The Blondes

by Bryan ThomasThe Blondes came together -- as Eagle -- in the Silverlake section of Los Angeles in 1998. All of the band's members were previously involved with other groups in the L.A. area. Guitarist/vocalist Bill Dusha was formerly with Sacred Hearts and Sexy Death Soda. Guitarist Adam Siegel had been a member of Eels, Infectious Grooves, and Excel; as a graphic designer, he has provided artwork and design for several releases by L.A. groups). Original bassist Jimmy James had been a long-standing member of the Hangmen and several other bands, including the Coma-Tones and the Masons. Synth player/keyboardist Autumn DeWilde, has also worked as a graphic designer and art director; her photography and paintings have been used for releases by Beachwood Sparks, Beck, Neal Casal, Eels, Lilys, Elliott Smith and other artists. Finally, the band's original drummer, Byron Maiden (real name: Byron Reynolds), had formerly played drums with Possum Dixon and the Liquor Giants. When Maiden left the group for awhile, his replacement was drummer Aaron Sperske, then a member of Lilys and Beachwood Sparks (Sperkse is also married to DeWilde). When Sperske had to return to Beachwood Sparks, Maiden came back to the group. During the end of the nineties, Eagle built a solid following in L.A., playing a glam-rock and crunch power pop that hadn't been heard since the heyday of Alice Cooper, KISS, Sweet, Mott The Hoople, Slade, and the New York Dolls. The group recorded demos with Jason Falkner producing, but their first release was a rousing cover of Mud's 1973 Chinn/Chapman-penned Top Five UK hit "Dyna-mite". The track -- produced by Ward Dotson (Liquor Giants, Pontiac Brothers, Gun Club) -- initially appeared on Blockbuster: A Glitter Glam Rock Experience, a collection of modern day glam rock, executive produced by Los Angeles deejay Rodney Bingenheimer. In 2000, Eagle released a seven-song EP on the L.A.-based Shipwrecords imprint, a small label that had been formed by members of Wiskey Biscuit. Unfortunately, Don Henley of the Eagles found out about its release, and sent the group a "cease and desist" letter, claiming ownership over the name Eagle. The band were forced to removed their CDs out of all the record stores in L.A., and obviously were not allowed to perform as Eagle thereafter. The group eventually chose the Blondes as their new moniker. In 2001, DeWilde left the group, as did Jimmy James, departing for a European tour with the Masons; his replacement was bassist Victor Penalosa, formerly with Zeros and El Vez. In 2002, the Blondes struck a deal with the German-based Middle Class Pig Records to re-release Eagle's old material with two new songs. A new album is being scheduled for release in October 2002.