Cover Girls: A Satisfying Six-Pack of All-Female Tribute Bands!

They’ve got the hair. They can rock tight pants. And lord knows, they’ve got the balls to think they can do justice to the songs of the legends.

Yep, they’re all-female tribute bands, and they are kicking ass across the globe.

These six bands are made up of seasoned musicians who are not only serious about laying down an authentic performance of classic rock and metal, but they also bring their own artistry to the table.

So check out these six, um, titillating all-female tribute bands. And who knows; maybe with your help I’ll track down a few more! Share your faves in the comments below.

Misstallica

These ladies rock hard and they aren’t afraid to get loud! OMG, I can’t even re-write this, it’s so good. Straight from their site:

"MISSTALLICA is the WORLD’s ONLY and GREATEST All-Female Tribute to Metallica!!! Formed in 2008 as a side project to the girls’ already successful Queen Diamond (All-Female Tribute to King Diamond), MISSTALLICA was the response to the want and need for old school thrash metal and a pretty face to go with it! MISSTALLICA offers the Metallica experience but with BOOBIES!!!"

Lol! Gina Gleason rocks guitars and vocals while Tiana Jimenez takes on lead guitar duties.

Can an all-female band really do the masters of metal justice? Click here and view the vid:

Lez Zeppelin

Lez Zeppelin recorded their first album with Eddie Kramer as producer. They tracked down all original gear, we’re talking an ’50s-era Les Paul and Telecaster, Supro amp, '60s-era compressor, Hammond organ and a Fuzzbender stomp box. And then they recorded their second album in an all analog studio with producers Perry Margouleff and William Wittman.

This is serious tribute shit. They’ve got the chops. Hell, they’ve toured the world playing some seriously major venues, including coveted spots on Bonnaroo, Rock-am-Ring, VooDoo Festival and more. Yep, Lez Zeppelin performs, records, and pretty much lives, eats and breathes Zeppelin. Are they straight, Are they gay? Who cares. “Definitely. Probably. Maybe,” says Steph Paynes, the lead guitarist and founder of the group. What I do know? They are definitely worth a listen.

Here are the ladies dishing out “Communication Breakdown.” Can you take it?

Judas Priestess

Formed in late 2009, Judas Priestess claims it has “the blessing of the Metal God himself, Judas Priest front man, Rob Halford.” Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know these ladies put their hearts and souls into delivering the goods when it comes to playing the Priest. A staple at motorcycle rallies across the Southern U.S., New York-based Judas Priestess dives into the classic hits and deep album cuts. And I’ve gotta say, in addition to D Mercedes and Josette’s blazing dual lead guitar chops, singer MilitiA is simply mesmerizing.

This video doesn’t do justice to their face-melting live performances. But it’ll give you a little taste of what you’re in for!

PRISS

Billing themselves as “the sexy alter ego of the greatest band of all time,” PRISS does up KISS in full stage makeup. Based in LA, the ladies in PRISS have been honing their chops for several years. With Sharon Needles as “Doll Stanley” and Jennifer Paro as “Lace Frehley,” PRISS excels at dead on guitar goodness. But the best little tidbit I dug up was this video clip of the girls appearing on “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” when Shannon Tweed joins them at the mic.

Is Gene Simmons on tranquilizers? Anyhow, if you wanna see some Detroit Rock City strut, keep an eye open for PRISS.

Kind of a so-so video recording, but you can tell these ladies are serious about rocking it!

Hell’s Belles

“The best AC/DC cover I’ve heard? There was an all-girl cover band in America called Hell’s Belles!” so says Angus Young himself. And who are we to argue with Angus? Celebrating 11 years of AC/DC extravaganza, the longevity of this group is a statement all its own, testifying to the professionalism, musicianship and pure showmanship of its members.

I love this quote from their site bio: “It’s ever increasingly rare that the fans are amazed by these five ‘Women,’ yet, it’s almost always the fans are blown away by the truth and finesse these 5 musicians present AC/DC, night after night, city to city, tiny bar to grand theatre.” Now that’s what this column is all about. Just rockin’ it like we mean it. You go girls.

Here’s a video of Hell’s Belles rocking “Thunderstruck.”

The Iron Maidens

Perhaps the best known and loved of all female tribute bands, the LA-based Iron Maidens are the breeding ground for serious guitar talent. A couple Iron Maidens guitarists mentioned previously in this column are Nili Brosh and Nita Strauss. The band and its members have been the recipients of many awards including best tribute band, and best in category (guitar, bass, drums, voice) at events such as The Rock City News Awards, The LA Music Awards, and The All Access Magazine Award Show to name a few.

The current lineup has Kirsten “Bruce Chickinson” Rosenberg on vocals, Linda “Nikki McBURRain” McDonald on drums, Courtney “Adriana Smith” Cox and Nita “Mega Murray” Strauss on guitars, and Wanda "Steph Harris" Ortiz on bass. So hot and so good, you’ll walk home with your ears ringing and a smile on your face.

Watch the Iron Maidens perform to a crowd of 40,000. Don’t ya wanna be there?

And check out guitarist Courtney Cox and she lays it down solo:

Laura B. Whitmore is a singer/songwriter based in the San Francisco bay area. A veteran music industry marketer, she has spent over two decades doing marketing, PR and artist relations for several guitar-related brands including Marshall and VOX. Her company, Mad Sun Marketing, represents 65amps, Acoustic Bass Amps, Agile Partners, Guitar World and many more. Laura was instrumental in the launch of the Guitar World Lick of the Day app. She is the lead singer for the rock band Summer Music Project. More at mad-sun.com.

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