna , was that your child on the 1973 album? If so how old?

DJ: yes it is Zion, Zion will be 25 in January.

GG: wow

DJ: He just left our studio here in Alabama today. He's recording a record here, and sometimes he plays with the Donna Jean Band, and will be with the heart of gold reunion band

GG: excellent

Llama420: Sunrise still makes me sway! = )

RNfinlyNS: I love to hear you on The Music Never Stopped

SimpleTw: I always thought you did a great job on The Music Never Stopped myself ;-)

DJ: I'm so glad to hear these comments after so many years. It really does your heart good to know that people still care and remember.

GG: Remember? How could we forget?

Hexfest: Donna, are you still a Christian?

DJ: yes I'm a Christian

RichStrick: Hey so am I

DJ: Rich: thanks , and please keep it in mind and out there on the net [laughs]

RichStrick: Donna, sorry that I never found any pictures of you while you were pregnant with Zion.

DJ: I'd love to have one of those pictures; keep it in mind.

[answering a question about other singers]

DJ: I really like Tracy Chapman, I like her simplicity; personally, I appreciate singers who deliver in a simplistic style. I'm not into the lovey-dovey thing

GG: Did you ever find it hard being a woman in a band with "The Boys?"

DJ: If I was supposed to have found it hard, I never did

GG: that's great

DJ: [Laughs] they always treated me so well, like a queen.

GG: I'm glad to hear that

DEWNDATRAG: Did you ever meet Grace Slick?

DJ: yes I met grace several times

GG: She's one of my fav's

DJ: We never really became great friends but we certainly knew each other.

Blewglass2: yeah, how was singing with THE KING?

DJ: blew: yes I did sing with Elvis, he was the most incredible looking male I'd ever seen in my life!!!!!

GG: When was that?

DJ: He was incredibly nice, it was 1969, right before I came to California.

RNfinlyNS: I bet you had more fun with the DEAD!!

DJ: RNf: I certainly had more fun w/ the Dead. I was scared with Elvis! I never really did get into the gospel thing, or the contemporary Christian thing. I enjoy songs that have a lot of depth, that make you think and are provocative, and the Dead's music had that. I don't look at one style versus another style; I look at the content rather than the style.

GG: traditional question here at the GDF: What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

DJ: I haven't eaten ice cream in so long; I don't think I can answer that! When you're over 50 you can't!!!

Llama420: Donna, do you know of, or have an opinion on the band "Phish"?

DJ: of course I've heard of them, I can't say I've ever listened to them enough to have an opinion. I don't think anybody is going to capture the quality of what was going on in the Dead, and I know they have picked some of the same following.

RAM110: Donna did you like singing in Jerry Garcia Band ??

DJ: ram: I loved singing in the JGB.

SKULLnROSE: what CD is in your cd player right now?

DJ: skull: I really enjoy good classical, good jazz, and Bruce Hornsby.

GG: Great new CD.

DJ: I think he's one of the best musicians of the 90's, and of course I'm a piano person!

Billdehave: Has the album you and Keith did with the Baby on the cover on CD?

DJ: Bill: It is not on CD, and I don't even know where the masters are. I imagine somewhere in the vault.

GG: I haven't heard any updates about Phil

DJ: I haven't heard any updates in the past few days, but I believe he's gonna be fine.

Plfeb28: Donna if there was one song you could redo which would it be

DJ: plfeb: I would like to do the whole Keith and Donna album all over again!!!! There are many things on that album I'd like to do over, but there were some really good tunes on that one.

JkStraw72: Donna when you sang You Ain't Woman Enough to Steal My Man" was there a person in mind?

DJ: jkstraw: no there wasn't a person in mind, I just loved the song.

GG: What was it like when you walked onstage at Camden?

DJ: Once again, it's such a pleasure to be on stage with those guys, and it never ceases to amaze me. The crowd loved it and I loved it!

GG: I was so excited to see your name when I read the setlist.

DJ: there's something profoundly nostalgic when me and Phil and Bobby are on stage together.

GG: Yes, but it's a sweet nostalgia, not a corny one!

DJ: It's like days gone by; oh yeah! It's sweet!

GG: What was it like singing in front of the Wall of Sound?

DJ: it was very difficult to hear the vocals!!!!!! [Laughs]. It was wonderful because there was so much sound, and we were playing such big arenas. I'm a rock n roller.....I like it loud!

GG: It was great for us

DJ: hex: before the dead, everything was very measured and controlled. When I got in the Grateful Dead you never knew what was going to happen.

GG: neither did we

DJ: it made for a very interesting life style

MDZamboni: Donna, did you spend more time on the Bolo or the Bozo bus???

DJ: mdz: I was on the bozo bus; you bet your little booties!

GG: those must be strange memories. What about singing with Pigpen?

DJ: singing with Pig; just the short time we were with him; we grew to love him. In Germany we stayed together and really got to know each other. I'm thankful for that overlap time before he left.

GG: Donna do you remember specific gigs, what was the most special, or stands out?

DJ: many stand out; I just don't know where they were!

DAlbom2874: how did you know when to come on and leave stage? was there a secret signal?a wink?a twitch?

DJ: da: I just knew. Nobody gave me any signals....I just knew when to be on stage.

SKULLnROSE: did you secretly attend any shows after you left the band ?

DJ: skull: I saw them in San Francisco, and in Birmingham in April before Jerry died in August.

GG: did you get together?

DJ: yeah...we spent some really good quality time with Jerry the following morning after the gig.

GG: What would you like to say before we leave?

DJ: I would like to tell people how much all of this means to me; all the kind comments and expressions of love. Everytime I'm in a concert situation and get to talk to people... it really means so much to that people remember you after so many years. I get so many emails, and talk to so many young people, and I return all the love.

GG: it amazes me too!

DJ: It's been my pleasure to be here and speak online, and I'd be glad to come back to do another chat, and you're the greatest fans on the earth!

GG: Thank you all, we bid you goodnight.

DJ: and I bid you goodnight