The RISE & FALL Of THE DONNAS
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- Опубліковано 24 вер 2024
- The rise and the fall of The Donnas
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"In our last albums, we kind of reveled in being like, 'Screw you, we're gonna move on to someone else,' 'cause we were young and that's what you do," Now, we've all met people that are worth it; at that point, I don't think we had people that were really worth it. The general feeling was like, whatever. Those people are gone now, and we're onto a new batch of keepers." The sessions proved to be stressful though. Their drummer Tory Castellano’s was dealing with tendonitis, due to being a self taught drummer. You can look at any old video of her playing and she’s got a pretty noticeable death grip on her drumsticks.. It forced the band to take a period of time off before they could even start work on their follow up album. She began working with drum teacher chuck brown, Anderson, meanwhile dealt with vocal issues, while, , Robertson’s was dealing with a divorce and Ford was dealing with writer’s block telling 48 hills ,"I kind of ran out of ideas and just got depressed," "I think I felt, like, a lot of pressure, and it’s never a good situation to be under the gun." The Sacramento Bee remarked how Gold Medal saw slower songs due to the Castellano having tendonitis and at the same time the album showed a more diverse collection of songs with the title track being an acoustic number.
Atlantic records predicted in the press for Gold Medal that it was going to outsell Stay the Night. Anderson even quipped to the publication 48 hills years later "Our big joke was that we were making Gold Medal so Spend the Night would go gold. But Atlantic had dropped the ball There were two things that happened.
One was that Around the time of Gold Medal’s release Atlantic underwent management and personnell changes as they were dealing with shifts in their parent company.. Anderson told Stereogum what happened next
The problem is, when we signed, we had a great team that we got to know, and we chose to work with that label because of those people and the amount of control we were offered versus the advance. And then all those people left and a whole new group of people came in and we’re like, “Who are you guys?” And they’re like “Who are you?”
Then the second thing happened. Manufacturing issues. Anderson told south of heaven “When we released our 2nd album on Atlantic, it shipped on a Tuesday and Tuesday around 10am they started coming back because they were defective. The last 30 seconds of the last song wasn’t there. This totally messed up our sales which also messed up our radio and it really made the record nose dive compared to what it could’ve done. Gold medal sold only about 13,000 copies in it’s first weekpeaking at number 76 on the album chart in the US. It went on to sell under 100,000 copies. The album had one modest single with the track Fall Behind Me, which peaked at number 29 on the us alternative airplay chart.
To support the album, The Donnas hit the road with maroon 5 and von bondies, but it was too little too late. The album was a commercial failure. Now you might think this is the part where i tell you they were dropped by Atlantic, but surprisingly they were not. They stayed on the label for the time being and began work on their follow up record - writing 3-4 songs./ Atlantic’s insisted they wanted more pop sounding songs and even had the group work with outside songwriters including Dave Stewart of the Eurthymics. But the band ultimately bailed and they and Atlantic went their separate ways.
The Donna’s soon formed their own label purple feather records a joint venture with Red Eye Distribution. In 2007 the Donnas released their final studio album, titled “Bitchin” with the band focusing on writing more arena rock songs. The itunes bonus song new kid in school you might remember as showing up in rock band 2 on as an on disc track. Bitchin peaked at number 89 on the billboard chart, but no singles charted. The Donnas hit the road with the Hives the following year. By 2009 drummer Torry Castalleno left the group after dealing with shoulder problems announcing she was retiring from d
what other topics would you like to see me cover?
The original breakup of the Go-Go's (Jane Weidlin left after the tour to support their 1984 album 'Talk Show', either from a royalties dispute or from creative differences).
Jolee's "I wonder what's inside your butthole"
The Exies
Can you cover Fields of the Nephilim? Thank you! ✌🏼😊
@@Jason_Maierthey are coming very soon!
That opening riff to “Take It Off” is unironically one of the best for that decade IMO. It’s just rips so hard and creates such a fun tension. I imagine that’s why it’s been used in action scenes on TV.
