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Talk: The Donnas
Rock of ages
By Neva Chonin
THE DONNAS are a rock band. They rock hard. They are all named Donna, they are all 18 years old, and they were all in the eighth grade together in Palo Alto when they started the group. Guitarist Donna R and bassist Donna F are now first-year students at UC Santa Cruz; singer Donna A attends UC Berkeley; and drummer Donna C works two jobs and plans at attend NYU next year. Their new album, American Teenage Rock and Roll Machine, is due out at the end of January. Donnas R and F talk to me over the phone from their Santa Cruz dorm room.
Bay Guardian: Are you going to any of the Rolling Stones concerts?
Donna F: No! But I think my mom wants to. It's just, like, they're kinda too old for me to want to see them. I mean, they're cool and everything, and I like what they've done in the past, but I don't really listen to their new music.
Donna R: I don't go to expensive concerts that much. But I went to see them when they did that Voodoo Lounge thing. I went with my aunt and uncle, because they had an extra ticket. It was a family event.
BG: Ever bought a Stones album?
DF: I have Sticky Fingers. I like the zipper.
DR: Actually, I stole a lot of them from my mom. I like Between the Buttons. I also like Aftermath. I went through a "Paint It Black" phase where I really liked that song.
BG: Will the Donnas ever cover a Stones song?
DF: No.
DR: Four years ago my dad taught me how to play "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Satisfaction."
BG: What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say "Mick"?
DF: Like, hot.
DR: Lips and that really cool hairdo.
BG: How about Keith?
DF: Like, fucked-up.
DR: Wrinkles and those funny eyeballs, you know, from drugs. He totally looks strung out. Ever since we were born he's been like that. We didn't know him when he was, like, a young, vibrant dude.
BG: Charlie?
DF: Like, great. Like, grandpa. Like, nice.
DR: Drums.
BG: Ron?
DF: I dunno.
DR: I always think of that "Start Me Up" video where he's making faces and everybody's in kind of like fashionable clothes like jeans, and he's wearing, like, a blue tuxedo. He's really dorky in that video.
BG: Was Bill Wyman weird for marrying a teenager?
DR: I think that's gross, like Jerry Lee Lewis.
DF: No, that's pretty cool. I guess it's kinda gross, though.
BG: Would you marry a Rolling Stone?
DF: If he was young, I would. I'd totally marry Mick if he was, like, 25.
DR: Not now. If I was their age, maybe.
BG: Not into that whole father-complex thing, huh?
DF: No. That's, like, vile.
BG: Are the Stones too old to rock?
DR: No, I don't think there's an age limit. There are lots of cool old people who rock. I didn't like the Stones when I was a kid, though, because I always thought they were old folks' stuff. But then I saw a video of that concert where someone gets beat up. I really liked that video. Now I think they're cool. If I was alive then, I'd have totally listened to them.
DF: They can still rock. Kiss still rock, and they're old. I just don't like what the Stones doing now. It's all like trying to be mainstream. I don't like their videos on MTV. They're really annoying.
BG: You mean like the one where Mick's chasing the model in her underwear?
DF: Yeah.
BG: If you were that model, would you run away?
DF: Yeah.
BG: Do you think Charlie Watts would run away from the Stones if he could?
DF: No, he really likes it. I can just tell. He always looks really happy. We have a picture of Charlie Watts on our bulletin board.
BG: Would you like it if your papa (or grandpapa) was a Rolling Stone?
DF: It'd be cool. He'd have lots of great stories to tell.
DR: My grandfather's, like, dead. But it'd be pretty cool. I would like that better. Much cooler.
BG: Any advice to offer the Rolling Stones?
DR: I don't think so. I think they're doing pretty cool. They're rich and they seem pretty happy.
BG: Do you see yourselves rocking at 60?
DR: I dunno. Our band is kind of about being young and stuff. We'd probably have to change a lot to, like, you know. Right now we're all about having fun being teenagers and having no worries. I don't know what we'd be writing about if we were like, you know, rich and famous and old.
DF: I dunno. I'll probably be dead by then.