The Donnas
The Donnas dish out rock and roll girl power
by Andy Argyrakis
To the public at large, The Donnas debuted in 2002 with its sassy and spunky CD Spend the Night, a record that solidified the foursome as an assertive punk rock ensemble with attitude. But more than just the latest marketing fad or flavor of the week, the gals had actually been cranking out material for about five years prior, amassing an enormous independent following. That fan base has carried over into major label life, who along with new faithful, have supported the last two years of marathon touring, including a slot on the prestigious Lollapalooza bill. Though everything appeared perfect on the outside for the quartet, drummer Torry Castellano’s bout with deQuervain’s Tendonitis on that latter run almost singled an end to the establishment. Thankfully with some much deserved rest and therapy, she was able to bounce back and return to the fold for the brand new Gold Medal (produced by Marvelous 3 front man turned solo artist Butch Walker). Castellano recently caught Soak up to speed with the group’s direction (which on record leans towards a more raucous rock and roll approach) along with her state of health.
SOAK: For those that are just latching on to your music, what kind of changes has the band made since its beginnings?
Castellano: I think with each record we’ve tried to progress. If you listen to our first indie record Turn 21 and then listen to Gold Medal, you’ll see a progression from straight up punk into a lot more experimentation. We’ve thrown out all the rules with this one, did a bit of jamming and made a point to not make the same record over and over. It’s even a different road than we took on Spend the Night, when everything was sort of similarly paced. Now we’re incorporating elements of acoustic guitar, some slower songs, some piano and a lot of tambourine. On the faster parts, think of it as rock and roll you can dance to.
SOAK: How’d you get hooked up with Butch Walker behind the boards?
Castellano: We first of all started working with another producer in L.A., but that didn’t work out. So we started looking around, met with a few others and then the idea of Butch came up. At first it didn’t seem like it would work since he worked with groups like Simple Plan and Sevendust, but we figured we’d at least meet up. He was so nice and easy going and knew every single musical reference we threw his way, really catching our vision right off the bat. We were on the same wavelength from that first meeting and then he made us feel really comfortable in the studio. He was also really ready to work, which we were too after two years out of the studio. We saved the hang time, video game playing and partying until after we were done for the day.
SOAK: What was your idea of an ideal party during the sessions?
Castellano: Butch likes to drink wine and so do we, so that was incorporated into the plan a lot. We rented a house where we all lived last summer, so barbeques were pretty regular, loaded with wine and margaritas of course.
SOAK: Any celebs show up and get down with the band?
Castellano: We hung out with a lot of people from the studio and our managers, but we also had The Distillers visit when they were in town and Har Mar Superstar also stopped by.
SOAK: Times didn’t seem as good for you the summer before when you found out about the wrist ailment. What kind of wrench did that throw in The Donnas’ plan at the time?
Castellano: Basically as Lollapalooza wore on, I got more and more sore and had to get shots to make it through each show. When that finally wrapped up, I had surgery in October of 2003, so that meant we were off the road from then until the recovery. It’s taken a long time to get back on track and there are still lots of exercises I have to do.
SOAK: What were the initial feelings that set in after you found out surgery was needed?
Castellano: It was really scary. I was pretty depressed, especially since I’m not the most patient person in the world. I remember freaking out when I was told I would need a physical therapist, who would seriously only let me play drums for three minutes a day for a whole week and then move me up to five the next if I was feeling better. But I worked hard at it and did every single thing everyone told me to do in hopes of getting back on track.
SOAK: Do any of those emotions carry over to Gold Medal?
Castellano: I think in a way there are some darker songs on the record, but on the whole there’s a tone of strength and that everything’s going to work on in the end. So no, nothing really directly, but more about coming out of a dark place and moving on to better times.
SOAK: Any favorite cuts you’d recommend for listeners to study up on before they see a show?
Castellano: The first single “Fall Behind Me” is probably my favorite and “Don’t Break Me Down” is a lot of fun to play live. People are also seeming to like “Friends Like Mine,” but for me it’s hard to really signal one all time favorite. They’re all a lot of fun and turn into an even cooler time in concert.
For more on The Donnas, check out thedonnas.com.
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