hello everyone, i know i haven't posted a blog in quite a long time, so let me inform you on some very big things that are happening really soon!

that's right everyone, you heard it. Donnie Darkhorse is now extinct after about 4 years of writing, promoting, and performing under that pen name. As of now, I will be known as Dakota Darkhorse instead. I have given this a lot of thought and this career move is for the best interest in me. I am choosing this name for several reasons. First off, as we all already know, "Donnie Darkhorse" sounds a little like "Donnie Darko". This was never intended and i didnt actually realize this until people started bringing it up to me, and now it's gotten to the point where it pisses me off when people say "oh i like your name because it reminds me of the movie". Anyone who actually knows me knows that my pen name has NOTHING to do with that movie. So the main reason why i'm changing it is because Dakota Darkhorse definitely sounds more unique and fits my new style of writing and performing more. Dakota has always been a favorite name of mine and it means "friend" in native american. Therefore, my new name is a play on words, meaning "Your friend, the underdog". Obviously my first 2 books and CD are published under "Donnie" and will still be sold as such. However, anything new i put out starting in 2009 and thereafter will go under "Dakota". I will still be keeping this same myspace page to promote my poetry, photography, and art, all i will be doing is changing my first name. My new music myspace to promote my spoken word and CDs is www.myspace.com/dakotadarkhorse so feel free to add me on there also. Message me back with your thoughts on the name change.


Besides the name change, some other VERY BIG THINGS are in store for 2009:

First, I have just formed a new band, called "Goodbye Guardian Angel". This band is a side project from my solo stuff, and is a mix of music / singing / and spoken word. Check it out at www.myspace.com/goodbyeguardianangel and I am currently in the studio recording the CD, so more tracks will be up soon. The debut CD for my new band is called "Farewell to Forever" and is due out sometime in early 2009.

Second, I am starting to book dates for my tour next year! I will be on the road doing shows a good portion of the year, and I would like to hear from my fans as to where you would like me to perform! If i get enough attention or requests from a particular state or city, i will definitely book some shows there next year! As of now, i plan on doing some shows in NYC and Philadelphia in January, New Hampshire and Maine in March, and in the Summer i plan on doing a tour to Ohio, Indiana, Chicago, Wisconsin, Iowa,  Minnesota,  Baltimore, and Washington DC. In the late summer / early fall, i plan on going to Atlanta, Georgia, Tennessee, New Orleans, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Las Vegas, and California.

Third, many of you have already seen this, but in case you havent, I made a music video for my track "Breaking Pangaea". It is on my blog, on my myspace page, on and youtube, so check it out! It is the first single off of my debut CD "Scars and Stripes", so if you like the track, feel free to order a signed copy of the CD from my myspace page!

Lastly, I plan on putting a couple more books and another solo CD out next year as well. The first book will be a 3 way split between myself, my good friend / fellow poet Zach King Smith (who is "The Young Lion" on my top friends), and another poet friend Justin Blackburn, who opened for me at my show in Atlanta this past summer. The title for it will be "Triumvirate" and this should be out either in April or May of 2009. Both Zach and Justin will be on tour with me in the summer to help support and promote the book. The solo CD i put out will be called "The Red Carpet Romance" and will have many of the poems from my last book "Another Day, Another Shade of Gray" including the long awaited audio version of my poem "California Clone". I am hoping to have this CD out in the late spring also. If I have the time after that, i plan on putting out another solo book also, titled "Here Comes Hope", but that may wait until 2010.

So i just wanted to inform everyone on my recent news and what I've been up to, since i've been silent for the past month or so. Hope all is well with all of you and hope to see many of you at my shows when i hit the road next year! Keep in touch and take care, love you all and thanks for the support <3

DD