PROVING THEIR 'MEDAL' THE DONNAS DO THEIR PART FOR WOMEN ROCKERS.

Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer

For the Donnas, who headline the House of Blues on Sunday, being an all-girl band can be pretty lonely at times.

Mainstream rock 'n' roll is full of guys. As for women, they tend to stay away from the stage, which troubles Allison Robertson, the Donnas' 25-year-old guitarist, also known as Donna R.

``I feel like there aren't any other girl groups to relate to and then, when you do meet them,'' she says, holding up her friends in the rock outfit Sahara Hotnights as one example, ``they live in Sweden.

``I just wish there were more girls who played.''

Robertson and her band mates - vocalist Brett Anderson, drummer Torry Castellano and bassist Maya Ford - know that they can't shatter the glass ceiling of the rock world alone.

But they're trying to inspire girls to give it a shot nonetheless by setting an example.

``I feel like we have a responsibility even though we didn't sign up for it,'' Robertson says during a recent stop in Denver on the Donnas' North American tour.

The Donnas are in the midst of supporting ``Gold Medal,'' which follows 2002's breakthrough, ``Spend the Night.''

In a recent review of the new album, the Donnas were hailed by Blender magazine as ``the tomboy heiresses to the kingdoms of Kiss and the Ramones.''

Robertson was then highlighted in the pages of Rolling Stone for her guitar solos that ``would make AC/DC's Angus Young proud.''

Descriptions like these have followed the Palo Alto foursome through much of their career, which began nearly a decade ago, although their first full-length release came in 1998.

While the girls were working their way to the top, they looked around and began to notice the imbalance that existed in the rock world.

That, according to Robertson, still exists.

``I think when you meet guys in bands you realize just how different their life is,'' she says. ``They have a whole different problem because it's harder to stand out.''

Therein lies the one advantage girls have over their male counterparts.

``You stand out because you're not a guy, but that's the only advantage,'' she says. ``Everything else takes work.''

Sandra Barrera, [phone]

sandra.barrera(at)dailynews.com

THE DONNAS

Where: House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

When: 7 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $15. Call [phone] or www.ticketmaster.com.

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Photo:

The Donnas - Allison Robertson, left, Brett Anderson, Maya Ford and drummer Torry Castellano (unseen) - play the House of Blues Sunday supporting their new album, ``Gold Medal.''

Theo Wargo/WireImage.com