Superstar Donkey Donkey, a two-man band, returns to Starkville this weekend to play at Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern. The band will start at 9:30 p.m. today and tomorrow.
Superstar Donkey Donkey is made up of two members, Ming and Eugene Donkey.
“Eugene Donkey sings like he’s on a Georgia chain gang while slappin’ and spinnin’ his upright bass like he was shovelin’ up the dead,” Ming Donkey said. “I pick it, hum it, yell it and kick it. Guitar, harmonica, vocals and drums all at once.”
Ming found himself playing several instruments while working on the music.
“We were working out song ideas; there was a drum kit around but seldom a drummer,” he said. “I started kicking a few of the pieces of the kit while I played guitar, just to add some drive to the songs.”
The Donkeys’ music pulls from rockabilly, juke blues, hill music, old-school country and surf.
Ming describes the music as a mix between Southern-Gothic Americana and Mississippi hill country blues.
“Our presentation in the form of a two-man trio puts a unique perspective on these influences, too,” he said. “I guess our delivery and presentation pays homage to the spirit of our punk backgrounds. Needless to say, there is a lot going on.”
“Both of us have done time in various bands exploring various styles,” he added. “In this setup we try our best to draw from all those experiences.”
The band members both come from Mississippi but have lived in several places. New Orleans and Mississippi serve as the two biggest influences on the group.
“In New Orleans we were living on the fringe of the quarter on the corner of St. Ferdinand and St. Claude [streets]. The river had been rising and one morning there was a donkey on our street just stumbling around. It was a stubborn catch for animal control,” Ming said. “The very next band flyer I made had a donkey on it.”
Ming guesses that donkey has been raising its head one way or another ever since.
“We came up with the name then, though a debate continues on which of us coined the term,” he said. “I say we both did.”
Frustrated with other bandmates Eugene wanted the band to cut the fat and be a two-piece and call themselves Superstar Donkey.
“I said if we were gonna just be a combo we should call it Superstar Donkey Donkey,” Ming said.
Now Ming lives in Starkville and Eugene lives in Nashville.
The two get together and write songs of desperation, murder, love and loss from a Southern perspective, Ming said.
“We do our best to project a haunting and dream-like atmosphere both sound-wise and sight-wise. There is a bit of a traveling sideshow aspect involved in our presentation with the banners and props and such. All we lack is our own brand of snake oil,” he said.
Superstar Donkey Donkey has played in a variety of places with different bandmates.
“I guess our biggest show was opening for Lucero at Hal and Mal’s in Jackson,” Ming said. “It was a great crowd, close to sold out. It was cool to play to that many people, and sharing a stage with Lucero was cool too, but both Eugene and I have cut our teeth playing in various bands here in Starkville at the Tavern. It’s always been a favorite and it’s got a great history of bands having played there. It’s like coming home to us.”
Dave Hood, owner of the Dark Horse Tavern, said that Ming and Eugene have played at the venue several times before.
“The guys are professional musicians familiar with the stage who have a passion for their music and are great entertainers as well,” Hood said.
The band will also be performing at the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin’ Festival during the weekend of Nov. 2.