So, circa 2000, I’m leaving work and listening to The Donnas on my iPod. I get to the lobby (Time & Life Bldg., NYC) and I see four young women walking with one guy. I catch up to them and ask, “Excuse me. Are you in a band?” One says yes. “Are you The Donnas?!?!” “Yes!” “I’m listening to you right now!” They were stunned to be recognized in NYC, especially by some guy in a suit. … I really liked that band.
40 boys in 40 nights...
Were you one of the 40? Joking, obviously. Cool story though...
Dude that’s awesome!
I miss The Donnas. They were actually a good rock n roll band.
Super basic. Aside from their drummer being a total babe and the rest of the band being an all girl gimmick the music isn't very memorable and pretty uninteresting
No one thinks this.
If you haven’t already, check out The Warning!
Same here
@@Whitehorse_crimefighter I bet you're fun at parties. LOL Let's hear your music on the radio. or on a streaming site.
The band’s manager stopped by a music school I teach at a couple years ago and donated a bunch of their equipment that was sitting in storage. Guitar amps, couple drum sets, bunch of road cases. We still use all of it daily.
Wow, that's crazy! What brand of guitars and basses are they? Just curious.
that is awesome! i love that he did that.. inspire more youths
@@belltolls1984 He does not mention any guitars or basses, just the amps and cases. Where does he mention any bass?
So sad. But glad to see it all got a second life for a good cause.
Had there not been guitar/music classes in school, I probably would not be a musician today.
@@belltolls1984 I don think we got any guitars or basses. We did get a few amps. Marshall cab & head. Bunch of road cases, and two Pearl Drum kits with all the hardware.
Brett is hella nice. She offered some supportive advice on insta regarding my father's dementia. I'm glad she landed somewhere in life where she can shine.
Totally Underrated band for sure, Spend The Night is a 2000's classic, this is totally the kind of band that should be reuniting right now, no gimmicks no backing tracks, just Rock n' Roll
I saw them 19-20 years in Minneapolis. In between one of their songs I yelled out “I love you Donna A”, while drunk. She said on the mic: “I love you too!”.
So yeah, the singer loves me
You dog!
It was a privilege to have Donna A join my punkabilly band for "Living After Midnight", at her grandmother's 90th birthday party. She is an awesome person and great talent
Judas Priest reference?
Dude I had all their albums. That's great to hear when you're a fan of their music.
@@dfinma yup, Brett sang Judas Priest for her grandmother's 90th birthday. But in a "cowboy lounge" style. Then things got weird.
That’s so cool
I had the displeasure of having to hang out with Brett Anderson a couple of times. Horrible nasty person. Awful egotistical.
My old band opened up for The Donna's in Las Vegas in 2010. They brought a great crowd, they were nice and sounded amazing! Sucks they never got bigger like everyone thought they'd be
1. The Electrocutes is a GREAT band name.
B. My thought when I first saw Torry play was, "She's not going to last." Truly sad b/c she was a ton of fun to watch. As I understand it she had to overplay in order to be loud enough in the band's early days when she weighed, like 37 lbs. I think the topped out at, like, 84 lbs.
III. It's On The Rocks is a GREAT song. Just listen to Allison's playing. She's a monster.
4. Maya doesn't get the credit she deserves. Bass players rarely do.
Yep, the opening riff on "It's On the Rocks" is one of the best and well produced guitar tones ever laid down imho.
Those gals could _play!_
I’m 61 years old and loved The Donna’s … good to see that at least two of the ladies are doing well and I wish all four of them nothing but the best!❤️
I'm from the Bay Area and heard about them in the late 90's. I was so happy for their success.
Saw them in Leeds 2005, they were good.
A guy i was with said to me "I hate that guitarist" I asked why and he said "Shes fucking better than me!" 😃🤟
I saw them in Leeds aswell great year at Leeds festival
@@Umppy when green day and the manics were on and the exploding toilets, classic! 👍
@paulcurtis5317 it was 2004 by the looks of it after checking the line up remember watching morrissey chatting with the guys from Franz ferdinand how time flys
'I don't wanna grow up well, I just want my Taco Bell".
