My last two posts featured bands that are exclusively women—in addition to singing, they play all the instruments and write most of the music. However, I don't want to overlook mixed-gender bands with women in lead roles. The early prototypes are Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Suzie Quatro, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Heart, and the Pretenders, led by Chrissie Hynde (see my previous post on women rock pioneers https://zapatosjam.blogspot.com/2020/07/girls-rock-1-pioneers-leslie-gore-suzi.html). Despite their success, in mainstream rock and pop women are still expected to stay in the singer/songwriter lane, and leave all the instruments to the boys. But this is not like weightlifting - there is no inherent reason women can’t play guitar as well as, or better than, the guys. And there is certainly no reason women can’t rock as hard, or harder.
Lzzy Hale, Halestorm: Freak Like Me
This is the only totally American band on the list. Lzzy Hale was impatient, so she founded her band when she was 14. She writes most of their stuff, and there’s nothing demure about her subject matter. As the rest of American rock has sunk into a sort of hibernation, Lzzy just turns up the heat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sXoA7B5yJo
Melody Cristea, Liliac: Paranoid
Take the Partridge Family, add mountains of actual talent, stir in some metal, and top it with one of the craziest voices since Janis Joplin, and you have Liliac. This is a band of five siblings, children of Romanian immigrants, led by their middle child, the aptly named Melody, who channels Janis and Ronnie James Dio. She also plays bass, and her older sister Abby plays the drums. They are all still teenagers, so there’s no telling what they’re capable of. This cover of an old Black Sabbath hit gives a hint:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjF-TRyM8qU
Tatiana Shmailyuk, Jinjer: Pisces
I bent the rules for this one. Tatiana is a singer songwriter, but that doesn’t really capture what she does. It’s sort of like calling Hurricane Katrina a "tropical weather event". There is no way to describe it, so just watch this. The entire band are special—you’ll hear a lot of classical and jazz elements in their playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNtGoM3FVU
Haruka Noma, Asterism: Rising Moon
Haruka is not only a jedi-level guitarist, she writes most of their music. I included their live performance of “Dawn” in my last post on Guitar Magic (if you didn’t check it out, you should—the last two minutes are the most intense, layered piece of guitar soloing I’ve ever heard.) Here are Asterism in their first professionally shot video, doing straight-up rock, with an extra dose of attitude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfxMi0Bx4x0
Orianthi: “Highly Strung” (with Steve Vai)
Orianthi has been touring with her own band on and off since she was 15. She is best known, however, for her gigs with Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, Michael Jackson (who tapped her to be his lead guitarist) and Carrie Underwood (also as lead guitarist). She is a featured artist on Guitar Hero and has headlined at the Crossroads Guitar Festival. She plays a gold custom PRS guitar, which is about as bad-ass as it gets. Here she is in 2009 with Steve Vai:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7b-_YcACuQ
Gail Ann Dorsey (with David Bowie): “Under Pressure”
Dorsey has never led her own band, but has played bass for dozens of headliners, and spent 21 years as the anchor of David Bowie’s group. She also has a remarkable voice, and shows it off here, stepping into Freddie Mercury’s shoes for a duet with Bowie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS_ZlDVMpWk
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