Riot Grrrl Bands

L7

L7 is an American rock band founded in Los Angeles, California, first active from 1985 to 2001 and re-formed in 2014. Their longest standing lineup consists of Suzi Gardener (vocals, guitar), Donita Sparks (vocals, guitar), Dee Plakas (drums, vocals) and Jennifer Finch (bass, vocals). L7 has released seven studio albums and has toured widely in the US, Europe, Japan, Australia, and South America. L7's song "Pretend We're Dead" became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart in 1992.
Recognized for being simultaneously subversive and infused with humor,

L7 is known for consistently delivering spirited live performances with physical, ferocious sets. Due to their sound and image, L7 is often associated with the grunge movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s;
As an all-female band, L7 formed Rock for Choice in 1991 and have, at times, also been linked to riot grrrl, although they preceded and are outliers of both the grunge and riot grrrl movements.

The band's name, L7, derives from Slang term for square and was deliberately chosen as a gender neutral sign. A documentary film about the band, L7: Pretend We're Dead, premiered in 2016.

Their most popular song Pretend we're dead was not surprisingly the first song from them I discovered. I continued on by listening to their first album Smell The Magic, which is still my favorite album of all time 3 years later.

L7 were formed by Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner in 1985. Both artists were active in the Art Punk community of Echo Park and had met in 1984 through mutual contacts at the cultural hub of the LA weekly. Of their meeting and on hearing Gardner play a tape of her songs in progress, Sparks described it as "one of the happiest days of my life" with a clear synchronicity in the music they were each interested in creating. At the time, Gardner was also active as a poet. A year prior, Gardner had performed backing vocals on the college radio hit "Slip it in" by Black Flag. Gardner and Sparks began performing regularly in Los Angeles at punk and metal venues along with a revolving list of supporting musician in the early years.

The punk rock duo brought Jennifer Finch on board as bass guitarist and Anne Anderson on drums. Finch, with the strongest Californian roots of the trio, connected the band with an even wider network, where the band recorded their first demo. Their eponymous album, described as "intense, energetic" and "fast straightforward punk music" was released by Epitaph Records in 1987.

L7 reported challenges in the early years with finding a suitable, stable drummer. After Anderson left at the end of the tour supporting the L7 record, Demetra "Dee" Plakas recruited by the band in late 1987 and became the permanent drummer in 1988.

Suzi Gardner: