Getting pretty deep

Which names are most associated with rock in the 1990s? Kurt Cobain? Eddie Vedder? Billy Corgan? Perhaps it is time to smash the male archetype and give credit where credit is due, starting with Tanya Donelly.

Donelly, a Newport, Rhode Island native, began playing guitar in her early teenage years. In 1981, she and her stepsister, Kristin Hersh, formed the seminal act Throwing Muses. They took punk rock, turned down the distortion, turned up the chorus, and added in their own twist.

Throwing Muses helped create the alt-rock genre that paved the road that Cobain, Vedder, and Corgan eventually walked. The band had a cult following, but never reached the level of acclaim they deserved. That was not going to stop Donelly.

The band made their way up to Boston and began playing shows with the new rock band, Pixies, which spelled the end for the stepsisters' act.

"Chemistry changes in a band, said Tanya Donelly. "I wanted to do songs that the Muses was not in the right format for. Kristin and I always said, 'it's just a band.' Our hard-core fans were devastated, but it is just a band. I would like to do something with Kristin. Unfortunately, the Muses broke up so a reunion is not too likely, though.

Donelly and Pixies bassist, Kim Deal became fast friends and started The Breeders as a side project. The two had great chemistry, which allowed them to effortlessly blend their distinct styles to create the instant classic 1990 release, Pod.

"Originally, the plan was for Kim to write the first album and I was to write the second one," said Tanya Donelly. "That was in the very early stages of the band. Sire [Records] would not let me do much. I had just left the Throwing Muses, and Kim [Deal] was still in the Pixies."

She recorded Safari with The Breeders and decided it was time to move on to her next project.

"I wanted to work on the band full time, but it ended up just being a side project for a while, so I left," Donelly said.

She was replaced by Kim Deal's twin sister, Kelley, and The Breeders reached commercial success with their next album, Last Splash. The single, "Cannonball," dominated the airwaves and music TV.

Donelly wanted to write her music, and the third time proved to be the charm. She formed another successful alt-rock band, Belly. The 1993 debut album Star gave her the opportunity to flex her muscle, and it turned out she was pretty damned strong.

Singles "Feed the Tree," "Gepetto," and "Slow Dog" were huge hits and the first single turned out to be the biggest of them all.

The next release, King, was more of a collaborative effort, but would that prove to be their undoing?

"No, I think the collaboration worked out really well," she said. "I am specifically fond of a lot of the songs that we did together. It would have worked out great if we had our act together enough to record another album. Working with other people stretches me into a different voice. The words that may come out sometimes are not words that would have come out otherwise."

"Super-Connected," "Now They'll Sleep," and "Seal My Fate" were good singles, but the album did not reach the high bar Star set. So, Donelly struck out on her own. This time, she decided to go the solo-act route and keep a backing band around for tours.

Her first record, Lovesongs for Underdogs, is a return to form for her that showcases her dynamic range. Tracks, "Pretty Deep" and "Mysteries of the Unexplained" harken back to her Throwing Muses days, but with a bigger production budget. "Bum" has more of a thumping '90s alt-rock vibe. "Clipped" could be a B-side from Pod.

In the 12 years between 1981 and 1992, Donelly played a huge part in the formation and success of three highly influential bands. Now, she finds herself in the role of underdog. Striking out on your own is often a greater challenge than forming a band with an increasingly popular musician like Kim Deal.

Donelly was not alone for long, though. She began dating Dean Fisher, bassist of The Julianna Hatfield Three, of Become What You Are fame.

"He left the Juliana Hatfield around the same time that Belly broke up," she said. At first, we were trying to avoid working with each other because we thought it was just so corny. Then, we kind of realized that it was ideal for us to be in that situation."

Donelly says she is able to keep her personal and music lives separate, though she is inspired by her personal life.

"I get inspired by real life events that may happen and I will just take it from there and embellish, embellish, and embellish," she continued.

One imagines she has a plethora of real-life experiences from which she can pull. In her downtime, she even found a moment to meet up with the heavy rock band, Catherine Wheel, and write "Judy Staring at the Sun," which was released on the 1995 album, "Happy Days." It made the track list just a few spots down from "Eat My Dust You Insensitive F**k."

"I love the band," said Donelly of Catherine Wheel. "They are dolls."

She looks for an opportunity to surprise listeners. Recording with Catherine Wheel is certainly a shock, as is the meaning behind "Pretty Deep."

"I had a conversation with a woman at a party," said Donelly about "Lovesongs for Underdogs" opening track. "We talked about how strange it would be to find a dead guy on the beach. I took it from there and embellished, as I do with most of my music. From there, it became about how the world is full of bad images and voyeurism."

That got deep fast, but it mirrors Donelly's career. As a musical trailblazer who carved the path for alt-rock, she deserves the icon status that has eluded her.

This story was originally published in The Hawk in 1997.