From its humble beginnings as a four-piece practicing in a room not much larger than a closet and playing to sweaty crowds in cramped basements, Donkey Punch has come a long way. Three years later, they have graduated to playing to even sweatier capacity crowds at their hometown's largest rock venue and gigs across Michigan and the Midwest.
The Donkey Punch story began in the fall of 1998 when Christopher Lee and Aaron Brink moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan. The two friends played bass and guitar respectively in a band in high school and wished to continue where they had left off.
Christopher had the good fortune of being assigned to a dorm room with incoming trumpet major Brian Drake. Brian was added to the group immediately and soon recruited classmate and percussion major Todd Waters to play drums. At about the same time, Todd Bauer responded to a flyer searching for horn players and came aboard as the second trumpet. After a host of failed auditions for singers and horn players, the band came across Eric Day, a music major who had played trombone in Detroit's Beauty School Dropouts. As it turns out, Eric is also an accomplished vocalist and a perfect fit as Donkey Punch's front man. The group began practicing as a six-piece and started to play at friends' parties playing their first show under the name Lucky Tray Day. They later changed their name to Donkey Punch and added Garrett Mendez on trombone to round out the horn section. Having amassed a strong following, they began to work their way up the local club circuit to the point where they could headline regular weekend shows to full crowds at Ann Arbor's The Blind Pig.
Donkey Punch has shared the stage with touring acts such as The Gadjits, Hey Mercedes, Ruth's Hat, and The Slackers, in addition to well-known locals like Capture the Flag, Few and Far Between, The Articles, PT's Revenge, and Small Craft Sighting. Finding success locally, where the readers of The Michigan Daily have voted them "best local band" two years running, Donkey Punch is taking strides to expand their fan base outside the confines of Michigan.
ERIC DAY - vocals AARON BRINK - guitar CHRISTOPHER LEE - bass TODD WATERS - drums BRIAN DRAKE - trumpet TODD BAUER - trumpet GARRETT MENDEZ - trombone
Source: http://www.donkeypunchrock.com/
