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Tenth Avenue North, a contemporary Christian band with Tenth Avenue North--(from left) Mike Donehey, Jeff Owen, Jason Jamison and Scott Sanders--will perform Wednesday at Fredericksburg Christian High School, where Donehey graduated. Their first single, 'Love is Here,' is No. 5 on Billboard's hot Christian songs list. |
Mike Donehey, a 1999 graduate of Fredericksburg Christian High School, returns to his alma mater Wednesday. But this is no ordinary homecoming.
Donehey, 27, is the lead singer of Tenth Avenue North. The band's first single, "Love is Here," is climbing the Christian music charts at a fast clip. A stop at his old high school is etched in the schedule for the Florida-based band's CD release tour.
First, the thunder
That he's coming back at all is something of a miracle.
On Sept. 17, 1998, Donehey and two teammates were driving to a Fredericksburg Christian High soccer game when the Honda CRX they were in went out of control on Mine Road in Spotsylvania County. The car flipped several times and the three boys were ejected. That was a blessing, because the car hit a tree and was demolished.
When paramedics arrived on the scene, they thought Donehey was dead.
"They lost the pulse at least once on the way to the hospital," said his dad, Dan Donehey.
He had fractured his skull and vertebrae and had lacerations requiring 96 stitches. But after five days in the intensive-care unit at Mary Washington Hospital, Donehey was on the mend.
"Mike is definitely on his second life," his dad said.
Two months after the crash, Donehey, who was told initially he would never walk again, was ready to play in the school's soccer championship run.
While recovering, he discovered guitar.
"He picked up the guitar and very rarely put it down," said Dan Donehey. "There were times we wished he would put it down."
Still, as Donehey prepared for college, his parents were supportive of his musical endeavor.
His friends--well, not so much. "I remember him being annoying with it. 'Dude! Stop playing the guitar,'" said childhood friend Will Newman. "I definitely remember him not being good."
before the music
At Fredericksburg Christian High School, Donehey was a soccer star. He also was involved with drama, which he planned to major in at college.
When Donehey decided to go to Palm Beach Atlantic College, several of the guys from Fredericksburg Christian went, too, including Newman.
John Rios, another of the FCHS crowd and the best man at Donehey's recent wedding, took a detour to Florida by way of Lexington and Virginia Military Institute. He lives in the Sunshine State now near his friends.
Rios said Donehey always has liked the spotlight.
"He's real charismatic, real flamboyant," Rios said. "It's good for a lead singer to be that way."
Yet both Newman and Rios speak of how humble Donehey is.
That may be because Mike Donehey is the middle child of five. His siblings range in age from 30 to 20.
"All of our children have seen [that] we have not been afraid of the world," said his dad, who once was public relations director for National Right to Life. "I've never felt like we pushed the kids but we've encouraged them that whatever gifts God gives them, that they utilize them for Him." To not do that, Dan Donehey said, would be like not opening a present.
Mike Donehey lives life to the fullest whether it's playing a prank or a video game, friends say.
It's that intensity, Rios said, that makes Donehey finish what he starts. No matter what obstacle is in the way.
Friend Bethany Diehl said she remembers the awful guitar playing, too, but that he stuck with it.
"His hard work has paid off and I am not surprised in the least at his success," she wrote in an e-mail. "I am excited for the platform God has given him and the band for this generation. Everyone is really proud of him."
the gentle whisper
Mike said the car crash opened his eyes about the fleeting nature of life.
"It kind of woke me up to the realization that I am not immortal, that I am not going to be here forever."
However, he doesn't regard the accident as a life-changing experience.
"That was dramatic for sure but the thing that changed my life was when I got to college."
While he fiddled with the guitar, his dreams had nothing to do with making music. He was a theater major. His gifts, he thought, were in acting.
"At college, I experienced a lot of frustration because things weren't working out the way they were supposed to with my acting," said Mike. The competitive actor kept finishing second in auditions.
At Palm Beach Atlantic College, he met others who played music and sang all the time about "just wanting to be with Jesus. I never actually met people who liked Jesus who enjoyed him."
That steered him toward a music career. And that is what he considers his life-changing moment.
up the charts
Donehey connected with drummer Jason Jamison at college. Over the years, Tenth Avenue North added Scott Sanders on bass and Jeff Owen on guitar and background vocals. The band stopped at the Doneheys' home in Spotsylvania for a backyard barbecue last week.
Mike Donehey's friends say his talent is as strong as his faith and his desire to deliver the Gospel to all he sees.
"He's an amazing man," said Newman. "He's taken all this in stride. [Recently] they had a small show and he hung out for maybe two hours talking to teenagers and their parents" about Jesus Christ.
And it isn't just Donehey. Each of the band members "have seen something about God that has changed them from the inside out," said Rios.
Annette Jones: 540/368-5046
Email: abjones@freelancestar.com
WHAT: Tenth Avenue North concert WHERE: Fredericksburg Christian High School, 9400 Thornton Rolling Road WHEN: May 28, 7 p.m. COST: $5 INFO: tenthavenuenorth.com |
