L7
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The rough and tumble all-girl band is considered one of the most important band of the grunge era, though they actually predated that era by several years. Founded by Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner in the late 1980s, their breakthrough came in 1990 with their album Smell the Magic. Their name was chosen to be ambiguous, so as to avoid much of the misogyny of the music industry ( L7 actually is an obscure reference to "square," when the L7 are smashed together.). In 1991, they formed “Rock for Choice” to raise money to help those still traumatized by abortion clinic bombings and attacks.
Donita Sparks had two controversial episodes considered revolutionary. The first moment was during a concert when equipment issues stopped the show, and the audience began pelting the band with mud, infuriating Sparks, who pulled a dirty tampon out of herself and threw it at the audience. The second was during a performance on a British show called “The Word,” when an early segment of the show featured a male guest dancing with his pants down, and thus Sparks pulled her pants down fully for L7’s performance. The band has a legacy of radical feminism and a consistency of political activism. Their reunion in 2014 was a good day for music lovers and feminists alike. The Beauty Process – Triple Platinum Promo Poster- 1997 - David Bieber Archives |