I like the earlier Donnas. When they were more like a female Ramones then just their Donna A Donna R name monikers. Their songs and song titles sounded Ramones-ish too. Then they went sleazy style 80's glam rock. But the raw energy of their first CD is pure fun teen bubblegum rebellion.
The music world is both a beautiful yet evil, unapologetic and brutal industry.
Their songs bring out all the good in music. They couldn't last because of their purity. Which is a beautiful thing. They came, they sought, they concurred what they set out to do. And the feeling they left us all with was for more.
Cheers to Rock n Roll
The biggest enemy of music is the music industry
One of my favorite bands of all time. If they did a reunion tour, I’d literally contemplate selling a kidney to go. 😫
With how expensive everything is today you might have to sell both of your kidneys.
"Take it Off" has been on every playlist I've ever made to listen to while at the gym on the elliptical.
Gay
middle school boy 👆🏼
@@michaelwills1926 middle-aged boy actually. You can save the world but you can't save yourself
@@dreamersdisease2481 I appreciate the compliment, but I'm just a run-of-the-mill, non-rare straight dude.
@@RickInMaryland oh it has nothing to do with your sexual identity. You could substitute that with lame instead of gay for PC peeps
I saw The Donnas when they headlined at Irving Plaza in NYC in 2003. Well worth the price of admission and more!
Such a fun era at Irving Plaza during that time. Used to be my favorite venue
@@ImBobbyRicigliano yup! I remember shows where everyone RAN towards the stage to get as good a spot as possible. Irving Plaza and Roseland were THE places to see a show back then
An old band of mine played a show with the Donnas in San Diego, I believe it was their final tour. They were f**king awesome live. Miss these girls.
"Fall Behind Me" is a great tune.
To me, music has nothing to do of gender. It's all about tone and making me want to tap my foot, play air drums, bang my head, or just make me stop and think, "damn....this is good music!" The Donnas were a band I instantly liked when I heard them. Being a guitarist myself, I immediately grabbed onto the guitar tone and I thought the riffs were damn fun to play. I couldn't give a fart in the wind that they were male or female. I saw them at The El Rey in Los Angeles supporting their Gold Medal album and they did not disappoint. They sound great live as well. Guns N Roses can't make that claim, am I right?
Seeing them fade away was something I expected because, without a doubt, maintaining a band and maintaining the desire to go through the grind of making music is much more mentally and yes, physically, taxing that most people realize.
Going on 25 years later, I this band still holds a solid place in my heart that also includes, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Fanny, Girlschool, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Lita Ford, Dead Kennedys, FEAR, Oingo Boingo, Harry Chapin, Elton John, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Queen, KISS, and ooooooooooooooooh so many more.
The Donnas did great, and I wish them all the best in their endeavors today.
Note that on Spend the Night, every track has a guitar solo. They weren't told which tracks would be singles so just covered all the bases. Remember this is 2002 when solo's were being cut from recordings, even the likes of Metallica wouldn't record them
robertson was the star of that band, imo. she's awesome.
Solos went out of favor for a minute, as overly technical and not punk...but there was a bias to it as if it were a young band, especially female...that was still cool but labels could not read room on that stuff chasing trends.
saw robertson loading out of a rehearsal studio in 2003 (?). I just remember thinking 'how the hell does she play with those (long sharp) fingernails?" ;)
They were solid. I liked them, and respect them for doing things their own way.
I had the displeasure of having to hang out with Brett Anderson a couple of times. Horrible nasty person. Awful egotistical.
@@MelindaParsons-m7x wow, sorry to hear that.
I'm from the south of Brazil and I had the privilege of going to both of their shows here, including the first one I went at dawn to get right in front (I got a high five XD). The Donnas marked my adolescence and I will always keep it in my heart with great affection!! 💚
I saw them in 1998 where they played a show with the Groovie Ghoulies. I was 14 and got to dance on a sofa with Donna R and Donna C while Ghoulies were playing "Pet Cemetery"...such a magical moment. i thought they were just some local band.
