L7 – Donita Sparks Remembers Bricks Are Heavy: Interview

L7 are due to return to Auckland’s Powerstation December 6th to perform their 1992 album, Bricks Are Heavy in its entirety.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to L7’s Donita Sparks about making Bricks Are Heavy with producer Butch Vig and the band’s first trip to New Zealand

Listen to the interview here:

Read a transcription here:

Donita Sparks: I remember New Zealand, and especially our first trip to New Zealand, which was amazing. We’re really looking forward to getting back there because we went to Australia on our reunion tour leg, I think in 2015. And we did not go to New Zealand. So that was a big disappointment for us. But we’re coming back, New Zealand.

Marty: Yay! This is excellent. So you’re performing Bricks Are Heavy, is that correct?

Donita Sparks: Yes, we’re doing…the first 40 minutes is Bricks Are Heavy, back to front, or front to back. And then we do, and then we move on to our other wannabe hits.

Marty: So why Bricks Are Heavy? Why is that so significant at this point in time?

Donita Sparks: Um, well, we were doing it for the 30th anniversary. Um, by the time we get to you guys, it’ll be the 31st anniversary, but, uh, you know, the pandemic hit and we had to cancel some of our Australian shows, like we pushed them back and then the Bricks Are Heavy thing came up and it was like, well, let’s honor the record. A lot of people do this. And people, you know, it was sort of financially and exposure wise, the peak of our career. And people really liked the album and remember the album and were exposed to the album. So they know the album and that’s why we’re doing it.

Marty: Okay, and do you have fond memories of making the record?

Donita Sparks: Some fond, some not so fond. We were started out at Sound City LA to do the drum tracks and then we moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where Butch Vig had a studio and we did the overdubs there. So that was in a brutal winter in Madison, Wisconsin and so that was kind of, you know, that was great. But it was also, you know, we weren’t going to swimming holes or anything like that.

Marty: I hear it. Yeah, I wouldn’t imagine that.

Donita Sparks: Yeah, we were just in the studio all the time.

Marty: And what was Butch like to work with? Is he a task master?

Donita Sparks: Uh, he’s a stickler for being in tune, like precisely, precisely being in tune.

Marty: That’s not punk.

Donita Sparks: Well, you know, his job was not to be punk on this record. His job was to like, you know, bring us to the next level. And I think he did because he was encouraging our pop side. And we always kind of, I know as a writer, I was always suppressing my pop side because, you know, we felt the need to come off as tough cookies, which for whatever reason in my mind meant lack of melody and just like power, you know what I mean?

Marty: Yeah.

Donita Sparks: And just be a power unit. But I like pop, I like backing vocals. I like catchy riffs, I like catchy singing, you know, vocal parts. And he was encouraging us to do that and not punk shaming us. He was not punk shaming us in any way to explore those areas.

Marty: Right. But I gotta say, most bands, when they’re trying to explore their pop side, don’t open the new album with a sample of Yoko Ono.

Donita Sparks: This is true, but you know, you’ve got to throw in some curveballs, some subversive curveballs. Yeah, so that was, you know, I mean, Wargasm is not very pop. It’s just very, you know, it’s kind of a barnstormer, and it’s difficult to play and to sing, and it’s a… It’s the first song that we’re playing live. So that’s been a challenge because normally we kind of ease into it, ease into the set with like a mid tempo bopper, you know? But this is just like one, two, three, four, boom! And we go, so it’s, we have to be prepared to play this album front to back, you know?

Marty: So how do you prepare to do that? Do you guys do a lot of rehearsing? Do you have to get into shape somehow?

Donita Sparks: We do rehearsing. Uh, we rehearse a lot before, before we tour, we’ve rehearsed a lot. Uh, Susie does not live in LA anymore. So she comes into town and, um, you know, we, we really get down to business. We don’t, we don’t mess around a lot. We’re just, uh, we, we’re a band that gets together when there is a project or a tour coming up. And then we commit.  Other than that, we’re not around each other that much during the year. You know, so, um, yeah, we, we get down to business. I, you know, I gotta get my cardio up because it is, uh, you know, it’s a workout on stage for sure.

Marty: I’m sure it is, yeah. Did you ever imagine for a moment back in 1992 that you would be playing this music 30 years later?

Donita Sparks: No, you know, listen, in 1985 when we formed, I didn’t think we’d even be in the band for much longer. And you know, our goals have always been very miniscule. Like we weren’t a band that started out going, ‘We’re gonna make it to the top!’ You know, we were like, we’re gonna make it to a show on a Saturday night instead of a Wednesday night, opening slot at whatever. You know, like our goals were like very humble. And it just kind of rolled along and picked up steam sort of when we got on Sub Pop, which was in 1990. So that’s when we got international exposure, in the underground anyway. And then Bricks Are Heavy, which was under the Warner Brothers umbrella, got more exposure with their publicity dollars and departments and all that stuff.

