Originally published in Verbicide issue #23

How many bands can you think of that have been together for 15 consecutive years with no lineup changes? The Donnas are one such band. Brett Anderson, Allison Robertson, Maya Ford, and Torry Castellano started making music together in 1993 at the tender age of 13. They were barely out of middle school when signed by Lookout Records, releasing four albums on the label, touring relentlessly, and gathering a cult-like band of drooling followers.

In 2002, the group made the decision to sign on with media giant Atlantic Records. “Take it Off”, the dominant single from their major label debut Spend the Night, was a smash hit on the radio and MTV. Their follow-up album, Gold Medal, received critical praise, but The Donnas decided to leave Atlantic to return to their DIY roots — hence the creation of their own label, Purple Feather.

I had a conversation with Brett Anderson, lead singer of The Donnas, about their newfound independence and their Bitchin’ new record.

Bitchin’ is your first album out on Purple Feather since you left Atlantic. How does it feel to be indie after such a long stint on a major label?
It’s actually really exciting; it really breathes a new life into this phase of where we are in our band, and where we are in our lives. We’ve dealt with so many people and juggled so many opinions for so long, and it was really nice to just shrink our whole army down. Whenever we had to make a decision it was just us, and the people [who] we asked opinions from.

There’s no bad blood between you and Atlantic, though?
No.

What were your main reasons behind this decision?
It seems that major labels are just as lost and confused as anyone right now. I don’t know, it just seemed like it was a sort of inflated, bloated, and inefficient way to do things. We felt like we could do it more efficiently if we just focused on the one project, and if we dealt with people who were working with us as a priority, instead of with a bunch of other bands — we’re not trying to change the whole music business, we’re just trying to navigate our [own] way.

What’s the significance behind the name of the label, Purple Feather?
We were at Echo Park Lake doing a photo shoot…we were in between shots, looking around, and there were all these ducks we kept watching (laughter). You know, they’re cute. They have, like, purple feathers under their wings, and so we kept saying, “Show your purple feather, duck! Show your purple feather!”

That’s awesome! So, you’ve been playing together for more than 15 years now. Back in the beginning, what struggles did you go through as an unsigned, all-female rock band?
It’s definitely hard to get people to think about our music, and listen to our music. I mean, they did, but it was always secondary to the fact that it was like a novelty act…or like a car accident. “The Donnas are playing tonight, I gotta see what that’s going to be like!” People would come, but it wasn’t like they were coming to support. So, we always felt like a spectacle, as if people were judging us. Which was true in the beginning, and still somewhat true — but now we have a lot of supporters. The people who were really judging us, who were waiting for us to fail, to mess up, that ended a while ago, I think.

Are you able to shrug off the nay-sayers and critics, or does it get to you sometimes?
We get a lot of support, and we didn’t actually get a lot of criticism until this [new] record, and I think that we were ready for it, because we waited a long time [since] releasing our last record. We had a lot of time to consciously decide what direction we were going in.

This record is really extreme, and…first of all, if you’re going to be noticed, you have to be extreme — you know, in this world, where there’s like a million records released every day. And then, if you’re gonna be extreme, you’re gonna polarize people. We were like, “You know what? We’re gonna piss a lot of people off, and that’s what we’re fucking supposed to do ‘cause we’re a motherfucking rock band.” I kind of like it.

Are you really as close to one another as it seems?
Yeah, I think we’re closer now than we ever have been.

You guys always look so good — do you have stylists, or do you do your own thing: your own shopping, and hair, and stuff like that?
That’s so nice of you. Yeah…that’s like our hobby. We go to the Rose Bowl flea market every month, and we scour for little trinkets, and chotskies, and accessories, and things that are hard to find. We’re obsessed with boots — all of us. I bought two pairs yesterday. We love looking for deals. We’re all about the hunt.

Has it been harder to get your singles on the radio as an indie band? Radio is an evil market, but you guys had some success with Spend the Night.
It’s really hard to get your record played, even if you’re on a major label. Radio is so weird, it’s like the Yakuza crime wave (laughter). I just don’t understand. [Releasing a record is] hard anyway, and we’re not about to sacrifice everything for the radio, because that’s not a guarantee [for success] anyway.

So, after touring, which songs on Bitchin’ are you still wicked fond of, and which ones have gotten old?
Ooh, you know, actually none of them have gotten old! I really look forward to them every night.

I really love the breakdown in “Like an Animal.”
It’s super fun when everyone sings along in the audience. At the end of that song when Allison hits that high note…it’s exalting!

I know, this record is like that! It’s like hand claps over the head, put the sticks in the air — it’s so powerful.
We have so much fun, and onstage it’s not an effort, I don’t have to get into the mindset or get “into character.” I just hear the music, and it’s natural.

You don’t have to listen to other people’s music to get psyched up for the show.
Yeah, totally! Although we do, but…

Who do you listen to, to get psyched up?
We have these little speakers that we can play backstage. We put on playlists of a lot of ‘80s metal, but then also like ‘90s hits, like Bel Biv Devoe, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson…stuff that really excited us when we were younger. Like Tone Loc. We like to take it back, you know? (laughter)

I’m the same way! You know, in a talent show when I was younger I did a dance to “Straight Up Now Tell Me”…for real. (laughter)
Hey, That’s so funny! I did “Opposites Attract” — I did the tap dance interlude. Damn it, if I had only had a MC Skat Kat to be my cartoon when I was tap dancing…that would’ve been so great.

What is your best advice for new acts starting out in the industry?
We always, always tell people to start with your friends, because it’s really so much more crucial who you’re working with than what it looks like from the outside. When you go to practice and you shut that door, it’s just you and your band, and it has to be fun. Otherwise, no one’s going to want to watch you, no one’s gonna want to come along for the ride.

Also, if this is for indie bands, I’d just say, don’t be afraid. When you’re sort of at that cusp, [where] you’ve had some success, and you’re making that choice whether to just dive in the major label world or to try to do it yourself, we just thought, Well, if you have that opportunity, you just have to take it, you have to see how far you can go. I’m really glad that we did that, because I would’ve always wondered, it would have always felt like a missed opportunity. But, for this record, I’m really glad that we found the confidence within ourselves to say, “Yeah, we can do that ourselves, we can be that organized, we can be that motivated.” Just because we have fun onstage and after the show, it doesn’t mean that the rest of the day we can’t be smart and motivated.