|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
INDUSTRY REPORT # 64
Catching up with L7’s Donita Sparks
June 4th 2026 by Traci Turner
Last year, punk rock veterans L7 celebrated their 40th anniversary with a sold-out bash at the Belasco in Los Angeles. Now the legends have decided to extend the party across North America with The Last Hurrah Tour, which is exactly what it sounds like, unfortunately.
Since they crashed the music scene of Los Angeles in 1985, the “Bricks Are Heavy” band made up of Donita Sparks (lead vocals and guitar), Suzi Gardner (guitar), Jennifer Finch (bass), and Demetra Plakas (drums) has been vocal about who they are, and that’s kinda why we love them. The incredible music – including their mega hit “Pretend We’re Dead” – is a fantastic bonus.
The farewell fall trek will kick off with two nights in San Diego, October 6th and 7th at Casbah, and then make stops in Nashville, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Denver, and more before closing out back home in LA at The Wiltern on November 14th.
Announcing the tour, Sparks said, “When L7 decided to release a documentary in 2015, we thought maybe we would take one last victory lap around the sun by playing some shows. Instead, that lap turned into eleven more years of touring, sweat, new music, and reconnecting with the fans who made this all possible in the first place.”
Sparks went on, “Looking out into the crowd, seeing longtime supporters rocking out next to a new generation of L7 fans has been the most powerful and humbling part of this chapter. We are deeply grateful and ready to give our audiences one last, loud, fun, and hopefully unforgettable night of rock & roll.”
We figured the best source of info for The Last Hurrah Tour would be the legend Donita Sparks herself…
Traci: Donita! How are you?
Donita: I’m good. I’m busy, a little stressed, but it’s all good. We’re getting a lot of cool feedback on the announcement.
Traci: You are very busy! I saw that you’ve also been guest hosting a podcast lately. Are you enjoying that?
Donita: Yes, the podcast is called “Launch Left.” It was started by Rain Phoenix, and she did many, many interviews, and then she wanted to take a break, so she asked if I would guest host, and I did. I loved my guests, and I loved the conversations that we had. I interviewed Lydia Lunch, and Lenny Kaye from the Patti Smith Group, and Michael Des Barres. I really enjoyed it, but I did a lot of research, and it took a lot of time. Rain was like, “Oh, you don’t have to do research, just wing it.” I’m like, “I don’t wing anything!” It was hard work, but I enjoyed it.
Traci: The last time we talked, you mentioned that you liked Amy Taylor as a frontwoman for Amyl and the Sniffers, and now you’re going to tour with them. How did that come about, and have you met her yet?
Donita: I did! I saw her walking down the street in Echo Park; she was not dressed up or anything – she was in like jogging shorts and a t-shirt walking with a guy. I was just like, “That’s fucking Amy Taylor.” I pulled over and I said, “Hey, are you Amy Taylor?” and she said, “Yeah, you’re Donita Sparks!” So, it was really cool – she knew who I was, I knew who she was, and it was just this meeting of happenstance on, on the sidewalk. Then their agent contacted ours, and we’re playing with them next week. That’s how that came about, and we’re really looking forward to it.
Traci: Last year when we talked, you were gearing up for the sold-out 40th celebration event. Now… The Last Hurrah, the final goodbye!
Donita: The Last Hurrah!
Traci: That’s a lot of dates. You are covering the country.
Donita: Yeah. Yeah. It is a lot. When we announced the first dates, then the reaction was very positive, our agent was contacted by a lot more cities, and so that’s why it got so big. We had more days off, but then everything just got kind of jam-packed. It kicks off at the Casbah in San Diego now, and they wanted one show and that sold out, then they added another show. It’s cool, we’re starting out in San Diego and we’re ending in LA after doing the whole country, and it’ll be a cool tour.
Traci: Yeah, I was scrolling and scrolling, “Damn, they’re gonna be gone a while.”
Donita: Yeah.
Traci: Are you allowed to say you have planned?
Donita: We are coming up with ideas and we’re going to put on a show that’s different than we’ve put on for the last few years. There will be surprises in there. No plans for Jack Black coming out or anything like that, but you never know. It’s going to be a different show and a well-thought-out show. I mean, all of our shows are well thought out, but this one’s going to take more preparation.
Traci: Without naming names, is there a song or songs that you’ve always loved but you have never played?
Donita: Oh, this is such a spoiler question.
Traci: You could just say yes and I won’t ask the title!
Donita: Yes, there’s going to be songs that haven’t been heard on stage in 25 years, and then there’s going to be songs that we’ve never played on stage. New songs and old songs. That’s what we’re going to be working on, and that’s why we’re going to have to get together sooner and start rehearsing.