Marty: So what did that do to your head? You personally, and you guys as a band, when you’re making these changes from being basically a couple of musicians or three or four who are just goofing off and playing whatever comes to mind, and suddenly it’s business.

Donita Sparks: Well, it wasn’t business. I mean, we were ready to jump. You know, like we were ready. We had friends, we had friends, you know like Nirvana who made the jump and they were doing quite well. You know, their album broke when we were recording ours with Butch. So Butch was taken aback. We were taken aback. You know, although I knew Nirvana was destined for greatness, you know, I could hear it in their songs. That was kind of a, when they made the jump over to a major, there was a bidding war over them and everything. And I was like, it’s kind of like, if these guys don’t make it, the system is completely broken.

Marty: Right.

Donita Sparks: It’s like, if they don’t make it, there’s something really wrong. But then that put some pressure on us to have a record that sold as much as theirs and it didn’t at all.

Marty: Right. There are those who would argue that the system is definitely broken these days. What’s your opinion of how things have kind of come out in the wash here with the music business?

Donita Sparks: Uh, I don’t know. we’re so outside of the music business in a way. We’re not on a label. We’re not with a big management company. Um, so we’re not in the, we’re not in the magazines that much. I mean, occasionally we’re in the, and we’re in a magazine, but, um, I don’t really feel a part of it. Uh, we’re just kind of our own island. We’re like, you know, the little train that could, and we just work hard and we get out there and we do it. and we have a lot of appreciation for it now, more so than back in the day.

Marty: Right. Because I have a reissue of this record here, which you can probably see (holding up The Beauty Process),

Donita Sparks: Nice.

Marty: Which I think Warner’s put out a couple of years ago. So did you have any say as to what happened with that when they did that? Since you’re, they’re a big conglomerate and you’re an independent artist.

Donita Sparks: When they reissued that? They did not reissue that. It turns out anybody can reissue our record, which is really messed up. Those people didn’t ask us, I don’t think they did. But they got permissions from Rhino records who own the masters right now, and they just put it out. So it wasn’t Warner Brothers that put it out.

Marty: Oh, it’s somebody named Real Gone Music, apparently.

Donita Sparks: Yeah, real gone as far as we’re not in contact. So we didn’t even get any free albums. We didn’t even get any free albums to sell, you know what I mean? But yeah, you know, that’s the album we got dropped on. And I feel it’s a good record, and that’s the album that Warner Brothers cut us loose. Because they were cutting everybody loose at that time. You know, all the majors, they signed everybody. And then they cut everybody loose, you know, about what, five years later. Um, and that was just the cycle of the, of the, of the business. But, you know, I think when they did a massive signing, a lot of bands were like totally underground bands that had no chance of a hit, ever. You know, our stuff was at least kind of catchy and sort of had a chance at radio, even though we didn’t get much of it. But. there were some people that they were signing that were just like, what? You know, and how the hell are they going to get, how are they going to get that band on the radio? You know, so, uh, we didn’t think it was that outrageous to get signed to a major. We were ready and, uh, we were into it.

Marty: Right. Now talking about getting paid, didn’t you and Kristin Hersh form some kind of Cash Music company thingy a few years back? What happened with that?

Donita Sparks: Well, we did a non-profit and it was pre-Kickstarter and it was Kickstarter kind of, you know, I don’t know if they took our model, but our model was Kickstarter before Kickstarter, so that’s what Cash Music was. It was tiers of like, you know, participation for fans, they could contribute and they would get something back. So it was a pre-Kickstarter. Some people that we were involved with wanted it to be a nonprofit. And so that’s what it became. So I might’ve wanted it to become a profit, for profit, but it didn’t work out that way. And then Kickstarter came along and kind of took that over, that model.

Marty: All right. Gotcha.

Donita Sparks: Yeah, but we were kind of ahead of the curve on that.

Marty: Yeah, I see Kristin just announced her New Zealand tour as well, so she’ll be around soon. So that’s very exciting. Do you have much contact with her anymore?

Donita Sparks: Oh, that’s great. Not really. I saw her live a few years ago and she’s just a really great artist. She’s always putting out stuff and she’s quite an excellent, she’s a role model to me. Because she works so goddamn hard. And so I look up to her a lot.

Marty: Now I just got through talking to a couple of guys in a band called Rain Parade who were part of the Paisley Underground thing back in LA in the early 80s. And of course, L7 came around about five or six years after that. And I’m wondering if there’s any connection between that scene and your scene, or if you’re kind of into the more hardcore punk side of things.

