Music Review: Prima Donna: Bless This Mess

Prima Donna, a five-piece band from L.A, has rattled venues in Southern California and beyond since 2004. They've already put down their brash hybrid of punk and glitter rock with a who’s who of famous and infamous punk bands. The group opened for Green Day on the band’s 2009-2010 European tour, and the band’s singer/guitarist, Kevin Preston, performs with the Foxboro Hot Tubs, a Green Day side project. Prior to that, their onstage cohorts in rock ‘n’ roll crime included Texas Terri, Glen Matlock & the Philistines, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and plenty of local SoCal punk bands.

Their first album on Acetate Records, After Hours, introduced their modern take on glitter rock to a wider audience. The band’s second release on the label, Bless This Mess, revs things up a few notches with the help of engineer Chris Dugan’s (Green Day, Iggy Pop) faultless production.

The 12 songs on Bless This Mess have a cleaner, and more mainstream appeal than Prima Donna’s previous efforts, but the songwriting and rock bravado are as sharp as ever. The catchy album opener “Sociopath,” the confident, strutting bop of “Maxine,” and the "Jeepster" era T. Rex undercurrent of the single “Feral Children” are enough to reel in even the most jaded listener. But there are nine more impressive tunes on the CD, and Prima Donna delivers the kind of unapologetic rock energy on it that is missing from most up-and-coming bands touted by the mainstream rock press.

Preston has old-school rock charisma and is quite the frontman in concert. Guitarist Erik Arcane, bass player “Lights Out” Levine and drummer David S. Field provide a non-stop, rock ‘n’ roll party sound derived from influential rockers of the past like the Ramones and Mott the Hoople. Aaron Minton’s sax playing gives the band that something extra, that bit of musical swagger and spice that sets them apart from the handful of young glam punk bands on the scene today. It’s like combining Johnny Thunders’ descendents on guitar (Preston, Arcane) with X-Ray Spex. The foot-stomping “Miss Avenue,” with its sax intro and rollicking piano interlude, defy listeners to stand still.

“Broken” is the album’s most distinctive cut. It wraps ‘60s Brit Invasion pop with the band’s glam influences. It really demonstrates how their sound has evolved.

It looks like 2012 will be a busy year for Prima Donna. They’ve already received a write-up in the Huffington Post for their performance at London’s KerPUNK Festival. They were filmed for a Corona Beer commercial, and their European tour is in full swing in February and March, with a U.S. tour to follow.

Bless this Mess is scheduled for release on Valentine’s Day. If you’re a fan of straight-on, raunchy rock ‘n’ roll, and are tired of scouring iTunes and your old vinyl collection for retro faves, you’ll appreciate Prima Donna’s music. And if you’re a young fan who wants to sample your generation’s version of hipster-free, high-energy rock ‘n’ roll, look no further than Bless This Mess.

Read more:

http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-prima-donna-bless-this/

Club Romper Stomper Brings Wild Rock 'N' Roll Back to the L.A. Club Scene

 From the Masque and other punk rock clubs in the late 1970s and early 1980s to the hair metal Sunset Strip scene , L.A. has always been home to many lively and influential music clubs. Some, like the Masque and Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco, have made it into rock history books while others are highlighted only in former patrons’ memories (and on their Facebook pages). The Los Angeles club scene circa 2011 may not have the flash and finesse of years past, but a handful of local musicians and promoters are striving to recharge the current L.A. club scene. Asia Muka, the creator of Hollywood’s Club Romper Stomper, is one of them.

A monthly celebration of the crème de la crème of the L.A. rock scene, Romper Stomper features true rock and roll bands that carry on the tradition of garage, mod, punk and glitter bands from the past. Romper Stomper performers have included the Ruby Friedman Orchestra, Vicky and the Vengents and the Woolly Bandits. Asia is devoted to introducing nitty-gritty rock and roll to a wider audience. “I want to do my part in spreading the message of inspiration through the power of music. I know that may sound a ‘lil hippie hippie shake,but it is something I feel strongly about… A few times when I was working with some 20 year olds, I made them a compilation CD. A wild mix of stuff from the 1920's up until the 70's punk era, including soul, mod, etc.  Anyway, these kids had no idea this music existed and were completely blown away.  It was truly a musical mind opener for them...and me!"

