Donna Destri is probably a name most of you recognise immediately but I first came across this talented lady when Ginger Coyote sent me a link to a video of her singing with Jayne County and Joy Ryder. I was already a fan of Ms County and immediately became one of Donna and Joy. Recently, I've gotten to know Donna a little online and not only is she a beautiful woman and a great vocalist but she's also a lovely person so, when Ginger invited me to interview somebody for Punk Globe it had to be Donna.

First Donna, can I thank you again for talking to Punk Globe.

Oh it’s always a pleasure to talk to Punk Globe. Punk Globe rocks!

That gig with Jayne County and Joy Ryder looked fun, how did you meet them?

I guess you’re referring to the Max’s Kansas City reunion at Bowery Electric. Yes! It was great fun! I met Auntie Jayne years ago when I was a teenager like you doll! Haha. It was about the time that the New York Dolls were playing around New York. Jayne was also very big at that time and I went to many of her gigs. Here’s a little secret dish, exclusively for Punk Globe. I once auditioned to be the piano player in Jayne’s band. She was looking for a Jerry Lee Lewis type of blues/rock piano but when I auditioned, I had timing issues. These issues still plague me… in more ways than one! Lol But I don’t want to be vague and I digress. Jayne and the Fast (Paul, Miki and Mandy Zone) did many gigs together and at that time, before I had a band of my own, I hung around with them a lot. I met Joy later on when I worked at Max’s and did gigs there as well.

Tell us about the play "Sheila"?

Sheila was a play that we did in Berlin in 1980. It was funded by the Berlin Theater Festival and directed by the late Tony Ingrassia, who was a Warhol alumni and responsible for directing other Warhol works/stars, as well as Deborah Harry when she was in Stiletto (an early incarnation of Blondie). Joy Ryder, Jayne County and Rosie Rocca were also in the play as was Romy Haag. Cherry Vanilla later replaced Romy Haag because Romy had a film commitment, I think. I learned much about acting as well as comedic timing from Tony Ingrassia. The experience of that play really helped me with my live performance with a band as well. After the play, nightly, we did a rock concert in which each of us would do an original song as well as a cover. The back- up band PVC, were absolutely excellent and doing a show every night was really an opportunity for me to hone my singing technique. I remember I did a kick ass version of Peggy Lee’s fever. It was very sultry and very well received. I guess I’ve always been a closet torch singer. When I came back from Berlin, I did much of that type of singing in cabaret clubs and that further enhanced my skills, I believe. However, I digress again…With Berlin and the experience of Sheila behind, , it wasn’t long before Tony Defries and Mainman came knocking. I remember Jimi Lalumia writing at the time, that I was one of the few singers in bands in New York that could actually sing! I think it was all due to the discipline of singing every night. I mean you really have to learn to sing correctly or you risk losing your voice! In later acting work, like the work I did with Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman, and even in my Rebel Rebel video, I drew a lot on what I learned from Tony. Tony Ingrassia was truly a genius director. I miss him still.

Describe yourself in three words.

Dreamer, Creative, Romantic…not necessarily in that order.

Tell us some of your all time favorite bands Donna

Oh goodness. That list would be sooo long. I’ll tell you, I can’t get through a day without listening to something from the ‘80s. I absolutely love Talk Talk; Mark Hollis’s voice makes me weak in the knees, truly. I loved New Order, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus, The Cure, oh so so so many great bands then. In the 90’s I loved Nirvana, Live, Soundgarden, Audioslave, Crowded House, Alice in Chains, Bush, Incubus…oh the list can go on and on. I also like my share of 70’s Disco, Hip Hop, Techno, House, and Dinosaur Rock too! I still think Eric Clapton is God. Yes I do. Growing up, I idolized female singers such as Dusty Springfield, Lulu, Cilla Black, Sandy Shaw, Julie London, Shirley Bassey. I like all kinds of music really. I love classical and jazz as well. Twangy, nasal, whining, Country Western sometimes leaves me cold, but I do love BOBBIE GENTRY! Yes I do, Ginger Coyote!!

What about now? Who would you most like to see?

I love the Foo Fighters and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. They sound amazing live. I know that people your age think that they’re corny, but I really like Coldplay. I also really like The Kills. I think that girl is the sexiest thing in Rock and Roll these days. I think Gotye is doing amazing things in Electronic music. I love Goldfrapp and of course Kate Bush(You must genuflect when you say her name in my presence). I’d love to see any of these acts live.

Music seems to run in the Destri genes. Was there ever a thought of doing something with your brother?

I actually did write a song with Jimmy once. It’s called The Man without a Name. Recently, British actress Margi Clarke has expressed an interest in doing it. I would love to make that happen. As far as working with Jimmy regularly, like in a band situation, he does have his own band The Sound Grenade, and they are quite good. Besides, I don’t think it would be such a great idea to sing in a band with my brother because people would inevitably make the Blondie comparisons. However, I would not be opposed to writing something with him again.

How old were you when you decided to get into entertainment?

I was always an entertainer doll. It got me into a lot of trouble in school I’ll tell you! Lol! Seriously, I did always enjoy being in the spotlight. I was in plays and the choir in grade school, but I didn’t sing professionally until my early twenties. When I worked at Max’s Kansas City,( I started working there in the restaurant in the daytime when I was seventeen), I used to listen to all the bands during their soundchecks in the afternoon and I would say to myself, hell, I can do that too! I mean, I always knew that I could sing and I was always a bit of a ham, so one day I just decided to do it. I was talking to Richie Luhr (RIP) and we said. Damn, let’s just do it. Writing songs came a bit later. I think, and being a singer yourself I’m sure you’ll agree, that as singers we usually have a really good sense of what constitutes a great melody. I think that the songwriting process may come easier for some singers as far as formulating the melody and the hook of the song are concerned.

