Rig Rundown - Djunah's Donna Diane

For two people, Djunah deals a lot of volume. The Chicago-based duo is abrasive, angular, visceral, and brash-making them a perfect candidate to carry the flag of ’90s Windy City underground icons like Shellac, The Jesus Lizard, and Slint that all made a home at Chi-town’s indie Touch and Go Records.
When previous projects for Donna Diane (Beat Drun Juel) and drummer Nick Smalkowski (Fake Limbs) crumbled, they combined their volcanic tendencies and formed Djunah. Smalkowski has the tireless duty of propelling the song forward while maintaining its backbone. Donna Diane handles all the rest-she sings, plays guitar, and stomps bass notes with her feet thanks to a Roland-and-Moog hybrid command center.
After honing their kerranging, kinetic combo through rehearsals and tours, the pair traveled to Salem, MA, to record their 2019 debut Ex Voto with Converge guitarist and GodCity Studio overlord Kurt Ballou. (Ex Voto was mastered by Shellac bassist Bob Weston.)
Carving out some rock time, Donna Diane virtually welcomed PG’s Chris Kies into her jam room in Chicago. In this Rig Rundown, the ambitious, self-admitted neurotic musician opens up about crafting a singular sound with two instruments, how having a leg for a bass player is therapeutic, and extracting as much gear info from Kurt Ballou as possible. (Be sure to check out Donna’s channel - ‪@djunah‬ - for videos from her series Can I Touch Your Gear? including this episode - • "Can I Touch Your Gear... - with Kurt Ballou.)
[Facing a mandatory shelter-in-place ordinance to limit the spread of COVID-19, PG enacted a hybrid approach to filming and producing Rig Rundowns. This is the 27th video in that format.
]
Watch the Episode: bit.ly/DjunahRR
Merch & Magazines: shop.premierguitar.com
Don't Miss a Rundown: bit.ly/RIgRundownENL
Subscribe to PG's Channel: bit.ly/SubscribePGKZbin
D'Addario XT Strings: www.daddario.com/XTRR
00:00 - Intro
02:16 - God City Craftsman Series 1
07:07 - 1967 Gibson SG
10:39 - Moog Minitaur Synth
21:45 - Amps
26:54 - Pedalboard
#rigrundown #djunah #canitouchyourgear

[@JPTRFX]

Lifegoal being at rig rundown CHECK

[@saintmanuel]

Gratulation! Wurde aber auch Zeit!

[@ruybal34]

Extremely talented woman and a great vibe. Thank you for giving some of these lesser known artists the exposure they deserve. I’ve been adding a lot of them to my own playlist!

[@ad-xf8bb]

She’s so cool and talented! Definitely going to check out her music.

[@F1Fanatic76]

I was at the Vans show in Chicago and she killed it! Of course Converge was amazing, but Donna and Nick of Djunah made a new fan that night. Whenever shows come back GO SEE THEM!

[@endezeichengrimm]

This is the best Rig rundown to date.

[@rome8180]

Chris is the best Premier Guitar interviewer.

[@hibernative]

With all due respect; John Bollinger

[@rome8180]

@@hibernative With no due respect to John, I can't stand him. Everything about him comes off as painfully phony. I won't watch a video with him unless I truly love It.

[@hendrixluis9175]

John is my favorite, but i feel like chris has gotten a lot better and hes now a close second for sure

[@endezeichengrimm]

Ever since Rebecca Dirks disappeared, yes.

[@HomoChomsky]

@@rome8180 no, u phony

[@imoldcraig]

Man, this was such a good pick.

[@RAID5_Aesthetic]

Listen, that playing 2 instruments at once thing is BAD ASS

[@conan.neutron]

Donna's unique sound and defined tone voice is absolutely perfect for this kind of thing. One of my favorite editions of this. A rare talent!

[@siphillipson1099]

This was awesome. I'd never heard of the band and after listening to the album I'm so glad I stumbled on this video. Thanks!

[@bassert1966]

Djunah is a fantastic band!

[@STRATMAN1969]

omg I think I like like her ,this was amazing .Would love to hang with her for a day, and the ballet slippers I can't I just can't I have to go find videos until I can see them live .You just know touring in a suv the passenger's gona have a god dam amp head or something on there lap ha. Serious contender for g.o.a.t .rigrundown. Awesome PG is still bringing us killer content like this ,thank you so much.

[@EARL-zl5mv]

Man those Emperor cabs are so cool 🤙

[@Mindartcreativity]

Donna is such a giggly, happy person and a an awesome musician too! I didn‘t even recognize her at first from the video she did with Kurt Ballou (that video is awesome, go watch it!)

