Musician David Dondero traverses his nearly 40-year career, discusses the troubadour lifestyle, and his new novel, Chaos the Cat.

David Dondero has been making music for 40 years, starting out as a drummer in the indie rock act Sunbrain, where he first started writing songs and singing. He played in This Bike is a Pipe Bomb while working in a little punk rock club and inspired by Simon Joyner began making music as a solo artist. His keening tenor was an inspiration to Conor Oberst, and he developed a friendship with the entire Saddle Creek crew. He's released 15 albums, traveled the country and worked in a pot farm for a while which inspired his new book, Chaos the Cat. He speaks to us from Jersey City, NJ.We discuss the Midwestern vibe, moving, Dave's wandering nature, his early DIY punk underpinnings, sobriety and stepping back from music for a moment to better appreciate life, which now includes painting and short story writing. We discuss his book Chaos the Cat inspired by his job doing carpentry on a pot farm, and we discuss his last album, 2023's Immersion Therapy, about the culture and the "orange goblin." The opening comment refers to this song ("When the Pendulum Swings").