L7's Donita Sparks and her bandmates may be in touch with their inner stink. But
now the band wants its fans to be the same -- in touch with L7's stink, that is.
Currently without a label after parting ways with Reprise last fall, the group,
who named its 1994 album Hungry For Stink, are offering fans an
odoriferous perk in a unique online drawing contest.
"We call it the 'Ugly Drawing of L7 Contest,' " said bandleader Sparks about a
contest the band has been running for the past few months, whose deadline has
just been extended until Feb. 28. The prize? "We're giving some of our used
odor-eaters away," laughed Sparks, who was surprised by the amount of entries
the group has received, 11 of which are posted at: www.smellL7.com/drawings.html.
The childlike, ugly scrawl the band deems the ugliest will win framed,
autographed insoles with a letter of authenticity. Seven runners-up will receive
hand-customized L7 car fresheners.
"We've been inspired by the ugly drawings people send in on a regular basis,
it's weird," Sparks said. "Some young girls send in these drawings that they
think are pretty and they're actually really horrible. So we decided to do a
contest and now the kids are drawing really intentionally horrible stuff, just
look how ugly [drummer] Dee [Plakas] looks in some of them."
Jessica, a 16-year-old L7 fanatic who didn't give her last name, said her
childlike cartoon-image of the band as "stick girls, playin' loud," was inspired
by the group's live prowess. "I did them live just because I always picture them
as a live and loud sort of band, really energetic and lots of fun. And I love
L7, so I thought I would do a little picture-tribute to them and send it in."
Otherwise, Sparks said the hard-rocking punk band are keeping busy writing new
songs and trying to figure out what their next move is. "We won't make a new
label decision until early in 1998," Sparks said. "[Guitarist] Suzi [Gardner]
and I are writing every day and working on our website."
Sometimes Sparks said she feels like the new songs the pair are working on "sound like they should be soundtracks to [cheesy cop show] 'CHiPs.' Not because they're funky wah-wah stuff, but just crap."
And while the band have been experimenting with new sounds, Sparks said, somehow
they still can't seem to "suppress the angry, punk 15-year-old girls inside of
us." [Sat., Jan. 17, 1998, 9 a.m. PST]