The 2 Minutes That Ruined Her Career Forever
The Donnas were the all-female punk rock band from Palo Alto who burst onto the scene in the 1990s, modeled themselves after the Ramones, and nearly conquered the world before a major label disaster and a career-ending injury brought them to their knees. From their teenage origins on Lookout! Records to their gold-selling album *Spend the Night* with Atlantic Records, we trace the rise of Brett Anderson, Torry Castellano, Maya Ford, and Allison Robertson. We uncover the brutal reality of the music industry machine, the commercial failure of *Gold Medal*, and the tragic tendonitis that forced drummer Torry Castellano to retire. It’s a story of rock and roll ambition, corporate betrayal, and the physical toll of the drums. Kindly like and subscribe – it really helps this channel a lot. I do appreciate it!
4 Girls Signed a Deal. The Label Signed a Disaster.,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGntB6iWK58
The Brutal 6 Minutes That DESTROYED A Girl Group,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE-k4KpBWWg
The Most Brutal Record Deal to Ever Ruin a Career,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Aih8tXnBU
How To Kill A Platinum Band In 5 Years,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZEb9SWX2vM
The Most Selfish Walkout In Rock History,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa9PnuiLW4Y
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#thedonnas, #punkrock, #rockmusic, #allgirlband, #atlanticrecords, #musicdocumentary, #behindthemusic, #truestory, #torrycastellano, #90srock, #2000srock, #bandhistory, #guitar, #drums, #rockdrama, #musicindustry, #rocklegends
@doogie812
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Sometimes I don't even care about the bands you cover. I just want to hear where you go off in the weeds. I almost fell off my couch over the gas station hot dog… 😉
@jonsrecordcollection7172
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
The Donnas were originally the Electrocutes, which was a more metal-oriented band. The Ramones thing came later.
@mayhemmcfly4229
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Greetings from Canada 🇨🇦, Happy 4th to you!
Loved the Donnas and had all their albums except the first one.
"Bitchin'" was probably my favorite.
I tried to get people into them by saying "think of them as a cross between Van Halen and the Crüe…BUT if the songs were from a GIRLS perspective instead of a guys" 🤷♂️
And it DID work! I got a few people into the Donnas!
Now out of respect and my condolences to Torry 😢, I'm gonna go listen to the 'Bitchin' album…"Don't Wait Up For Me…" 😏
@michaelferentinoxviii
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
You have a new subscriber. After watching a few of your videos, I applaud your approach. 🤟
@Rootysmoot
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Emo has dangerous lyrics like I’m gonna tell my dad, I had to pause the video to finish laughing. I like how you trim the fat and get to the meat, I don’t need 5 minutes of what the door looks like, I wanna know what’s going on inside the house. I get ideas for shaking up the ol’ playlist from your videos, been going through the King Gizzard catalogue. I was checking out their metal album and my son asked what is this, I said I’m not sure but it’s awesome.
@MrX-sg9us
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Just watching these clips of her playing, it looks like she really didn't have any proper drumming technique. She looks like she was just kind of bashing away as hard as possible. Of course that's going to cause wear and tear on the body.
I remember seeing Primus in the 90s when Tim Alexander was still behind the kit. I was stunned to see how relaxed and composed he was behind the kit, yet he still was able to really hit the drums with a lot of force.
It's all about proper technique. Can't help to think if this drummer had taken some time to learn it, she'd still be playing today.
@Chaoitcme
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
The Donnas were everywhere back in the day. So many movies had Donnas songs in them. I forget what movie but the Donnas had a cameo it it.
@JCOwens-369
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
I know what its like to deal with a damaged wrist. I had to all but stop playing guitar & focus most all my energy on writing & singing due to an accident that wrecked my left wrist.
@bluescero4617
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
As a gas station hot dog aficionado, and a frequent sufferer of sad ass, you could not have made the point more succinctly.
@dimebagdave77
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Still got a crush on Donna A.. 🔥💔 happy 4th G.M.S!
@seldonplanB-24
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Now every dude watching this video going to legit fantasize about getting mugged by this rock group 😂
@butterflywoodworks2374
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Have you ever looked in to the Nymphs from LA?
@JCWillis-l6e
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Saw the Donnas play a local music fest with Queens of the Stone Age. That's was an amazing day of music. Happy to see this one. Enjoy the Fourth, GMS!
@IdiotEnforcer
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
16:06 it's a long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll
@RLRottman
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
11:05 – "I'm going to tell my dad." 🤣🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍👍
@Ilovemusic-i7c
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
I never heard of them.
