Video: Prima Donna, ‘Press Your Luck’

Kevin Bronson on April 5th, 2018

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Prima Donna have proudly flown the garage-rock flag for more than a decade, displaying all the energy, grit and swagger that goes with the territory but never quite carving out a sound distinctive enough to elevate them beyond most-ripsnorting-support-band-in-L.A. (And they have opened for some heavyweights.)

The L.A. quartet of Kevin Preston (vocals, guitar), David S. Field (drums), Aaron Minton (keyboards, saxophone, vocals) and Lights Out Levine (bass, vocals) remain a work in progress, though. (Aren’t we all?) They tweak the formula on their fifth album, which is notably titled “S/T.” “Self-titled albums are usually a band’s introduction to the world,” Field says. “Even though this isn’t our first, we feel this album represents a new era in our music and who we are as musicians and people.” Preston calls the album — made in two weeks with producer Eric Palmquist (Thrice, the Bad Suns) — “a true sonic leap for us.”

Their music has a champion in Steven Van Zandt, the E Street guitarist, actor, radio host and label impresario. The album came out last week on Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records.

Meanwhile, Prima Donna worked with director Arthur Leon Adams III for the video for “Press Your Luck,” filmed in an abandoned boathouse shipyard in Crockett, Calif. They’ve played nicer rooms.

||| Watch: The video for “Press Your Luck”