In the past couple of years, I've followed The Warning very closely. This caught my eye because of The Donnas being all-female. Well done. A very good watch. Thank you!!!
The Donnas were always AWESOME! 😎👍✨💚
I will always love the Donnas!! ❤❤🌹
Allison robertson is an excellent guitarist!!👍👍👍
The Donnas should have been huge!
Toured with them on Lollapalooza 2003. They were a kick ass band and super cool people.
Why do record labels never know how to manage/promote girl bands? Check out the ‘60’s/‘70’s girl band Fanny for similar label mismanagement. Solid bass lines and absolutely shredding on lead by 2 Phillipino-American sisters, solid hard hitting drummer Alice De Buhr and great keyboard and vocals.
Wow. Two examples in 60 years. Yeah, those managers always drop the ball with dem dare girl bands.
Revord labels are satanic psychopaths, nothing normal comes easy to such lowly creatures
@@machupikachu1085Ok....how about The Runaways, Fanny,A Taste of Honey,Girlschool, Vixen(original lineup),Phantom Blue, Bikini Kill,Kittie, Babes In Toyland......
Hate to say it, but it seems like broad wealth distribution thing, but maybe pyhsical safety concerns for talent. Maybe theyre cheap on security.
I played in a fair-to-middling indie rock band around the time the Donnas Get Skintight came out and we supported them for a few shows. They were great, but sadly many of the so-called punk bro-types treated them with a contempt that had to be SEEN to be believed. Fortunately, real music lovers prevailed, and I'm happy this group had the longevity they deserved. Thank you for recognizing this important band in your video.
Oh wow! Hearing some of those songs made me really nostalgic for middle school and high school. Good times!
The Donnas are great musicians and storytellers. Gold Medal is a masterpiece.
It really is.
Agreed
I loved the Donna's! I'm glad I got to see them live. Miss the hell out of them
Spend the Night was an incredible album front to back and they were so good live. Great stage presence and Torry Castellano was an absolute demon on the drums. Such a bummer they weren't bigger. They deserved better.
The Donna's were a breath of fresh air, in a world full of post-grunge crap. ‼️LONG LIVE THE DONNAS‼️
Gold Medal is a phenomenal record. Quite an impressive step up in my opinion.
Love this band. Saw them back in 2003. Met them after the show and were so nice.
I was always impressed by them. One of the first concerts I ever went to was Lalapolooza 2003 in Houston. I was mainly there to see Incibus. I remember when The Donna’s came on, the vocal microphone wasn’t working, and it wasn’t a brief glitch. It went on for MULTIPLE songs! Then it came back on and everybody started cheering. It was the first time I remember hearing the roar of the crowd. But yeah, they played great!
They were also on the Gran Tourismo 4 soundtrack with, “Don’t Wanna Know”.
Darren is one hell of a song writer. Im glad that Superteem records is mentionned too. That record is amazing.
Partied w Donna A and Donna C in SF back in ‘06… solid people
Sweet
Nice! Awesome to read when musicians you like are good people.
Any hidden meanings when you say "partied?"
@@jeffreyval9665 nah- just dancing and vodka shots~*
Lucky!
I disagree about them saying they “weren’t accepted by the underground on the west coast.” The first time I heard about them was in Maximum RocknRoll, one of the largest punk magazines. They were actually showering them praise over that first album. When the sound shifted from Ramones to Motley Crue yeah, the scene basically dropped them like a hot potato.
The Donna's kicked ass.Huge in Australia because Aussies dig rock and being a female band , Aussie women had some role models rocking. Bitchin...... Real Rock n Roll...... ✌️🤘🎸🥁🇦🇺
The Donnas rulz. I miss them but happy to see they seem to be doing well
Love The Donnas. They captured each era on their albums so beatifully. I love Bitchin' and Gold Medal equally.
One of the best guitarists ever. Slash said she figured out how to play GnR songs by combining the rhythm and leads parts at one time live. Super impressive. I loved Chelsea Girls, too. Wish Donna R would do a solo album. Can you tell im a guitarist, lol.