@heathmcrigsby
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Science met Torry. Biology specifically
@raymondmasullo6686
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
I remember them. They were fun, which is why this is such a sad story. Moral of this and many of the stories here: take care of yourself (physically and mentally) and MAYBE stay away from the major labels (I know, easier said than done when big checks are waved in front of your face). Happy 4th! Another great video! Keep 'em coming! 🤘
@Somewhat_Damaged81
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
I’m one of the first to see the current rock climate and sigh, but I was wondering if you had heard bands like Nothing But Thieves (lead singer has the voice of an angel man, best voice in rock rn imo) and Royal Blood? Man they 🤘🏼
@tjb603
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
GET FREAKIN LOUD🤘💀🤘
@shinigamiauthor
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
I forgot about The Donnas
@8101nevermind
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
You just keep finding great bands to cover it totally amazing brother 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
@whthefulks4121
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Great video bro.
@jimbodice2672
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Man, MTV plastered these gals all over for a while. Then vanished completely.
@nicoquattro3950
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Torry beating the crap out of those drums just looked so good. Well the drums won that fight. What a bummer.
And look at this. Look at those girls. Those were the times before the tattoo epidemic.
@TheBFN
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
👿🔱😈..drummer was such a cutie and badass player Chuck biscuits style… Watching this makes me really miss being a dumb young teen riding my bmx to a girls house or just cruising around looking for trouble and a place to smoke 🤘.. Feel bad for tori 😞..
@professorpenne9962
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
I dated a chick who liked this band once. needlessly to say, she was batshit crazy and it didn't last long but it was a fun time for a few weeks. just like this band lol.
@MrTomservo85
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
“You will have an extraordinarily sad ass” those words have never been said in that order
@5600block
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
They were just a few years ahead of the little rock renaissance that happened right after the new emo thing stopped trending. I was one of those people that liked their earlier work but didnt like Fall Behind Me which is a hella nice rock song and a great video. The term you used "Processed" couldnt be more apt for what the loan industry does.
@BlackburnBigdragon
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
I was a guitarist in a lot of punk bands and industrial bands back in the 80's and early 90's. I played and practiced a LOT.. like a damn machine. And repetitive stress injury killed my guitar playing. I have hyperflexible joints, something I didn't know back then. Pressing on those guitar and bass strings would bend my fingers the wrong way and I would need to press a LOT harder than most people to keep the strings from buzzing on the frets. Over time, this led to my fingers just getting completely messed up permanently to a level where it's like living with severe arthritis. Then the carpal tunnel kicked in. Then the shoulders gave out. I can barely play anymore. Even typing on this laptop and texting on my smart phone is painful. I had to ditch the guitar and switch to programming drum machines, samplers, and keyboards. I still occasionally play the guitar, but I simply can't do it much or do much with it, or I end up in pain for days. Doing a string bend, is ESPECIALLY very painful to me now. So man… I fully understand what repetitive stress injury does to you. You really have to be careful with that and be VERY proactive treating it at the first sign of it. It can become permanent faster than you could even begin to realize.
@5600block
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
"Youll have an extraordinarily sad ass" 😂 true wisdom
@markjohnson2257
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Great video as always. I had heard of The Donnas but didn't know anything about them. Now l do. Also- so true about gas station hot dogs🌭🌭🌭🤣🤣🤣. Some are good. Some are…..
@Joseph-h6z5u
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
My favorite one is Donna Tello.
@davidbarton1928
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
In a similar vein…
Have you ever heard of a British Britpop band called Kenicke?
They were three funny, gobby teenage girls from Sunderland, North East England (plus the singer's brother on drums) with songs about going out and getting drunk (Come Out 2Nite, Nightlife), being Punk (Punka), soccer players (Millionaire Sweeper) and grubby car sex (In Your Car). The late DJ John Peel liked them, with Come Out 2Nite and Punka taking 1st and 4th place respectively in his 1996 Festive Fifty.
Their singer and guitarist Lauren Laverne then went on to host Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4, which as career changes go is pretty left field.
@JeffLevyForPresident
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
You're making me feel old, GMS.
@plewlonehitknown4812
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Extraordinary writing. Effing entertaining and now i'm gonna check out "the donna's"!
@paullowman9131
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Thank you so much!! I heard a set of songs from this band on a college station sometime in the mid to late '90s and the guy who played the set never gave the name of the band. 30 years and I finally found them! 😊😊😊😊
@BudhagRizzo
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
Yeah, too bad. They were a really great rock band. I'll still pop in "Spend the Night" every once in a while.
@ewetoo
July 4, 2026 at 9:24 pm
What a tragedy for the drummer. Repetitive strain injuries can creep up on you, it's always a risk.