Local 913, Episode 40: Jim Donovan

Jim Donovan, founding member of Rusted Root, left the band in 2005 in order to focus on raising his young family. This year, he releases his first solo album since leaving the group. The album Sun King Warriors came out of a desire to make music again:
“After I left the band, every day I felt a hole. As someone who performs and records, I didn’t realize how much of a part of me that was until it wasn’t there. I didn’t know how it would work or if it would happen, but I knew I had to start recording again. In 2011, I began the recording process. What prompted it is that I had a couple of health issues; I thought I was dying. I thought I had a heart attack, which turned out not to be one, but it shook me. I realized that if I didn’t start soon, even though I didn’t have time to do it, it might not ever happen. Most of all, my kids wouldn’t get to see that part of me that writes, performs and records. They’ve only ever known me as Dad or as a professor.”
You can catch Jim Donovan live at WYEP’s Alternative Souper Bowl at the Carnegie Library in Oakland on Sunday Feb 7. For more on Jim Donovan, check out his website.