[@rodolfolarrea8493]

She is incredible talented ... a real artist ... awesome

[@pablo.l]

Great episode super interesting!

[@hibernative]

Love her dialect! And that Craftsman is delish.

[@MichaelBogomolny]

wow, Djunah is kinda awesome, different. cool.

[@soundknight]

That guitar is stunning!

[@mikeroadblock]

Take it as far as it will go! You rock!!! Cheers!

[@chimichurrimojo3096]

Wow what a cool set up! Awesome sounds

[@TheCollisionofworlds]

She’s so right about Traynors. They are absolute tanks and sound so good. One of my biggest regrets is trading mine back in the day.

[@Empterdose]

Love my YCV50Blue. But like other Yorkville products, I don't think they're very well known outside of Canada. It's a shame, but it makes me smile all the more to see the brand.

[@michaeldoerksen2841]

@@Empterdose I'm ok with that. I got a YSR-1(Custom Reverb) myself and a 2X15 cab

[@vayabroder729]

I think of Traynors as Canadian Marshalls. 😉

[@michaeldoerksen2841]

@@vayabroder729 Mmm kind of.... they have cleans more like Fenders. Which makes that their own tone. A few models of their vintage lineup have some close-ish dirty tone to Marshalls, but still different. Honestly I feel like my model and the YBA models have more of a blackface Fender Bassman dirt to them, which I'm very ok with

[@dddd717]

There’s a video somewhere throwing them off a roof and then going inside and using it...

[@mattthompson3008]

Great episode, player, band, everything. Was SO stoked to see her band play this year in Minneapolis before COVID rained on everyone's parade...

[@joaoluizsantos5274]

Very interesting the way she use all that stuff! Nice video!

[@DougMayer]

This was rad! Djunah is high on the (long) list of shows I gotta see when we can again.

[@nickh2517]

Wow her originality is so sick

[@efa666]

Never heard of her, but I'm now a fan.

[@leetyler994]

Float above your body….. very well put….🐰

[@rexnavarro2918]

Very Cool...

[@therewasascene]

That God City guitar sounds good! I like the chambered resonance and pickup voicing. 👍🏼 Also holy moly that P-90 SG is naaasty Way more high end and gnarlier breakup.

[@GianniMarricco]

Great to see a Traynor !!

[@ad-xf8bb]

Canada’s Peavey. Underappreciated for sure.

[@s.w.matteo6679]

The Tone Job rules.

[@bwa_8]

C'était vraiment très intéressant 👌

[@paniccleo]

Would love to see one with Kurt Ballou. I know there's already heaps of videos about him and gear he uses in different applications, but I could listen to that guy talk forever. This was a great video.

[@premierguitar]

That would be cool! Trust us, we're working on something...

[@Bobby_Digital37]

I love this chick!!! 😍😍😍

[@rvfiasco]

I gotta get that Roland Synth board. I saw Robert Smith do that on Cold and was totally into it. Great band and Rundown!

[@fugamantew]

She’s know her stuff, and definitely breaks the mold

[@Neuri]

I remember sending Perry a DM about this lady! Incredible stuff

[@leomilani_gtr]

This guitar is beautiful and Dona... Uff..

[@dallascowboys75006]

Awesome... and found some new music in Djunah, in love with the album! I also know what my next project is.... a Roland Pk-5a bass board. I just need to convince Donna to help me built out a sweet pedal board.

[@philipreedwallace]

Those pedals and the guitarist sound great. Glad to hear your in Nashville . Born and raised. ‘71. Check out Scott Lucas of Local H. Awesome set up.

[@grooveu1965]

Nice rundown and great job Donna on the pedal accompaniment. The knob configuration on the SG looks like a 60's era SG junior. The mini switch was maybe a coil tap mod for an original humbucker?

[@leocubiasmusiclifestyle7460]

I was watching this video with a huge smile on my face all the way through, her attitude is bright and how smart she is and also she’s a really cute impossible to dislike human . Her personality doesn’t match her IG profile , there she looks mean AF lol

[@releshred1272]

Please do a rig rundown with Dani Rabin from Marbin

[@fkorekore265]

está buenísima

[@BestTits]

love the gci guitar

[@stevemorano9317]

She’s adorable. What a great 👍 rig & good happy soul ❤️✌️

[@gwb19]

I hear you on getting things done on the cheap! Always bargain hunting. And it sounds good so there you go.

[@AngelMartinez-qs3cf]

I like Kurt Ballou's guitar. What is the model of that guitar? I couldn't quite hear the name of it. I would like to try that guitar with one Humbucker in it. Thank you for posting this.

[@R1GAMBLER]

Her rig set for Black Sabbath... but Her vocals & downstrokes set for Black Flag.

