Herald Sun May 2001

Drumming Home Success
By Blanche Clark

A never-say-die attitude has taken drummer Virgil Donati from Brumswick to the testosterone-laden heights of the US heavy rock scene.

His progressive rock-fusion band Planet X, now touring North America, start their first Australian tour on Monday.

“It’s taken a lot of effort to get here, a never-lie-down, a never-say-die attitude,” Donati says, on his wasy to a Rhode Island gig. The band will also headline Drumtek’s annual Ultimate Drummer’s Weekend in Preston on Saturday and Sunday.

“Our music is quite original,” Donati says. “Listeners will feel emotions and moods they have not felt before when listening to this music.”

Donati who lists his influences as John Coltrane, Led Zeppelin, The Police and Soundgarden, writes 70% of the bands music. Few would be surprised at his success, least of all his parents, who, driven mad by his obsession with rhythm, bought him his first drum kit at the age of three. The precocious moment was captured in the Sun News Pictorial newspaper. Donati headed to LA in 1996, playing with the likes of Branford Marsalis before forming Planet X two years ago.
“I wanted to be in a place with more opportunities and more visibility. I’m proud to wave the Aussie flag, but it’s really about the music and findin new challenges”.