by SARAH MUSGRAVE

The Donkeys seem to have emerged from some ’70s basement rec room, blissfully unaware of how much irony has ravaged the world of music. If there’s a self-referential sneer or post-hardcore smirk to be seen on any the four guys cranking out the heavy rock tunes on stage, it sure doesn’t get in the way of the music.

“We represent the single-minded pursuit of the heavy,” drummer Keith Marchand says with a completely straight face. “No-gimmicks-ever is our policy. We just make sure the crowd feels us deep down in their lower abdomens - a musical hernia, if you will. But in a fun way.”

The Donkeys combine warm, ’70s grooves mixed with moments of jagged noise and some open-ended improvisation - sort of like blenderizing Blue Cheer, the Who and the Big Boys. The resulting sound releases your inner rocker and makes you feel a profound love for those mulletted mouth breathers in high school - like now, finally, you’re all one big happy heavy rock family. Almost as soon as the outfit formed last spring, grassroots fans began sporting their own homemade Donkeys T-shirts (as seen in the latest Bionic video).

Marchand’s fellow burros include former UVBC guitarist Brad MacLean and bassist Dean Blaser, with Eric Gaucher (once of Carl’s Auto Parts) on vocals. Plans for 2003 include setting up a few shows with some of their favourite bands, like the Shalabi Effect and Model Children, and touring to support their release on Catch and Release records.

This spring, the Donkeys will also be recording a full-length album, the name of which is still in discussion in the post-heaviness hours (where some jams end with members actually saying to each other in complete earnestness, “Man, that was both heavy and duty.”).

“Right now, it’s a toss-up between Tears of Heaviness or The Longest Yardbird. We haven’t decided,” says Marchand. :

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