Traci: That was another thing you mentioned the last time we talked; you said you had to get to work because you had to write some new songs.
Donita: Yes, yes, I gotta do some work. I still have to do some work because we want to release a single or an EP this summer, so I’ve got to get on it. We’ve got it lined up with the manufacturer and everything, so I now I have to deliver. So that’s… what do they say? Ten percent inspiration, 90% perspiration.
Traci: When, in your life, did you start writing songs?
Donita: I started writing songs when Suzi and I got together. We started writing songs immediately, and that was in ‘85.
Traci: So, you weren’t writing songs about crushes at like age eight?
Donita: No, no, and I should have been. I should have been, because I wish I had been a better songwriter on our first record. I think I became a better songwriter. I just wish I had been writing earlier, like at 15 or 16. I just thought it was completely out of my reach. I was like, “What am I doing writing a song? Who the hell am I to write a song?” I viewed my idols as so untouchable and intangible, so why would I even consider getting into that arena, you know?
Traci: Well, you’re fucking Donita Sparks! Do it!
Donita: Well, you know, what can I say?
Traci: Was celebrating the 40th last year what put it in your heads to go out big?
Donita: That was it. It was like, “Okay, that’s our 40th. Yeah, we did great. Let’s do it one more time,” because when we went on our indefinite hiatus in 2001, 25 years ago, we did not go out with a hurrah. We trickled down, trickled down, the wheels fell off. When we played our last show, it was in Spain, we didn’t even know it was gonna be our last show. It’s like the Joni Mitchell song, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?” So, we’re saying bye-bye, and there’s a lot of excitement about it in a good way, not in a bad way. I feel it’s gonna be a joyous occasion. Bittersweet, but a joyful one.
Traci: I saw online comments from fans that they appreciated that ticket prices were reasonable, unlike a lot of other tours right now too.
Donita: Wow, that’s great. I love that, because ticket prices are so expensive for fans and touring is very expensive for bands, and we are not a big enough band. We don’t have enough hits to play county fairs or casinos that can help subsidize your career. We can’t play Jay-Z’s birthday party. It’s expensive for us and we don’t want to jack up ticket prices. Between the cost of a bus and the cost of this silly war we’re in with the oil, it’s a lot.
Traci: Yeah, I’m seeing it all over, and it just sucks. It sucks for the bands and sucks for the fans, but I get it. Plus, not everyone understands just how much goes into touring costs.
Donita: Yeah. I think some of this blue dot fever, whatever they’re calling it, some of that is a little ego-driven because huge, huge artists don’t want to play to an empty stadium. I wouldn’t want to, but the ticket prices, the fans… it’s a mess. Where we’re at, we’re kind of lucky because our fan base is so loyal that we can do it. We just can’t do it any bigger than we can right now.
Painting by Becca Kozak
Traci: Do you guys have a support act or is that secret too?
Donita: We’ve got a shortlist. We’re trying to figure out if we’re gonna bring a band out for the whole tour or go regionally or even locally.
Traci: Now this hopefully will not break any kind of secret. What are you going to do after, when it’s all done? Are you just going to become a lady sitting on a porch yelling at kids to stay off your lawn?
Donita: Well, I don’t have a lawn, so that’s a problem! I’m not sure what I’m gonna do. I’d love to do some solo stuff. I don’t know if there’s a demand for it, but I’m gonna figure it out.
Traci: Well, we won’t push you out the door yet. Let’s enjoy this Last Hurrah starting in San Diego.
Donita: Yeah, we’ve got the two shows at the Casbah October 6th and October 7th, the ender at The Wiltern on November 14th. So be there or be square because it’s going to be fun. We’ve never played The Wiltern before, so it’s kind of, kind of a big deal.
Traci: Really?! I just assumed you had.
Donita: It’s a big place, and beautiful green Art Deco building, very historical. We’re playing a lot of historical theaters on this run. We’ve always done that; I always love that stuff. I’d rather play an old theater than, you know, a new modern whatever. But come on out to The Wiltern for the big show, and if you want, if you like it more packed and sweaty, come on out to the Casbah.
A sweaty night with L7 sounds pretty darn perfect! Join them for The Last Hurrah because according to Sparks, it really is the final run for L7, and you can’t say you were not warned!
In sad news, since our interview the band announced Jennifer Finch would need to sit out the tour due to a “health concern requiring extended treatment.” Tsuzumi Okai will handle bass in Finch’s absence.
TO FOLLOW
SID 260605 | JIMMY ALVAREZ | EDITOR
