L7 can be hard to pin down. Ever since their 1990 debut, they’ve been slapped with tags of riot grrrl, grunge, punk, hardcore, and even thrash metal. Ask singer-guitarist Donita Sparks how the band identifies, and she’ll admit that at this point in her career she’s fine with any one of those labels.
“A lot of people don’t know that we’re actually from the art-punk scene in Los Angeles,” she explained to Heavy Consequence before their set at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville (watch above). “To be lumped in with grunge used to irritate me, but now I don’t care. Hashtag grunge… hashtag me anything, baby! Tampon-thrower, hard-rock, metal, art-punk, what have you.”
It’s a sufficiently punk rock answer, and it’s emblematic of how the band has been able to tap back into their original rebellious spirit after re-forming in 2015. Despite the passing of time, L7 are as raucous as ever.
The post-reunion era of the band almost comes across like a victory lap, celebrating their continued influence over just about every scene that considers itself adjacent to punk music. The band’s sound and legacy have manifested in countless acts that came up after them, and stories of their ’90s antics still get passed around as the stuff of legend.
Even when they weren’t the instigators, L7 were around for some of punk rock’s wildest moments. Take the infamous altercation between Jonny Rotten and Marky Ramone at a 2019 panel for Epix’s Punk docuseries. As the two punk legends slang mud at each other, Sparks was seated right next to them.
“It was shocking, but I thought it was hilarious,” she recalls. “John Lydon, I love him so, but he was really being mean to Marky Ramone and the legacy of the Ramones … but it was very entertaining for me. It was very punk rock and unpredictable — and that’s perfect.”
Now well into the 2020s, L7 are still proudly flying the punk rock flag. Back in September, they released the new single “Cooler Than Mars,” and they’re set to play the upcoming Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple festivals in May, as well as a gig opening for Foo Fighters at Target Field in Minneapolis in July.
Watch the video above for our full conversation with L7’s Donita Sparks, in which she goes into more detail on the above topics and also describes her relationship with her bandmates over the years.
Trouble viewing the video above? Watch on YouTube.