[5] In 1987, while in his senior year of high school, Donaldson formed a band called Desacrator [sic] with childhood friends Dan Roe and Brent Oberlin, along with classmate Christopher Simmonds.
After the release of their second album Mods Carve the Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh,[6] the band opened for Skinny Puppy and Type O Negative on tour.
[7] After moving to San Francisco from Kalamazoo, Donaldson joined Pansy Division in January 1995 after being recommended to band members Jon Ginoli and Chris Freeman by a mutual friend.
[8] In 1997, Donaldson teamed up with long-time friend Brian Jackson (whom he had moved to San Francisco with) to record I Am Spoonbender's first studio album Sender/Receiver.
He would return with Iwata a few times before the two decided to stay there indefinitely in 2015, forming the website The Source in the Sahara to compile their research.