A personal and professional timeline...
Timeline
Tanya Timeline
| July 14, 1966 | Tanya Donelly is born to Richard and Kristin Donelly, a plumber- guitarist-actor and a legal secretary, respectively |
| 1970 | The Donelly family settles in Rhode Island. Tanya's brother, Christopher (currently a jeweler), is born |
| 1972 thru 1973 | Tanya, extremely shy, spends her mornings throwing up in class. Her teacher eventually separates her from the rest of the class, which was fine by her |
| 1973 | Tanya sees her first concert, Liza Minnelli at the Providence Civic Center, with her parents |
| 1974 | Tanya meets Kristin Hersh and they become immediate best friends |
| 1975 thru 1980 | Tanya's father and mother divorce |
| Tanya's father marries Kristin's mother so the two become siblings | |
| Tanya and Kristin Hersh learn to play the guitar while listening to the Beatles, the Pretenders, the Velvet Underground and other groups | |
| Tanya rides her bike down the stairs and knocks her front teeth out - the inspiration for "Feed the Tree"'s lyrics "this little squirrel I used to be/ slammed her bike down the stairs / they put silver where her teeth had been / baby silvertooth, she grins and grins" | |
| 1978 | Tanya almost loses one of her legs in a car accident. When it happened, she took a good look and thought, "Cool!", and promptly passed out |
| 1978 or 1979 | Tanya, Kristin Hersh, and David Narcizo attend The Kinks concert at the Providence Civic Center |
1980
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Kristin Hersh (guitar and vocals), Tanya Donelly (guitar and vocals), Becca Blumen (drums), and Elaine Adamedes (bass) form Kristin Hersh and the Muses |
| 1981 or 1982 | Tanya's father takes her to an REM concert at The Living Room, in Providence |
| 1983/1984 | David Narcizo replaces Becca Blumen and the band officially becomes the Throwing Muses |
| 1985 | Leslie Langston replaces Elaine Adamedes as new Throwing Muses bass guitarist |
| Throwing Muses is signed to the prestigious 4AD label as 4AD's first American band | |
| 1986 | Throwing Muses releases their debut self-titled album, Throwing Muses 4AD CAD 607 CD |
| 1987 | Throwing Muses releases Chains Changed EP 4AD BAD 701 |
| Throwing Muses contributes a song, "Fish", to Lonely is an Eyesore 4AD CAD 703 CD compilation | |
| Throwing Muses releases The Fat Skier 4AD MAD 706 | |
| 1988 | Tanya becomes an auntie with Kristin Hersh's first son Dylan |
| Throwing Muses releases House Tornado 4AD CAD 802 CD | |
| 1989 | Throwing Muses releases Dizzy EP 4AD BAD 4018 CD |
| Throwing Muses releases Hunkpapa 4AD CAD 901 CD, Sire 25855 | |
| 1990 | Fred Abong replaces Leslie Langston as Throwing Muses' bass guitarist |
1990
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Kim Deal (guitar and vocals), Tanya Donelly (guitar and vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass and vocals), and Shannon Doughton (drums and vocals) form The Breeders. The Breeders were to be just a side project for musical exploration for Kim and Tanya, who were both playing second fiddle musically in their respective bands, the Pixies and Throwing Muses |
| The Breeders release Pod 4AD CAD 0006 CD, Elektra 9 61331-2 | |
| 1991 | Tanya has a new nephew, Ryder |
| Throwing Muses releases The Real Ramona 4AD CAD 1002 CD, Sire 26489 | |
| Throwing Muses releases Not Too Soon EP Sire 40135 | |
| May 13, 1991 | Tanya Donelly and Kim Deal contribute to This Mortal Coil with "You and Your Sister" |
| June 1991 | Tanya officially announces she is leaving the Throwing Muses |
December 1991
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Tanya Donelly (guitar and vocals), Thomas Gorman (keyboards), Chris Gorman (drums), and Fred Abong (bass) form Belly. Tanya finally has her own outlet for her musical aspirations |
| 1992 | The Breeders release Safari 4AD BAD 2003 CD |
| June 29, 1992 | Belly releases their first single, Slow Dust EP 4AD BAD 2009 CD |
| November 1992 | Belly releases their second single, Gepetto EP 4AD BAD 2018 CD |
| January 23, 1993 | Belly releases advance copies of their debut album, Star 4AD CAD D 3002 CD, Sire/Reprise 9 45187-2, and "Feed the Tree" hits the UK charts at #32 |
| February 13, 1993 | Star peaks at #2 after first week on the UK charts |
| March 6, 1993 | "Feed the Tree" becomes #1 on Modern Rock Tracks Survey |
| April 10, 1993 | "Gepetto (Remix)" peaks at #49 on UK charts |
| May 1, 1993 | Star is released on Sire in the US and "Feed the Tree" hits the US charts at #95 |