Describe how you felt the first time you were in a recording studio?

Oh it was exciting and a bit overwhelming. My first demo experience was with my band Voodoo Shoes. I recorded vocals and piano on several tracks. It’s always a joy to play a grand piano that’s in tune, let me tell you. At that time, I had never recorded vocals before and I just loved singing on a really good microphone. The thing about singing live, as you know, especially with a band, is that it gets so freaking loud on stage and if you don’t have a good monitor, you have to push really hard because you can’t hear yourself! That’s why in some pics, even recently, you’ll see me with my finger in one ear. This helps you to tune out the stage noise and hear more of your voice. Conversely, in the studio, you can really sing correctly. I find I have a much much better range when I’m singing in the studio. I felt it back in the day and I feel it now. I love recording though. I love recording back- up vocals as well as lead vocals. It’s always been a dream of mine to have a studio of my own…and a little bookshop.

You took a long break from the music scene. What differences most struck you when you got back into it?

Honestly, I feel really badly for bands trying to make it in NY now. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it once more, I consider myself so very fortunate to have had a front seat in the most energetic and magical music scene that has happened or will ever happen again in New York City. At the height of the New Wave, I was lucky to be making and playing music in some of the best rock clubs in the city, such as Max’s CBGB’s, Danceteria, Hurrah, Limelight and The Ritz, to name just a few. The scene was crawling with music business people eager to make a name for themselves and to sign new talent. Today, I feel badly for kids starting out in bands, kids who are trying to get that elusive recording contract…It’s a different world for bands now. In some ways it’s easier to develop an audience base, via the instant and widespread exposure the internet can provide, but playing to live audiences these days is not a very lucrative enterprise. For one thing, there aren’t as many clubs to play in and internet exposure can be a double edged sword. There are some people who would rather access an artist for free on YouTube, SoundCloud or any of the other online sites that showcase music, than to go and pay to see a live performance.

Any differences in the studio?

Oh yes! Recording in the studio has gotten so much easier and more efficient with the advent of digital recording and midi. I remember in days of yore, if you wanted a violin sound on a particular track, you went and tried to find someone who played violin. These days with Pro Tools and other digital recording programs, you can sample a hundred different violin sounds…all of them sounding genuine down to the pluck of the bow. It’s truly incredible. Digital recording is also a lot quicker than the reel to reel tapes of the past were. Even more fabulous is the notion that recording can be a totally mobile experience. In years past, I would always have to book studio time in order to do vocals. Admittedly, there is a lot to be said for singing into the ten thousand dollar mic at Kilgore Sound, (which I still do sometimes) but there is also something magical, if not practical about recording a vocal directly to a program on my laptop and then emailing it to the UK to have it further produced and mixed by Steven Jones or Ashi. With this technology, you can have a song written, recorded and produced in days as opposed to weeks. Even programs targeted to novices, like Garage Band (A standard on Mac computers) are fantastic for recording ideas for songs. You can create multi track recordings and then take them elsewhere to have them produced. Digital recording is a fabulous way to record because it can put people who are oceans apart (literally) together and collaborating in real time.

Your new album is available now. How was it, working with Steven Jones?

Well, I can’t say enough good things about Steven Jones. For one, we have the same musical sensibility. He totally gets my music and I totally get his. He’s driven, upbeat, and smart as a whip and that inspires me. He has also been spot on about finding people for us to collaborate with and we both love collaborations. When I first met Steven, I thought he had star quality and I’m seldom wrong about recognizing that. I felt it about Deborah Harry and I also felt it about Madonna, so I think Mr. Jones is going to go far. As far as our recording together, when we recorded the Costume EP, a lot of it was done here in NY and that was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had recording music. If you listen to the beginning of Sugar Me on that track, you can hear us laughing it up. Incidentally, I think that’s one of our best tracks. It was a rather fabulous experience recording that EP, truly. I think it has a certain energy that says a lot about who we are as entertainers.

What's your favorite track? And why?

Well you’re a songwriter Will and you know that our songs are like our babies. We kind of love them all but in different ways…and we might favor some at times more than others. My favorite track at the moment is our newest, which was co-written and produced by Francis Perry aka Ashi. It’s called Three Kisses before Dying and it really has the Bond theme flavor that I grew up emulating. I just love it and have been listening to it for days now.

What's next for you? Any gigs planned? Touring?

Well, I’m recording some new stuff. There are some remixes by Manny Parrish and Fabio Bonelli coming your way soon and I’m finishing off the album with Steven and Ashi. Hopefully I’ll get to the UK in the springtime. I’m supposed to do a television special there at that time, but we’ll see. I have no live gigs planned for now, but Steven and I would really like to do something in LA before spring. There is a chance that we will go to Italy and do a mini tour with the Costume boys, Tommy Box and Marco Mauss Cozza and one of our mixes with Loverdose is getting lots of play in London now. There are a lot of “irons in the fire” so to speak. Oh yeah!

That’s great news, Thank you for talking to us Donna. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the Punk Globe readers?

Yes! I’ll say it again: Celebrate your imagination or the Universe will not reward you!

http://soundcloud.com/etrangersmusique/three-kisses-before-dying-1

http://soundcloud.com/etrangersmusique/time-by-donna-destri-ashi-mix?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=widgetshare&utm_medium=email&utm_content=http://soundcloud.com/etrangersmusique/time-by-donna-destri-ashi-mix


http://youtu.be/WcGmfTc9HCo