Prima Donna are an American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

band from Los Angeles, formed in 2004. The band currently features singer/guitarist Kevin Preston, saxophonist/keyboardist Aaron Minton, drummer David S. Field, and bassist "Lights Out" Levine. The band have released 3 albums over their career.

History

The band formed in 2004 in Los Angeles with members Kevin Preston, Aaron Minton, Erik Arcane, David S. Field and Daniel Nyby. The band features a unique blend of saxophone, piano and organ alongside guitars, drums and bass to create what has been described as glam punk rock 'n' roll. The band quickly gained a following and in May 2005, the band went on their first international tour in Europe with

Texas Terri Texas Terri (born Terri Laird, April 6, 1955) is an American punk rock singer, songwriter and actress, originally from Austin, Texas, United States. Texas Terri has been compared to Wendy O. Williams and others by the music press. Like Williams, ...

, with a quickly produced debut album entitled ''Kiss Kiss'' which was only sold at live shows. At the end of 2005, the band went on to play with original

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

bassist

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only offic ...

and the Philistines American tour. In 2008, the band recorded and released their true debut album, ''After Hours'' on September 2, 2008, which was produced by Messiaz and Prima Donna and was recorded at Reef Recorders. This album features re-recordings of tracks that were featured on ''Kiss Kiss''. Kevin Preston would go on to join the

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

side project,

Foxboro Hot Tubs Foxboro Hot Tubs is the garage rock side project of Green Day, formed in 2007.Green Day side ...

as their rhythm guitar player for live shows, which further boosted the profile of Prima Donna. Prima Donna spent most of 2009 on tour, with US tours with

Eddie and the Hot Rods Eddie and the Hot Rods are a pub rock band from Essex founded in 1975. They are best known for their 1977 UK top ten hit " Do Anything You Wanna Do", released under the shortened name Rods. The group broke up in 1985, but reformed in 1996. Sin ...

and

Duane Peters Duane Thomas Peters (born June 12, 1961) is a punk rock singer/songwriter and professional skateboarder. Active since 1975, he is probably best known as the singer in the California punk rock band U.S. Bombs, which formed in 1993. Biography P ...

Gunfight. They would then go on to their highest profile slots yet, supporting

on their European leg of their

21st Century Breakdown World Tour 21st Century Breakdown World Tour was a headlining concert tour by American Rock music, rock band Green Day in support of the group's eighth studio album, ''21st Century Breakdown'', which was released in May 2009. The tour began with an eight- ...

, with Kevin later joining the Foxboro Hot Tubs at a secret show in London during October 2009. They would go on to support Green Day on tour in 2010 throughout the Asian leg of the tour. Daniel Nyby departed the band around this time, and was replaced by "Lights Out" Levine. After this period of extended touring, the band started recording their next album with

Chris Dugan Chris Dugan (born May 11, 1973) is an American audio engineer, cinematographer, record producer, musician, and singer, best known as the drummer of the Effection and as an audio engineer for Green Day. In 2018, along with Green Day members Billie ...

at Jingletown Studios in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. Over the years,

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...

has featured three Prima Donna songs as the 'Coolest Song in the World This Week' on his Sirius radio channel the ''

Underground Garage ''Underground Garage'' is the name of two different related radio outlets that present rock 'n' roll and garage rock on radio: a syndicated show and a satellite radio station. Steven Van Zandt, best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springsteen & ...

''. The fourth album by the band was self titled and released in March 2018. Kevin Preston and David S. Field would then go on to playing live with

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician and actor. He is best known for being the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is als ...

's new solo project, The Longshot.

Members

Current members

* Kevin Preston – vocals, guitar (2004–present) * Aaron Minton – saxophone, keyboards – (2004–present) * David S. Field – drums, percussion – (2004–present) * "Lights Out" Levine – bass guitar – (2010–present)

Former members

* Daniel Nyby – bass guitar (2004–2010)

Discography

''After Hours (2008)''

2008 album on Acetate Records. Produced by Messiaz and Prima Donna. Tracked at Reef Recorders by Josh Achziger. Overdubbed and mixed at Toneduff Studio by Bruce Duff and Frank Meyer. Mastered at Little Red Book by Mark Chalecki. Photography by Sawa. CD design and layout by Victor Dawahare/Dynolux Design. Track listing All tracks are written by Kevin Preston, except where noted.

''Bless this Mess (2012)''

This album was released in February 2012 to positive reviews. While retaining a largely

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

sound, this album also contains

British invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

, new wave and

surf rock Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...

influences. Track listing All tracks are written by Kevin Preston, except where noted.

''Nine Lives and Forty-Fives (2015)''

Track listing All tracks are written by Kevin Preston, except where noted.

''Prima Donna (2018)''

Track listing

Singles

Gimme Christmas (2018)

7 inch single recorded containing the single Gimme Christmas and the B-side Mistletoe Blues. Re-released in December 2020.

Cruel Summer (2019)

Single containing a cover of

The Bangles The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...

' Cruel Summer.

Atomic Love (2021)

Single containing the titular track, and the B-side He's a Rebel.Apple Music
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References

External links

Official Website

StrayDolls.com – Prima Donna Street Team

Reviews

* ''Kiss Kiss'' album: ** ''High Bias'': ** ''Veglam'': ** ''Full Frontal'': ''After Hours'' album: ** ''Sonic Ruin'': ** ''Big Wheel''

** ''No Front Teeth''

* Live performances: ** ''Sugarbuzz'' magazine: ** ''Skratch'' magazine: *** *** {{DEFAULTSORT:Prima Donna Rock music groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Glam punk groups