Donnie Hopper (The Bare Minimum – bass)
SPB: What stands out to you about your first live show with The Bare Minimum?
Hopper: What stands out to me about my first show with the Bare Minimum was how big the shoes were that I had to fill. It was a St. Paddy's Day show on March 15th, 2019. I had joined the band as the new bass player just a few months prior filling the void left by my predecessor Allen Davidson.
Not only was Allen at that show, but nobody knew he had left the band and the whole crowd was very confused by the fact that there was some new guy up on stage using the bass Allen had played for his entire tenure with the band.
Because it was St. Paddy's Day, we did a mix of originals and covers, including a sped up and stripped down version of “Panama” by Van Halen and “Cum On Feel The Noize” by Quiet Riot. I even sang a cover of “Fight For Your Right” by the Beastie Boys.
Allen joined us on stage to sing one of the old songs he used to sing and everybody lost their minds - that guy was truly beloved and I knew right then I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to live up to that guy's legacy. Allen and I hung out together until the bar shut down that night and he had some really kind words of encouragement for me. Love that guy. Now almost 4 years later, somewhere along the line people stopped calling me "not Allen" and began actually using my name. We always have a song that Allen sings practiced and ready in the event he shows up to one of our gigs.