Romper Stomper made its debut in May 2010 at the Sunset Bar and Grill in Hollywood with headliners the Hitz out of West Covina. Says Asia, “I really liked their energy and wanted other people to know about them. I kind of took a huge gamble and did not book any other bands! I gave the whole night to The Hitz!  And promoted the hell out of the show (as i do every show).  I was really surprised that for a Friday night we had a great crowd!”

 

Legendary KROQ  DJ Rodney Bingenheimer  has co-hosted several Romper Stomper events, including a recent show with local glam faves Prima Donna and the female-fronted punk of Barb Wire Dolls (a band that recently relocated to L.A. from Greece.) Asia elaborates on her association with Rodney. ” I met Rodney when I was working on the Runaways movie. (Asia was a costumer for the film.)  I have always admired Rodney for taking a stand in the RNR world.  Once we became good friends, I talked him into letting me organize a night in honor of him,, including bands the he is currently playing on his show.  He does his show every Sunday at Midnight until 3am on KROQ. And that is a hard hour! But I think if more kids took Mondays off from school then they could be injected with some serious musical knowledge , something they may need as they are searching for direction in this chaotic world.”

 Romper Stomper shows have lots of visual and auditory stimulation above and beyond live bands. The club’s walls serve as a screen for clips of T-Rex and other glam and punk bands. There’s a dance floor full of 20something kids imitating the original Rodney’s English Disco vibe and a DJ spinning a mixture of garage, glam and punk tunes. “I try to create an "experience" when doing these shows, Asia notes, “and make it well known that it's perfectly okay to live the life you believe in.  There are a lot of things happening in L.A., you just have to search for them.  But when I can't find them I create them!

The next Club Romper Stomper is Friday April 8^th at the Sunset Bar and Grill with the Crazy Squeeze, Vicky and The Vengents and the Black Mambas.

Prima Donna-After Hours CD Review

In the early 70s, glam rock reigned because the guys were really cute, had long hair and sang about sex in a fun, non-threatening way. Some bands were racy, some were fun, & some were both, but they were always flashy and full of life. Glam rock encapsulated all the things that parents at that time hated about rock ‘n’ roll and tied it all together in a brazen, androgynous wink at ya way.

It's good to know some youngins’ are bringing sex and sass back into rock and roll. Take L.A.’s Prima Donna, for example. This quintet punks up old school glam ala early 70s Stones and Dolls. Their songs have a street smart vibe while retaining the glam influence, like an untrippy T-Rex.

After Hours, Prima Donna’s first release for Acetate Records, is 28 minutes of sleazy fun straight from the fave section of Star Groupie magazine. Frontman Kevin Preston preens and “owws” with the best of ‘em. And all the salient points of the rock lifestyle are addressed in songs like “I Don’t Want You To Love Me “(I don’t want you to love me/I don’t want you to care/I just want you to like it/when I lick you there”), the S & M lite of "Crucify", the “she’s a bitch” dis "Double Crosser", and the “I’m a bad boy’ boasts of "Stray Doll." Aaron Minton’s sax and keyboards distinguish the band from their peers, in the same way the sax parts made X-Ray Spex stand out during the first wave of punk.


Prima Donna have played shows around Southern California since 2004, opening for the likes of Glenn Matlock and the Philistines. They’ve also toured with Texas Terri and and recently played at Wild Weekend Power Pop Fest in Austin. All that and they’re not even in their mid 20s! In contrast, some young Hollywood based glampunkers, like the Sc’oolgirls and Chelsea Doll, who were all over the scene a few years ago, have dropped out of sight. No young band does glampunk as convincingly as Prima Donna. Fads come and go, but talent will out. And these boys have the chops to back up their bravado.