Allison Robertson of the Donnas – To Shred or Not To Shred?

Guitarist Allison Robertson has been the guitarist for the Donnas for more than half her life. The group formed when four high school friends in Palo Alto, California, got together to play a school talent show. While most bands seem to last a couple of years at best, the Donnas’ longevity is quite a feat. Next year the band will celebrate its 20th anniversary.

The Donnas have always been known for their raw, signature sound. Until a year and a half ago, the line-up of Robertson, bassist Maya Ford, singer Brett Anderson and drummer Torry Castellano had remained intact. Unfortunately, Castellano was forced to retire her drum sticks in 2010 due to recurring shoulder problems. Old high school friend Amy Cesari has stepped in to replace Torry and the band is currently working on recording a new album, which will be their ninth.

We checked in with Allison to see how things were going. 

 

So you’re working on a new Donnas album! What’s the status on that?

Indeed! We have been slowly and steadily chiseling away at new material over the last year. We have a few demos done and we are finishing a few more within the next month. There are lots of ways we could go as far as when to release, who to release it with, and how!

This is the first album you are making without Torry. What has that been like?

Of course, we miss Torry immensely, but the rest of us still love to play together and have a lot of touring/material left in us. Amy, our new drummer, went to high school with us and we share a lot of history and the same taste in music. She is a killer drummer and charges the whole band forward with her playing. The new material is still Donnas, but not like anything we’ve done before.

Do you consider yourself a “shredder” guitarist?

Definitely not! I can’t read music, I don’t know theory, and never took lessons. I’ve never tried to shred, or play fast for that matter. I like to write melodic leads and solos, and if a faster lick suits the part, I’ll learn that lick. But I don’t beat myself up over whether there is anything impressively fast or technical in a song. I try to play what the song calls for, and add a side story when I solo.

Having been a Donna for half your life – wow – what do you know now that you wish you’d know back then?

While it’s important to always be graceful and polite, you should never forget that you know what’s best for you and your career. If I could go back in time I’d remind myself to not worry too much about what people think of you, whether you’re onstage or at an important meeting with a label or other corporate people. If you’re in a band, you get to be yourself in those situations and musicians should embrace that. I’ve heard bands and musicians discussing what to wear at business meetings with executives and how to act. It’s ridiculous. You wear leather or denim and ripped pants and cowboy boots to those kinds of things or whatever you normally wear. No sugar-coating! It’s all about being yourself and comfortable.

What gear companies do you endorse? And what guitars/amps are your faves?

I play Gibson guitars and Marshall amplifiers. I like to use Boss pedals onstage because they’re efficient and compact. I use the Line 6 UX1 guitar input when I track demos at home in Logic Express. The guitar tones are sometimes better than from a real amp! My favorite guitars are my vintage Gibson L6-S, my Black Beauty Les Paul Custom, and my odd vintage ‘70s LP Custom that I picked up for a very low price in Berkeley once upon a time. Someone told me that the previous owner used to shoot rockets from it onstage and I was sold!

Why aren’t there more “serious” female guitar players? 

There are a lot of serious female guitar players, but I think part of the reason that they can get lost in the shuffle is that guitar playing is all about a vibe, and no matter how technical a player is, they need to have a magical connection with the guitar. That’s what people connect with. Eddie Van Halen is very technical, but he’s also comfortable and has fun with his playing, and that’s the real reason he’s so famous. Female musicians tend to feel that they need to overcompensate for being a woman in the industry, and that can lead to being TOO technical (boring), TOO showy (tragic) or TOO safe (boring). In my opinion, the less you care about being perfect, the more interesting and magnetic you become.

What do you think is the biggest challenge to learning guitar?

The biggest challenge for me in learning guitar was getting over the idea that a guitarist has to play the most challenging things in order to be taken seriously. I originally felt that way and didn’t take myself seriously for a long time. When I became more interested in expanding my technique, I just learned techniques in songs that I loved, and applied them to my own material. I felt I was playing simple, rudimentary licks, but people seemed to enjoy my solos. Feeling encouraged, I kept going along my own path, playing what I like, not what I think people want me to play.

How are you spending your non-Donna time?

I’m slowly working on getting two degrees, something I had the grades for before I started touring and always wanted to finish! My goal is to get a bachelor’s degree in psych first, and my dream is to get a bachelor’s in art history before I’m ancient. I have a long way to go, but I love school so I look forward to it!

When I read, it’s always Dumas, and when I’m bored, it’s always Animal Crossing on my DS!

Watch the Donnas’ video for “Take it Off” right here.