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Everyone has a soft spot for '80s metal.
Whenever AC/DC, Motley Crue or Cinderella come on, you know you listen to it for at least a minute -- even if it's only for fun. The nostalgia factor can be a double-edged sword, though. For every time you get to see Def Leppard at the state fair, you'll also be subject to another season of "Rock of Love" with Poison's Bret Michaels.
For more than a decade now, The Donnas, four women from Palo Alto, Calif., have been making a living off that nostalgia with the same bravado that gave the Sunset Strip bands of the early '80s a free pass to stardom.
The Donnas spent most of high school hanging out, drinking and playing music in drummer Tory Castellano's garage every afternoon. In 1999, the band caught the attention of local punk rock label Lookout! Records -- home to other Bay Area bands such as Operation Ivy and Green Day -- and released its first album, Get Skintight.
The band stayed with indie label Lookout! for its first two albums before signing a major label deal with Atlantic Records.
Each member of the band is self-taught on her respective instrument, and although it was through a vastly punk rock oriented record label that The Donnas came up, the band considers itself nothing more than a good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll group. When its first major label album, Spend the Night, hit the streets, everyone wanted to get in on the party.
Atlantic made sure the entire world heard of the band, booking appearances on Letterman, Leno, "Saturday Night Live" and even booking them small parts in several movies, setting the band up for more exposure through numerous soundtrack releases. Through that type of aggressive marketing, the band hit a new high, and the women found themselves living out their high school dreams.
Although The Donnas never pushed the envelope creatively, they certainly honed their craft and wrote kick-ass rock 'n' roll anthems. In 2004, the women dropped the "every member is named Donna gimmick" and released Gold Medal -- an album that showed off its ever-strengthening songwriting skills while retaining the hard rock edge that got them to where they were.
After spending much of 2005 touring in support of the record, The Donnas returned home to Palo Alto and went back to work. In May 2006, the band announced on its website that it had parted ways with Atlantic Records but would be self-financing and releasing a new album through its own label, Purple Feather Records.
The album Bitchin' was released in September 2007, and the band has been busy ever since. On May 9, The Donnas will celebrate their 15th anniversary at the Viper Room in Hollywood, Calif., and head down under for an Australian tour right after. However, before that, The Donnas will play a one-off show at Harry O's in Park City on Wednesday, giving Utah a chance to see a real rock band at work.
With a new label, newfound energy and 15 years of playing under their belt, The Donnas look primed for another decade of rock 'n' roll -- something few '80s rockers have lived up to. Not bad for a bunch of women who haven't even hit 30.
t.hale@chronicle.utah.edu