[@fatfro1]

She's cool. And good.

[@spkoftdvl]

Seeing her play with that Roland was incredibly difficult like how do you do it? but when I name the pianists and the pedals it was like oh, it makes sense to look at it from that perspective. Incredible set up and incredible artist!

[@profile_01]

Very nice, how much? For the guitar!

[@NickGuitarMalfara13]

Kurt Ballou soon plz!

[@premierguitar]

We like how you're thinking...

[@stanmcdonaldjr7660]

What about the amps ?

[@TJjjjjjjjjjj]

@2:38 cool guitar ! But does Kurt actually make these himself ? Pretty sure I heard somewhere they are made in Korea?

[@endezeichengrimm]

That sounds more realistic. Probably the same factory where the Schecters, LTD's and PRS SE's are made.

[@TJjjjjjjjjjj]

@@endezeichengrimm I don’t think a lot of people realise there are a few main manufactures responsible for half of the guitars on the market lol PRS’s budget line are made by cort in Indonesia and they make some pretty decent guitars themselves

[@Andyanddiana467]

She oughtta check out the Keith McMillan 12 step. You can program chords, and do way more, for cheaper/smaller.

[@WyldestZakk1980]

Isn´t that from last week?

[@premierguitar]

We released a 6-minute clip to tease, but this is the full 50-minute episode in all its glory.

[@DarwinTeyze]

what is her name ?

[@premierguitar]

Donna Diane

[@TorvickZeBerzerk]

[@GNRGNRGNRGNRGNR]

Isnt it pronounced duh-da-rio? Because its a D with an apostrophe then an A?

[@mattheweastel129]

She is super talented, I can’t believe her set up. I would love to jam with her and chat, she’s such a great positive force. What a talent and gorgeous

[@richardlewis1243]

I love her organist slippers, having played church organ..now there is some busy stuff going on

[@TJjjjjjjjjjj]

😂 take that bass players! you just got made redundant by a right leg 🦵

[@davelanciani-dimaensionx]

Dah-Dairy-Oh. That's how you say it. So 10's in E Standard?

[@relicguitar]

You should do a rigrundown with a canadian guy called Steve Hill. He does that "one man band" thing, but he plays real hard! He manages to adapt drum sticks in his vintage guitars headstock so that he can attack symbals and he installed teisco pickups under E and A strings so he can get a bass sound. He's a kind of a power trio in one pearson. He opened ZZTop's concert in a huge hockey arena in Quebec City all alone and people loved his concert! Just check his concert here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/op6nZa15YsRsq8k

[@winstonmackay5477]

I would love to spend a day talking to her

[@rorogogo6241]

not me

[@TheSonsofHorusx]

dance slippers !

[@samwisegrangee]

Fawning over a God City guitar. With a Bad Religion hoodie. 🤔

[@chris_kies]

The irony is palpable, but fawning is a word.

[@wheresallthezombies]

Oh man. I’m fixing to be super broke. Lol. First a dunable now a god city?!?

[@patrickr6505]

Scrap that Roland and let me play Bass😁

[@room101band8]

Anyone can do by reading the manual, she says. Then proceeds to do no one can do but geddy lee

[@bryanmannoia8410]

I have no idea who she is but she played well and seemed knowledgeable. a wall of amps will always make me click on.

[@blackiejames1843]

Now this is a women I can relate to.

[@BlackacreDoe]

42:31

[@snuffy166]

i like her, i will check her band out, thanks!!!!! btw i think she is a sweety, nice to see nowadays

[@BestTits]

hotness

[@midnighthour4299]

Someone should count how many times she says "like"..😀

[@giuliotoffano4763]

It's pronounced D'addario

[@releshred1272]

Da-darrio is how it’s pronounced- straight from the company itself.

[@mekonium7843]

How lame it is when you edit picture out of focus, as in the begining of this video.

[@MrZyphose]

One less band member.

[@hadleymanmusic]

Beta lead?

[@tps1020]

Chris you need a shave and a shower man

[@philipsanfilippo8279]

She like says like like a million times!

[@thejusticeization]

"Like oh my gawd" lol

[@releshred1272]

She had no idea how to play in key with the foot organ

[@vintagepipesnightmares]

Jesus Christ ! Another one saying like like like like like like. What happened to the USA school system ?

[@scottbangoarce4836]

I want $1 for every time she says, 'like'.

[@Burnt_Gerbil]

Just don’t make it a drinking game! 🤭

[@thejusticeization]

"like i got this guitar and like omg gurl. like oh my gawd"

[@MrZyphose]

Why do I just not care about modern music? She is cute and can play. Just not my bag. Nikki Sixx plays bass pedal.

[@snotbog]

not my cup of tea