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 and backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (drums, percussion and backing vocals). Amy Cesari later performed with the band as a replacement for Castellano, who retired from performing in 2010 because of chronic shoulder problems. The band cited the Ramones, the Runaways, Girlschool, AC/DC, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Kiss among its influences.
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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 and backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (drums, percussion and backing vocals). Amy Cesari later performed with the band as a replacement for Castellano, who retired from performing in 2010 because of chronic shoulder problems. The band cited the Ramones, the Runaways, Girlschool, AC/DC, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Kiss among its influences.
The band developed a following in the punk scene following the release of its debut album in 1997. It subsequently achieved greater commercial exposure after signing with Atlantic Records in 2001, incorporating elements of punk rock, heavy metal and classic rock into its music.
All four founding members were born in 1979 and became friends while attending school in Palo Alto. They formed a band in May 1993 to perform at their school's "Day on the Green". The group initially performed under the name "Ragady Anne" before changing its name to "The Electrocutes". The members were self-taught musicians and regularly rehearsed in Torry Castellano's garage while attending Palo Alto High School.
During their high school years, the members established a second band with the same lineup that performed less aggressive material than The Electrocutes. To distinguish the two groups, the members adopted the stage names "Donna A", "Donna R", "Donna F" and "Donna C" when performing as The Donnas.
The band worked with producer Darin Raffaelli on its first two albums. The first, "The Donnas", was released on Raffaelli's Super*teem! label and was later reissued by Lookout! Records. During their final year of high school, the group took a week off to tour Japan, where its performances were promoted and organised by Pinky Aoki of The Phantom Gift. The Donnas subsequently signed with Lookout! Records. In December 2001, they signed with Atlantic Records.
In 2002, The Donnas released "Spend the Night", their first album for Atlantic Records. The album marked their attempt to reach a wider mainstream audience. Its single "Take It Off" led to appearances on "Total Request Live", "Saturday Night Live", "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Show with David Letterman". In 2003, the band performed on the main stage at Lollapalooza. Its sixth album, "Gold Medal", was released in 2004. In February 2005, The Donnas toured Australia as part of the Big Day Out festival and performed "Take It Off" on the television programme "Rove Live".
During their time with Atlantic Records, several of the band's songs appeared in video games and other media. "You've Got a Crush on Me" was included in "Splashdown", while "Who Invited You" appeared in the soundtracks of "True Crime: Streets of LA", "MVP Baseball 2003" and "Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild". "I Don't Want to Know" was included in the soundtrack of "Gran Turismo 4", and a cover version was used in "Donkey Konga 2". "Take It Off" was included in "Guitar Hero" and later made available as downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version of "Guitar Hero II". It also appeared in "Downhill Domination" and "Guitar Hero Smash Hits". "New Kid in School" was included in "Rock Band 2". Other songs by the band were used in television programmes and advertising, including "Fall Behind Me" in a national advertisement for the Nissan Xterra and "Take It Off" in a Budweiser advertisement.
The Donnas also contributed to several film soundtracks and appeared in films and television programmes. The members appeared as The Electrocutes in the 1999 film "Drive Me Crazy". The Donnas appeared in "Jawbreaker", performing "Rock 'N' Roll Machine" and "Checkin' It Out", and later appeared on the television series "Charmed", performing "Fall Behind Me". Their recordings were also used in films including "Herbie: Fully Loaded", "Freaky Friday", "Mean Girls", "Grind", "DodgeBall", "D.E.B.S.", "Detroit Rock City", "New York Minute", "Elektra", "The Hangover" and "What a Girl Wants". The band also contributed "Play My Game" to an episode of "What's New, Scooby-Doo?".
On May 19, 2006, The Donnas announced that they had parted ways with Atlantic Records. In March 2007, they released the single "Don't Wait Up for Me" and introduced a new band logo. Their seventh studio album, "Bitchin'", was independently released on September 18, 2007, through Purple Feather Records. The album was produced by Jay Ruston and The Donnas and included "Don't Wait Up for Me".
In 2008, The Donnas toured Australia with Kisschasy as part of the Skin and Bones tour and later toured the United States and Canada with The Hives. In July 2009, the band released "Greatest Hits Vol. 16", a retrospective collection containing new recordings, re-recorded songs and previously unreleased material. That summer, The Donnas toured with Pat Benatar and Blondie on the Call Me Invincible Tour.
Castellano did not perform on the 2009 tour because of chronic shoulder problems. Amy Cesari of the Demonics performed in her place. On July 9, 2010, Castellano announced that she was retiring from drumming and performing with The Donnas because of her continuing shoulder problems. She subsequently returned to education, attending Santa Monica College and Stanford University before graduating from Stanford in 2013 and attending Harvard Law School.
In November 2016, Cherry Red Records reissued "Spend the Night" with six bonus tracks consisting of B-sides and songs from the band's earlier albums.
In a 2017 interview, Brett Anderson discussed the end of The Donnas and stated that the band had declined offers to reunite.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Donnas
Studio albums
The Donnas (1997)
American Teenage Rock 'n' Roll Machine (1998)
Get Skintight (1999)
The Donnas Turn 21 (2001)
Spend the Night (2002)
Gold Medal (2004)
Bitchin' (2007)
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…shrink me down again