The Donnas were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993. The band consisted
of Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Amy Cesari replaced Castellano, who left the band in 2009 due to tendonitis. They drew inspiration from the Ramones, The Runaways, Girlschool, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not catharsis, fun rather than rage". MTV has stated that the band offers "a good old-fashioned rock & roll party".
After gathering a cult following in the punk scene since their 1997 debut, the band achieved major label commercial success in the early 2000s and afterward as their music mixed punk, metal and classic rock
sounds. Towards the end of their high school days, while they were still known as The Electrocutes, they decided to create another band (with the same members) that would play softer tunes without distorting the metal queen image of The Electrocutes. To help their fans distinguish between the two bands, they all took matching "Donna" monikers, where all of their names were Donna and their last names were the first initial of their last name (Brett Anderson became Donna A, etc.), which they used only when performing as "The Donnas."
In 2002, The Donnas released Spend the Night as their Atlantic debut. The album represented their first
attempt at mainstream success. With their single "Take it Off" they were booked for appearances on Total Request Live, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the Late Show with David Letterman.
In the summer of 2003, they played the main stage at Lollapalooza. In 2004, they released their sixth
album Gold Medal. In February 2005, they toured Australia with the Big Day Out music festival, playing from Sydney to Perth. While in Australia they performed "Take It Off" live on national prime-time show "Rove Live" with Rove McManus.
On May 19, 2006, The Donnas announced on their public message board that they had "parted ways
with Atlantic Records," claiming "he decision was entirely mutual and completely amicable and will not impact the band, nor will it impact upon the writing, recording or touring for the next Donnas album." In March 2007, the Donnas released a single, "Don't Wait Up For Me," and had a new band logo designed. In July 2009, the band released a retrospective collection entitled Greatest Hits Vol. 16 to celebrate the band's 16th year together.
In August 2012, the band was reported to be recording their eighth studio album and also premiered a new song called "Tramp" at a private show. In November 2016 Cherry Red Records re-released the
band's fifth album, Spend the Night, to include six bonus tracks which consist of B-sides and songs from previous albums. In an interview from 2017, the band's lead vocalist, Brett Anderson, discussed "the end of the band" and turning down offers to "reunite," implicitly confirming the band is no more. In the same interview, she also mentions that there are no plans to release previously-unreleased studio-recorded songs.
They're enjoyably derivative, and hedonistic tunes like "Speed Demon" and "Leather on Leather" offer something that wasn't terribly easy to find in 1998 -- dirty, beer-soaked, hooky rock & roll party music.
MEMBERS
Brett Anderson – lead vocals, piano (1993–2012)
Allison Robertson – guitar, backing vocals (1993–2012)
Maya Ford – bass, backing vocals (1993–2012)
Torry Castellano – drums, backing vocals (1993–2009)
Amy Cesari – drums, backing vocals (2009–2012)
THE DONNAS - THE DONNAS 1997
The Donnas – The Donnas
Label: Lookout! Records – LK201
Format: CD, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 1997
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Punk
TRAXS
Label: Lookout! Records – LK201
Format: CD, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 1997
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Punk
TRAXS
01. Hey, I'm Gonna Be Your Girl 1:47
02. Let's Go Mano! 1:18
03. Teenage Runaway 1:55
04. Lana & Stevie 1:31
05. I'm Gonna Make Him Mine (Tonight) 2:39
06. Huff All Night 1:44
07. I Don't Wanna Go 1:30
08. We Don't Go 2:28
09. Friday Fun 1:56
10. Everybody's Smoking Cheeba 2:10
11. Get Rid Of That Girl 1:40
12. Drive In (Written-By – B. Wilson, M. Love) 1:34
13. Do You Wanna Go Out With Me 2:01
14. Rock 'n' Roll Boy 1:32
15. High School Yum Yum 1:26
16. Boy Like You 1:29
17. Let's Rab 1:09
18. Let's Go Mano 1:22
19. Last Chance Dance 2:06
20. I Wanna Be A Unabomber 1:30
21. Da Doo Ron Ron (Written-By – E. Greenwich, J. Barry, P. Spector) 1:26
22. I Don't Want To Go To School 2:04
23. I Don't Wanna Rock 'n' Roll Tonight 2:48
MP3 @ 320 Size: 96 MB
Flac Size: 149 MB
THE DONNAS - AMERICAN TEENAGE ROCK'N'ROLL MACHINE 1998
The Donnas – American Teenage Rock 'N' Roll Machine
Label: Lookout! Records – LK 191
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Jan 27, 1998
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Punk
TRAXS
Label: Lookout! Records – LK 191
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Jan 27, 1998
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Punk
TRAXS
01. Rock 'N' Roll Machine 2:53
02. You Make Me Hot 2:20
03. Checkin' It Out 3:13
04. Gimmie My Radio 2:09
05. Outta My Mind 2:15
06. Looking For Blood 1:54
07. Leather On Leather 2:17
08. Wanna Get Some Stuff 2:18
09. Speed Demon 2:01
10. Shake In The Action 3:03
