Da



Da was an early Chicago punk band with traces of goth, Velvet Underground, and funk. Da's gender balance was initially 3 women and 1 man, and then later 2 and 2. This was (and remains) unusual.

Singer/bassplayer Lorna Donley wrote most (all?) of the lyrics, and sang them with an effective, aggresive, dark tone. Her melodic bass parts were generally alert and clever. Guitar players Gaylene Goudreau and David Thomas not only played with great complementarity, they were also actually interesting to watch in live performance. Dawn Fisher completed the distaff majority contributing a basic but relentless drum section. Later Bob Furem replaced Fisher, and most at the time agreed that he added a needed shot of energy.

Lineup

 * Lorna Donley - Vocals, Bass
 * Gaylene Goudreau - Guitar
 * David Thomas - Guitar
 * Dawn Fisher - Drums (early) (When did the switch happen? Who is on each record?)
 * Bob Furem - Drums (later)

Releases

 * Dark Rooms 7" 45 (Autumn Records, 1981)
 * A. Dark Rooms
 * B. White Castles


 * Time Will Be Kind 12" EP (Autumn Records, 1982)
 * 1. Next to Nothing
 * 2. Strangers
 * 3. Silent Snow
 * 4. Three Shadows
 * 5. This Doubt

Compilations

 * Busted at Oz (Autumn Records, 1981) - Live versions of "The Killer" and "Fish Shit".