The Grown-Ups were quite possibly the best girl band out of Santa Monica that you’ve never heard of. I had gone with some friends to see The Donnas at the Troubadour back in ‘97. These six girls opened, and completely stole the show.
The Grown-Ups consisted of lead singer Paloma Parfrey, guitarist Lauren Everett, drummer Lauren Dolinsky, guitarist and all around fireball Lily Marlene, awesome saxist Anika Stephen, and bassist Danica O’Brien. They were absolutely incredible live, but their one album Milk Carton, released in 1997 on Sympathy for the Record Industry, was raw to say the least. Punky and political, their songs sounded a lot like an average high school band (which they were) but had their roots in punk rock.
At this point, you’re probably asking yourself, “…who?!”, but hopefully you’re asking yourself: WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE GROWN-UPS?!
Though requests for information have gone unanswered, one can only assume that this high school grrl band ended because, well, everyone graduated. Lead singer Paloma, along with saxophonist Anika, had joined a few others to create The Sharp Ease, out of Los Angeles, which broke up in March of 2007. While Paloma’s early vocals were theatrical and “drama club”-esque, the new project sounds more like Bikini Kill and L7. The Sharp Ease played often in and around LA, and had their final show at everyone’s favorite dump The Smell.
As for the little fireball Lily Marlene, she headed the (since disbanded) group Lily and the Ladies out of Los Angeles. Their sound is very very LA, with a dash of monster mash organs, a dash of Sparks, and a sprinkle of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and I bet they were a whole lot of fun to see live. Some tunes can be found at their myspace page above.
Danica O’Brien kept to their political roots and now works for American Apparel, the company that exploits people’s desire to do good while led by a sleezebag who ignores all progress in womans lib. As for the other two members of the Grown-Ups, it seems as if they have left the music industry behind and gone off to do other somewhat unrelated things in the world.
So there you have it. That’s what’s happened to Santa Monica’s The Grown-Ups. The question you never asked has been answered!
2 Comments
they SUCKED. i remember that fateful night when we watched a show of theirs. my eardrums were crying the whole way home.
-phildo
They fuckin’ ROCKED the scene harder than any 15, 16-year-olds could ever dream of.
Firecrackers on stage - all of ‘em. Epitome of teen angst punk with a hint of vagina.
BEAUTIES.
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