Every song on Spend the Night was a banger. So bummed I never got to see them live. Allison's guitar playing is peak rock n roll for me
That was a real damn good band. Hope they reunite someday
Oh Lord this band. I've forgotten about this band. I remember them when I was in high school.
When I need a burst of energy/adrenaline/inspiration, there is nothing as effective as the Gold Medal album. Every song. Love The Donnas.
They get some notice on Little Steven's underground garage on Satellite radio and They deserve a good listen. They are one of the few bands that embrace the garage sound and attitude. I like that;
I miss The Donna’s. They were a chick band that was legit. They just seemed like regular girls that you grew up but could kick ass on stage. Mad respect🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
I love the Donnas so much. They were so good live. Got to see em' live 3 times! Check out live in Toronto 2008... The Donnas! Real rock!
I fell inlove with The Donnas after seeing their performance in the 1999 movie "Jawbreaker!"
The first Donnas LP is a CLASSIC!!!!!!
Thank you for the post! ✌🏼😊
My pleasure!
@@rnrtruestories 👍🏻😊
I love Steven McDonalds production work with Turbonegro and Imperial Teen and think he did a Donnas album with his brother Jeff?(if not by himself)
Hey RnRTS! I would love to see you cover the McDonalds band Redd Kross! They’re the best band nobody has ever heard of and still putting out amazing albums after several decades! When I heard Big Jay Oakerson give you a shoutout, I knew I had good taste! Long time fan!
I didn't know that. I think they make a great Turbonegro/Turbojugend style band.
On Dec. 5 2004 I took my son to see The Donnas at Slims in SF…his first concert…unfortunately Maya was very Ill and about four songs and many long delays between songs the Ladies decided they couldn’t continue the show…..bummer !!!…..they refunded the tickets…so….🎸🤘🎶🔥😁
On the Gold Metal tour…..
"I f***'n love the Donnas" - case closed!
Went on a big donnas kick in high school, and watching this got me interested again. So slept on these days, and I've always felt sad about how they ended up; they deserved better for sure. Another victim of the cruel industry.
Havent watched that 90s show but hearing that theme song with Brett and James Iha put a huge smile on my face. Great singer!
Last chance dance was the first song I ever heard from them and i've followed the Donna's until they stopped playing. Did see them live in Amsterdam they were loud and fast, very good.
My parents were really big Donnas fans when I was growing up! It sucks that they weren't more popular, I've found that not a lot of people know about them :(
Had a massive crush on Torry Castellano
Had?
@@beaudure01 I'm a "one crush per decade" type of guy, haha. I was into Kay Hanley in the 90's, then, in the 2000's I was into Torry and then in the late 2010's it was all about Genessa Gariano.
I loved The Donnas. Glad to hear they all seem to be doing well.
Oh yeah! Have all those albums and love spinning them. Even so, I did not know a lot of this history. Would have soooo loved to have seen them live. I mean a teen punk/speed metal band to Harvard Lawyer, Stanford Psychologist, etc? How freakin' AWESOME were these ladies??? It would be an honor to meet them one day!
Great band with outstanding musicians!! Miss hearing their music! 🙏
Really cool research, as always! I knew of them for their *amazing* Strutter (Kiss) cover... so cool! Love these chicks since, they rock hard and deserve better recognition, they were the Runaways of the 2000's!
Glad I got to see them a number of times. Great live shows.
I saw The Donnas on the Bitchin' Tour and Allison's side project Chelsea Girls at The Roxy in Hollywood. After the show I got to hang out with them in the bar upstairs. I got to take a picture with Torri and Allison.
Great presentation. I have been a fan for years and learned a few new things about the members. Thanks.
@@JB-cx4bn much appreciated!
I grew up in the late 80s-90s Bay Area punk scene. I remember seeing Raggedy Ann at the Cupertino Library. I really liked them. I thought they disappeared and then The Donnas! I was always a fan. A lot of those Gilman/Lookout bands went on to great success as everyone knows. I met them during the "Spend the Night" Tour. Really cool people..