| May 1993 | Gail Greenwood replaces Fred Abong as Belly's bass guitarist. Belly goes on tour to promote Star |
| February 21, 1994 | Star certified as Gold by the RIAA |
| February 1994 | Belly is nominated for "Best New Artist" and "Best Alternative Album" at the Grammy Awards |
| April 5, 1994 | Belly wins "Best Modern Rock Act" and "Debut Album of the Year" at the Boston Music Awards |
| February 4, 1995 | "Now They'll Sleep", the first single from King, peaks UK charts at #28 |
| February 25, 1995 | Belly releases their second album, King Sire/Reprise 9 45833-2, Sire/Reprise 2-45833-A, Reprise CAD 5004 CD and Play It Again Sam 170.5004.20, and it peaks on the UK charts at #6 |
| March 4, 1995 | King peaks on the US charts at #57 |
| Summer 1995 | Tanya writes "Swoon", to express her need to move on |
| July 22, 1995 | "Seal My Fate" peaks at #35 on the UK charts |
| November 11, 1995 | Belly performs their last show at the Dragonfly in Hollywood. Tanya has a run in with a racoon and ends up getting shots |
| Late 1995 | Tanya and Dean Fisher move into a "new home near Harvard - the ground floor and basement of a lovely, 150-year-old clapboard house in a carefully maintained quarter, complete with picket fences and richly coloured trees" (NME 11.30.96) |
July 26, 1996
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4AD finally announces Belly's breakup due to musical and personal differences. Tanya goes solo. Gail joins L7. Chris concentrates on his photography. Tom explores other genres of music. |
| September 22, 1996 | Tanya ties the knot with Dean |
| 1997 | Tanya becomes an auntie for the third time with Kristin's birth of Wyatt |
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November 20, 1996
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Tanya assembles her first "solo" crew [Dean Fisher (bass, formerly of Juliana Hatfield), Lisa Mednick (keyboard and accordian, formerly of Juliana Hatfield), Stacey Jones (drummer, formerly of Letters to Cleo and Veruca Salt), and members of Madder Rose, Mary Larson (guitar and vocals) and Billy Cote (guitar)] and tours England and the East Coast [7 shows] |
| November 25, 1996 | Tanya releases her first solo single, sliding&DIVING EP 4AD BAD 6018 CD |
| August 18, 1997 | Tanya releases her second solo single, Pretty Deep, available as two CD's 4AD BAD 7007 CD and 4AD BAD D 7007 CD and a 7" 4AD AD 7007, each containing different B-side songs |
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August 31, 1997
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Tanya tours North America with Dean Fisher (bass, formerly of Juliana Hatfield), Dave Narcizo (drums of Throwing Muses), Rich Gilbert (guitar) and Elizabeth Steen (keyboards and accordian of Count Zero) [6 shows] |
| September 9, 1997 | Tanya releases her debut solo album, Lovesongs for Underdogs Reprise 9 46495-2 |
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September 17, 1997
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Tanya, Dean, Dave, Rich, and Elizabeth tour the UK. [13 shows] |
| November 24, 1997 | Tanya releases her third solo single, The Bright Light, available as two CD's BAD 7012 CD and BAD D 7012 CD, each containing different B-side songs, and a 7" 4AD AD 7012, which contains a live version of "The Bright Light" |
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October 9, 1997
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Tanya, Dean, Dave, Rich, and Elizabeth with support crew Dave, Doug, and TJ tour North America. [27 shows total, but 2 were cancelled due to Tanya's pneumonia] |
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November 21, 1997
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Tanya, Dean, Dave, Rich, and Elizabeth with support crew Paul and Mark tour Europe. [7 shows] |
| December 2, 1997 | Tanya and crew return to the US and perform a "one-off" in Boston |
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February 25, 1998
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Tanya, Dean, Dave, Rich, and Elizabeth with roadie Stewart tour Australia. [4 shows] |
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March 4, 1998
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Tanya, Dean, Dave, Rich, and Elizabeth with roadie Stewart, sound mixer Nigel, and driver Sean tour New Zealand. [4 shows] |
| March 13, 1998 | Tanya and crew perform at an Amnesty International benefit. |
| March 15, 1998 | Tanya and crew perform at a Mountain Stage. |
