The Donnas
The Donnas are for real and they are here to stay. They are survivors in an industry known more for its comet casualties than career success stories. They are successful, smart, savvy, and sexy. They are the American Rock n’ Roll Machine. The legend begins in a Palo Alto junior high school in Northern California where four self-described “dorky pre-teen girls” form a rock n’ roll band at the age of 13 in 1993. Over the course of the next 14 years, six critically acclaimed albums are released and The Donnas tour the planet several times over to an ever-expanding, international fanbase of “Donnaholics”. From Palo Alto to the stages of Letterman and SNL and the pages of Rolling Stone and Billboard, The Donnas have grown to become one of the best female rock groups of all time.
So who are The Donnas in 2007? The players remain the same–Brett Anderson on lead vocals, Maya Ford on bass, Allison Robertson on guitar and Torry Castellano on drums–a testament to the girls’ talent and dedication. But there is a vast divide between the awkward tweens of the 1990s and The Donnas of the 2000s. Besides utterly poker-hot musicianship (and way better hair), The Donnas have entered into a new chapter of maturity and comfort in their career. “The big difference between then and now is that we are not afraid,” states Robertson, one of the best rock guitarists, female, male or otherwise, playing today. “We know what we want, we know how to get it, and we are ready and willing to take it. It’s almost like we have come full circle. Maybe in some way we are still the same dorky pre-teens who started playing because we love rock n’ roll. The difference is that now we are completely comfortable and confident with who we are.” Throughout the ups and downs of rock n’ roll’s daily rations, the ladies stay true to who they are every spike-heeled step of the way. The Donnas are a four-way, equal partnership of women in friendship, art and business. There is a deep and rare trust that exists between the members that most bands could never dream of achieving in a similar group dynamic.
Bitchin’ significantly marks The Donnas’ return to complete career independence. Bitchin’ will be released on September 18, 2007 on The Donnas’ very own Purple Feather Records (available through Redeye Distribution). Anderson, The Donnas’ power-house lead singer, explains, “The making of our new record was a wild and educational ride. We wanted to reach more people with this album and that inspired us to really challenge ourselves in the studio. We learned a lot about songwriting in the process and had time for once to experiment and develop our sound, which combines everything we know and love from our previous records with a new life and ravenous energy, a feeling that is summed up in the title." Bitchin’, a refreshingly loud, unbridled album, was even somewhat of a cathartic process for Ford, The Donnas’ furious femme fatale of the four string. “Writing this record made me realize that I could get something good out of even the worst relationship. I ditched the guy and we got the songs. I’m stronger than I was yesterday because of it.