I was very lucky to work for their record company in Australia Shock Records at the time and as I was obsessed with them got to see The Donnas live on 2 Oz tours and meet them at a record store signing. I got a few cds signed and some great pix with the Donnas! Also got to see Brett in another band in LA in 2010, unfortunately they had nothing on The Donnas rockin' sound. PS this didn't mention their last cd Greatest Hits Vol 16 - some great unreleased tracks, live outtakes and rerecords of early stuff. Must have for true Donnas fans
Goddamn, this makes me mad. What a great band that deserved so much more! I saw them twice in New Orleans, both times to packed crowds, so there is no debate about how popular they were. A reunion would be sweet and would get 100% support!
And one more thing . . . I remember when they were on SNL with Ray Liota. Me and my friends all watched the show knowing that this meant they had finally made it. We were so proud of them. Then they just disappeared. 😢😢😢😢
Used to see Donna A all the time in Santa Monica. Man, I had such a crush. Brett was so cute and super sweet.
I always liked the Donnas. Really interesting band with a cool grooves and good songs.
Yeah I always thought Alison Robertson had a lot of cool riffs
The Donnas was an awesome band. RIP.
I'm a Donnas fan for many years.
Great band. Good songs. Fun stuff.
So sad that such a kick ass Rock and Roll band like The Donnas were so unsuccessful that it killed them. They were like Kiss, Ramones, and The Runaways mashed up with their own flair. Kids obsessed with Nirvana and Blink 182 just didn't get it.
I think what hurt them was the rise of emo and age. They were really popular in the early 2000's when skateboarding was really big. When the emo stuff and bands like Fall out Boys, My Chemical Romance, and Paramore came on the scene, including the skate punk subculture, were on the declining end. It was over for the Donnas.
I met the Donnas back in 2000 at the Warped tour they are really sweet girls and I even took a picture with all of them, If they did a reunion show I would so be there.
The Donna's for life!!!!!! LOVE those ladies. Wish them nothing but good fortune no matter what they do. xoxoxoxoxoxoox
This is one band that really should do a reunion. This band was awesome!
This was extremely informative. I saw a great Donnas show at the palace, formally the Hollywood Palace and I got to say hi to them for a brief minute. I really thought they were really unique! total rock ‘n’ roll and extremely nice people. This was extremely informative and well written and I appreciated everything you had to say about them long live the memory of the Donna’s
I loved The Donnas. I had a HUGE crush on Torry and got a picture with her in the autograph line at Lollapalooza in 2003.
The Donna’s rocked.
I saw them in '02 or '03 and they were awesome live.
As I stood in the bar, two ladies said to me "you seem out of place here!"
No I wasn't, this is good rock n roll.
We ended up friends and will always thank The Donnas for that!
As soon as I heard the theme song for that 90s show, I was like WAIT IS THAT THE DONNAS!
I miss them. I watched them grow from a sub three cord band to a strong tight rock and roll machine. Thanks for catching up with them b
I loved this band so much.
Great band. Never had the opportunity to see them play live. Hopefully they hit the reunion circuit at some point.
I was in my 20s when they were huge. The Donnas kicked ass!
i got to see them twice at the roxy and also when they appeared on mad tv. i have bad social anxiety and actually had a panic attack at one of the roxy shows hehe (worth it). i still have my donnaholics membership card and the club t-shirt. thanks for the video.
I have every the Donnas album on CD.
I have a the Donnas signed poster.
I have a the Donnas signed t-shirt.
They did great, and I'm proud of them, and I'm glad they moved on the better things.
I had the displeasure of having to hang out with Brett Anderson a couple of times. Horrible nasty person. Awful egotistical.
@@MelindaParsons-m7x bot
@@chrisclifford4109 nope
@@MelindaParsons-m7x Well spill the tea! What happened?!
Got to meet them after a show with Pat Benatar. They were all so very cool and down to earth. They Rocked that night!
Skin tight, turn 21, spend the night. 3 classic albums.
I always loved The Donnas and Donna C was my favorite. Glad I got to see them live.
This is THE REUNION I want to see, i never got to see them live. They would be an awesome addition to a more aged up audience at rock festivals