Donita Sparks: Um, I, I personally was not into hardcore punk, ever. You know, I think Jennifer was a bit from LA scene, um, Suzi had dated a guy in Black Flag, so she was around her a little bit, but, but Suzi and I formed the band and we were, we were much more art-punk than anything else. And we hung out with like, you know, the weirdos who worked at the LA Weekly with us, and who were all like, performance artists, you know, writers, theater people, and musicians who had art punk bands, poets, and stuff like that. So that’s where we sort of came from. When I moved to LA in 83, the Paisley Underground was still kind of going on. I didn’t see much of it. You know, there was cow punk going on then too.

Marty: Oh yeah, Rank and File

Donita Sparks: Yeah, Rank and File, all those bands, you know, and, and hardcore punk as well. But I, I kind of like, I kind of liked bands like Redd Kross. I don’t know if you know who they are, but…

Marty: sure, sure.

Donita Sparks: you know, kind of bands like that. We came along and they were just amazing from San Francisco. And I liked Flipper. I liked kind of the, the stuff that didn’t fit into any category. And. That’s kind of where L7 has always been as well.

Marty: Gotcha, gotcha. So your most recent album is Scatter The Rats, which came out like 2019, is that correct?

Donita Sparks: That is correct.

Marty: And so that’s a little ways away and lots of the world has changed significantly since then. So are you thinking about making any new music?

Donita Sparks: Well, we have a new single coming out in September called Cooler Than Mars.

Marty: Oh cool.

Donita Sparks: And yeah, Cooler Than Mars. And it’s all about, you know, Earth is cooler than Mars. Stop screwing around with occupied Mars bullshit. Stop spending your money, your billionaires on these ego races to get out. under the guise of human, you know, for the human race. It’s actually ego race. And so that’s what the song’s about. So, Cooler Than Mars, your listeners can.

Marty:
I do. Well, with the climate change the way it’s going, by September it may not be cooler than Mars. I don’t know.

Donita Sparks:
Yeah, it’s, you know, all hands on deck for this planet. Sorry, it’s, actually, I’m not saying sorry. It’s like screw those guys. You know, it’s like, you know, what the hell? So yeah, that’s what the song is about. I think a lot of people can relate, will be able to relate to the track.

Marty: I can’t wait to hear it!  So, then an album to follow or have you got that far?

Donita Sparks: No, we’re not doing an album. Um, maybe we’ll do an EP later or another one of the singles. You know, like I said, we’re not on a label, so what’s the point? You know, like, records cost money to make, you know, and if there’s no way to distribute them, then, you know, it’s, you know, we’re not in this to lose money. We’re at least, we’re in this, at least break even for God’s sake. You know, if somebody comes along and wants to fund us, great. But right now, no plans to make a full album.

Marty: And are you much of a political animal these days? Are you following what’s happening in the States? Because I know being an American living in New Zealand, I certainly do now, especially with the election coming up. So any thoughts on that?

Donita Sparks: I think we’re all terrified that the Donald is gonna be, you know, it’s just ridiculous. I mean, it’s just, he’s like Lex Luthor, or Lux Luthor, who’s the villain? Who’s the villain in Superman? Is it Lux Luthor?

Marty: I think it’s Lex Luthor, I think you got it, yep.

Donita Sparks: He’s Lex Luthor. And it’s just, his popularity continues, and it’s so disappointing. You know, it’s really, you know, but that, you know, that comes when your schools are shit. When your public schools…when you stop, you know, when you stop investing in infrastructure, your schools go to shit. And that’s what they want is, they want ignorant Americans. That’s what the neocons want. They want this to happen. They want people to be ignoramuses, you know? So that’s what’s going on and it’s really frightening.

Marty: When you’re out touring and you’re mingling with middle America, I don’t know how much of middle America comes to your shows, but do you ever get any discussions or confrontations or anything like that?

Donita Sparks: No, you know, middle America, we play middle America, I’m from middle America, well Chicago, I guess that’s not in the middle of…

Marty: That’s pretty much in the middle.

Donita Sparks: It technically is, you know, but you know, in the cities where we play, usually it’s pretty like-minded people, you know, and especially people who come to our shows. If they’re shocked at some of our lyrics, then they just haven’t listened to our lyrics before, you so they, you know, I would think, that people who come to see us are familiar with our music and lyrically they can kind of get where we’re coming from. So if they’re on a bummer watching us, that’s their own fault, goddammit.

L7 perform at Auckland’s Powerstation Wednesday, December 6th. Click here for tickets