Los Angeles' all-female rockers L7 executed a blitzkrieg in the skies over two of this summer's largest music fests. On Saturday, the band watched from outside the gates of the Southern California Lilith Fair stop as a rented plane dragged a banner over the main stage reading "Bored? Tired? Try L7." On Sunday, a plane in New Jersey crossed over the crowds at the Vans Warped Tour with a banner reading "Warped Needs More Beaver." According to guitarist Donita Sparks, the campaign voices L7's protests to the tour line-ups, which she claims are "conformist" and "mediocre." "Both Lilith and Warped are dull, dull, dull," Sparks says. "And since it's the last year of Lilith, we wanted to be the first to shovel dirt on the casket."

L7 used the banners not only to snipe at the tours but also to draw attention to their self-released album, titled Slap Happy, due out Aug. 24. In support of the disc, a nationwide club tour is currently in the works. For the outing, L7 bassist Gail Greenwood will be replaced by Janis Tanaka, formerly of San Francisco's Stone Fox. In the meantime, will L7 continue with its unconventional promotional campaign? "Absolutely," replies Sparks. "Nothing is sacred. Woodstock is next and the folks at Ozzfest better watch their backs."

JENNIFER SCHWARTZ
(July 20, 1999)