Catching Up

As I write this, I'm spending time with an old friend - Donita Sparks. I'm listening to the new Donita Sparks & The Stellar Moments album Transmiticate. I loved, and I do mean LOVED L7. I had the pleasure of seeing them live and meeting them several times. (One time they all even signed the organ donor section of my driver's license.) Somewhere along the way, I acquired a schoolboy's crush on sweet, sweet Donita. (Her sweetness is up for debate. She did, after all, pull a tampon from her twat and hurl at a crowd at the Reading Festival. In her defense they were throwing mud at the band.) So Imagine my surprise when I found out she had a solo album. It seemed to be a no brainer purchase. Here are my thoughts:

If you liked L7, you'll dig Transmiticate. It's not as hard nor is it as in your face as L7, but it definitely comes from the same place. Donita's voice is front and center and L7's drummer Dee is there to hold things together. All in all, it's a lot like catching up with real old friend. You hang out catch up on what's new (Really, man I can't believe _____ is seven years old already) and then reminisce about the old times* (Remember, that time you body slammed that chick in Vegas?). In the end, you're happy for the time together and look forward to the next meeting. I've recently had the same kind of encounter with Black Francis and Kim Deal. And you know what? It's good to know that old friends won't let you down. Thanks, Donita. I hope to hear from you again soon.

*The memory I'll always have is of L7 playing The Other World in St. Louis. The Other World was the perfect place - A world-class shit hole before Washington Avenue went upscale. The type of place where you EXPECTED your car to be broken into and you were rarely disappointed. The type of place where you walked up five flights of stairs, past all of the shit that was unfit/unsafe for the public to get to the club that made you truly wonder how much worse the stuff you walked past could really be. Me, my boy Byington and Cassie Christian before she married Tim. (Not to mention Cassie's friend who really, really wanted to have sex with somebody.) Shitlist, Andres, Broomstick - Donita, Suzy, Dee and Gail ripped through a set. The crowd bounced like meth heads and at one point I thought the floor was going to cave in. That's not hyperbole. The floor was literally swaying in a building too old to have an elevator. It was November but is must have been 90 degrees in that place. Maybe a Tuesday or Wednesday night. The right band. The right venue. The right time - when downtown StL had edge. As one of my friends said, "None of this is fit for decent white people." Man , I miss those days.