In support of their sixth full-length release, Gold Medal, the Donna foursome will gig across the nation with 25 dates currently listed on their schedule. Joining them for dates through November 30 are New Zealand rockers The Datsuns. Their last show together will be November 30 in New York at Webster Hall.

The Donnas then head back to Cali December 5 to play a set at Slim’s in San Francisco.

From there, the gals will take a three week rest before visiting Australia to appear on six dates of Big Day Out 2005. The festival will also feature the Beastie Boys, System of a Down, The Music, Chemical Brothers, The Streets, and many more.

The quartet has come a long way from when they first formed as eighth-graders in Palo Alto, Calif. They received considerable media attention in the late ‘90s after getting their first record deal right out of high school.

Since then, they’ve released six records, gone through two name changes (Ragady Anne, Electrocutes), made cameos in major motion pictures, played both Lollapalooaza and Coachella, all while maturing their bratty high school image.

With Gold Medal, Ford says of their new album, “We threw away all of our old rules. … We were like, ‘Let’s start new. Let’s do everything we can think of and not restrict ourselves.’ We just decided that is was to try stuff we’ve never tried before.”