Donnie Smith

I’m an engineer, producer and guitar player. I got started with a band called Music Machine a nine-piece funk band we did showcase clubs in places like Vegas and Atlantic City. Next I went to work 38 Special the first record was just about to drop, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to do the next tour coming up so I was asked by Donnie Van Zant to work with his little brother Johnny’s band at the time they were called Austin Nichols Band the Wild Turkey people didnt dig that so it soon became The Johnny Van Zant Band.I worked with Johnny for the first record on Poloydor. I did live sound and was tour manager. From there I got a call from Henry Paul who had just left the Outlaws and was going solo on Atlantic Records. I stayed with Henry for three records.We toured with the Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels, Molly Hatchet , Blackfoot , Peter Frampton, ZZ Top and Rossington Collins Band to name a few. Then I got a call from an old friend Dennis Thomas( former tour manager for 38 Special ) offering me a gig with Danny Joe Brown. Danny had just left Molly Hatchet and had a deal with Epic. The record was being produced by Glen Johns, Glen had produced the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and even The Beatles to name a few. I saw it as the chance of a lifetime and took the offer. Glen took me under his wing and showed me how things really work, how to make records. After that we were on the road for almost two years. After that I needed a break from the road. I took what I had learned from Glen and started working in studios. Around 1996 a couple of guys my sons knew had a band called Limp Bizkit came to me wanting make a CD or at least a demo. I agreed to do it, we sent the demo to Ross Robinson a producer in LA. That led to a record deal with Flip Records. We did the Life is Peachy tour with Korn and Ozz Fest and some other tours . I was tour manager and front house sound. You probably know the rest about them. Since then I have been working on my own band and my guitar playing.NOTE: For the bands mentioned above I was engineer and or tour manager, I did not produce their records.