| April 13, 1999 | Tanya Donelly and Dean Fisher have a new baby girl, Grace Bee Fisher. Grace was born at 5:44 PM. She came in at 8 pounds 10 ounces and measured 21 inches long. The happy parents already have a nickname for her: "Gracie". |
| May 6, 2000 | After a two year hiatus, Tanya performs with the Throwing Muses at the Gut Pageant 2000 in Cambridge, MA. |
| July 22, 2000 | Tanya performs with the Throwing Muses at Lupo's in Providence, RI as a part of the Digital Club Festival. |
| July 25, 2000 | Tanya fills in as a singer for Bathing Beauties at Lilli's in Somerville, MA. |
| February 11, 2001 | Tanya opens for the Bathing Beauties at the Kendall Cafe in Cambridge, MA. |
| May 1, 2001 | Tanya is one of the headliners at "MAYDAY: Live at Fort Apache" at Fort Apache in Cambridge, MA. |
| January 3, 2002 | sleepwalk, the first EP from beautysleep, is released! |
| January 28, 2002 | beautysleep, Tanya's second solo album, is released! |
| February 21, 2002 | Tanya's official website, Slumberland, goes online! |
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February 26, 2002
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The UK beautysleep tour with Tanya, Dean, David Narcizo, Rich Gilbert and Mary Lorson [3 shows] |
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March 6, 2002
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The US East Coast beautysleep tour with Tanya, Dean, David Narcizo, Rich Gilbert and Evelyn Pope [12 shows] |
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April 23, 2002
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The US West Coast beautysleep tour with Tanya, Dean, Rich Gilbert, Evelyn Pope and Arthur Johnson [5 shows] |
| May 4, 2002 | A one off show for beautysleep with Tanya, Dean, Rich Gilbert, Evelyn Pope and Arthur Johnson. Gail Greenwood is in attendance! |
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May 7, 2002
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Tanya performs with Dean or as a guest with another band at a few shows throughout the rest of the year. [6 shows] |
| November 17, 2002 | Kristin gives birth to Bodhi, making Tanya a fourth time auntie. |
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April 2003
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The Throwing Muses go on tour. Tanya makes guest appearances at two Cambridge, MA shows, a New York City, NY show and two Los Angeles, CA shows. |
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August 16, 2003
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Rock in Rockingham, a weekend in Vermont featuring a ton of great bands... and Tanya! 'nuff said! |
| July 27, 2004 | Whisky Tango Ghosts, Tanya's third solo album, is released! |
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July 27, 2004
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Tanya plays in London, kicking off the Whisky Tango Ghost tour! |
| August 11, 2004 | Tanya plays at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA. |
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August 11, 2004
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Tanya tours the US East Coast. [4 shows] |
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August 16, 2004
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Tanya tours the US West Coast. [3 shows] |
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August 27, 2004
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Tanya records her next album live in front of fans at The Windham in Bellows Falls, VT. |
| February 5, 2005 | Tanya plays at T.T. the Bear's Place in Cambridge, MA. |
| September 7, 2005 | Tanya announces she is pregnant! |
| March 31, 2006 | Tanya and Dean are once again proud new parents with the birth of Harriet Pearl Fisher. Harriet was born at 10:52 PM. She weighed in at 8 pounds 13 ounces and measured a full 22 inches. In the tradition of the Donelly/Fisher household, she, too, was given a nickname, "Hattie". |
| October 17, 2006 | Tanya releases her fourth solo album, This Hungry Life ELEVENTHIRTY 7012, and commemorates the release with an acoustic in-store at Newbury Comics in Boston, MA. |
| October 6, 2007 | Tanya and Kristin team up for "An Evening with Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly" at The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA. |
| March 21, 2008 | Tanya announces she is studying to be a birth doula, something she's thought about for years but only recently decided to "just do it". |