Donita Sparks
30 Artists Reflect on 30 Years of Pearl Jam’sTen
The story has been told thousands of times, but it bears repeating: Pearl Jam should never have happened. The ’90s had just begun. In March 1990, the promising Seattle rock band Mother Love Bone was about to unveil their debut album. But on the eve of the release, the band’s lead singer, Andrew Wood, died tragically of a heroin overdose. His band members, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were blind-sided, devastated, and decided to end the band. Over the next few months, Gossard slowly found his way back to music. He made a few demos that landed in the hands of a surfer from San Diego via Chicago who got them from ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons. The surfer’s name was Eddie Vedder. The songs he sent back? “Alive,” “Once,” and “Footsteps.” Pearl Jam formed around t...
L7’s Donita Sparks Rocks ‘Fast and Frightening’ With Lucha VaVOOM Dancers
L7’s 30th-anniversary reissue of Smell the Magic is out tomorrow on Sub Pop. Singer/guitarist Donita Sparks performed new live vocals on her group’s 1990 song “Fast and Frightening,” and there’s a new video for the song where Sparks appears “alongside” Los Angeles’ Lucha VaVOOM dancers. As Sparks rocks guitar and vocals, the mask-clad dancers shimmy to the rollicking tune in front of legendary L.A. locations including the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign. Sparks recorded the new vocals during a feisty performance of “Fast and Frightening” as part of radio station KCRW’s Summer Series, 2020. Check out the raucous mayhem below. [embedded content] The anniversary edition of the landmark feminist album includes all nine songs from the seminal record, remastered and togethe...
