Women Under Cover

Hell’s Belles, Zepparella, and The Iron Maidens Turn Macho Monster Rock Inside Out

By Sabrina Crawford Originally Published in DRUM! Magazine's June 2007 Issue

From the moment the first familiar chord strikes, everyone knows. Sweat-soaked fans in faded Back In Black T’s elbow to the front. Devil horns fly in the air, pumping like fists. A jumble of lyrics and beer spray out of every set of open lips. Then it starts when Angus Young rips that signature riff. Phil Rudd blasts the beat. And a voice starts shrieking “Highway To Hell.” It’s as if the ghost of Bon Scott is howling from the grave through a wall of Marshall stacks. But it’s not Bon, and it’s not Brian Johnson either. Yet there’s something in it, something both familiar and strange. Then Jamie Nova struts on stage and the obvious hits – she’s a girl. They all are: Welcome to Hell’s Belles, fierce and furious femmes fatales who re-create the live-fast-die-young glory days of AC/DC.

“How many of you are Hell’s Belles Virgins?” Nova calls out mid-concert. “And how many of you came in here thinking we’d suck, thinking we couldn’t do it?’ Cheers erupt. “Well, what do you think now?” she taunts. And the crowd goes wild.

Brawny, meaty, and downright macho – AC/DC is raw, testo-fueled dude-rock. “TNT” and “Dirty Deeds,” these are songs that instantly bring to mind guys in Muscle T’s drag racing, beer drinking, and bikini ogling. Not exactly ladylike. But then for Belles’ drummer Melodie Zapata, that’s the point.

“A set of testicles doesn’t mean you can play drums better than a set of ovaries,” she says, talking a mile-a-minute. “We’re using our hands and our brains here people! It kills me when people say, ‘I didn’t know girls could rock like that.’ Really? Because I’ve known it for a long time.”

You’d think decades after Joan Jett wailed about wanting to rock and roll all night, we’d be long past all of that. Hello, Heart? Lita Ford? Missy Elliot? Peaches? ‘Lil Kim? No one would dare accuse those women of being too proper, too polite, too prim. And these days you can add a few more names to that list from the growing ranks of all-female metal and hard rock tribute bands, bands that revel in turning gender stereotypes inside out, rocking fast and furious, girl-style, balls out. DRUM! sat down with the women behind the kits of The Iron Maidens, Zepparella, and Hell’s Belles to find out what it’s like taking on the monsters of rock, assuming the identity of super macho legends, and winning over the boys.

Melodie Zapata: Rocking Rudd

As the beat keeper for Hell’s Belles, no one knows better than Melodie Zapata how tough it can be to cut through all the macho b.s. “Pretty much every time we go to a new place we have to prove ourselves,” she says, adding that as a female drummer, she’s dealt with sexism for most of her life. “It’s AC/DC, so you might be playing it but [they’re thinking] there’s no way you’re gonna own it. And then we’re girls, so it’s a double-whammy. It’s like, ‘You’re ladies. You drink tea with your pinkies sticking out. You worry about breaking a nail!’ [When we play] it blows their version of what they think in their minds, that image of what a girl is or what they want a girl to be, or think they want a girl to be.”

Melodie Zapata never wanted to be Phil Rudd. In fact, she wasn’t (gasp) even much of an AC/DC fan. A jazz-trained player, Rudd and rock in general represented the antithesis of what she found so compelling about drums – the opportunity to challenge herself through endless complexities: polyrhythms, crazy variations on four-way independence, and mid-song meter shifts.

“The reason I think I didn’t like a lot of pop and metal and rock, why I ignored so much of the music back then was the drums,” she says, noting she made exceptions for Neil Peart and Stewart Copeland. “There’s just not a lot of drummer sauce there to soak up with your bread [in rock].”

So when she bumped into an old high school chum, who just happened to be married to one of the Belles, it was with a mix of mild curiosity and shoulder shrugging that she agreed to audition for the open drum chair. “I’d never played covers before. I’ve only played original music,” she recalls, repeating a refrain echoed by many tribute players. “I wasn’t sure that I was that stoked on playing someone else’s drum parts.”

She didn’t know them either: something the other Belles couldn’t believe. “A lot of the AC/DC stuff they were surprised I didn’t know the drum parts,” she remembers. “And I was like, ‘Listen, I probably heard that song five times in my youth at a party. But you gotta understand, I was listening to Basie and Monk and Ellington!’”

And though the beats were relatively easy – technically speaking – the challenge of really being Rudd turned out to be tougher than she’d thought it would be. Zapata had to blaze through more than 20 songs in less than ten days – beat for beat, and fill for fill. “The trouble I had in the beginning coming from the jazz world is that I didn’t beat the drums that hard,” she says. At the Belles audition, original singer Om Johari “sat down behind the kit and was like, ‘No, you gotta hit that s**t!’ I wasn’t sure I could do it, physically.”

More challenging still, she had to capture the essence of Rudd’s aura – from his manic Marky Ramone punked-up energy on stage, to his body language, to his grip, to the attack of his hits, to how he feels time, and above all, how the hell he makes a basic 4/4 feel so alive, so electric, so damn good.

“With him, there’s no gray area. It’s so black and white. You just gotta drive it. Probably the most important thing is to not rush that snare and not rush that kick, but to lay back on it. But his hi-hats – because he only touches that ride like twice in his entire career – the key is you drive that. And you bring that just a tiny bit ahead of the beat, and that’s basically the Phil Rudd feel.

“He does a lot of subtle accenting. The quarter’s [often] just a little bit accentuated and that adds to the driving feel. When he’s playing eighth-notes on the hi-hats it’s slightly implied, and it gives it that push, that drive.”

Getting down and dirty with AC/DC she gained a new appreciation for Rudd’s mastery too. “Even beginning drummers can sit down and play [Rudd beats], but it doesn’t mean that they can have that feel and really rock it,” she says. “That’s what makes genius ‘genius.’ They see the complicated stuff but they choose to do the simple thing. That’s Phil Rudd. I know he can play a lot more than you hear on AC/DC albums but why? He’s playing what’s perfect for the albums.”

Clementine: Being Bonham

For Clementine, who goes by a simple, single moniker, the challenge of getting in someone else’s head, learning someone else’s licks, and inhabiting someone’s else’s music became so magnetic that though she never planned on it, she’s spent the past few years being someone else on stage: first pounding out Phil Rudd beats in Hell’s Belles sister AC/Dshe, then bashing like Bonham in Zepparella.

“I thought it would give me a lot better chops because I’d never really done that before, learning someone else’s stuff,” she says. “I didn’t expect to be in this kind of band for two years and especially not in two of them.”

And talk about chops. A self-described “new” (now going on her 14th year) drummer, Clem was the driving force behind the formation of Zepparella two years ago. The reason was pure and simple: Like drummers the world over, she wanted to get inside John Bonham’s head – to master his beats, understand his intuitive sense of groove, and at the very least, to be able to play those licks.

“I’d wanted to learn the Led Zeppelin catalog for a long time because Bonham is my favorite drummer,” she said. “I had read that when Dave Grohl was learning to play he devoted himself to learning the Zeppelin catalog, and I’d always wanted to do that as well because I knew it would make me a better drummer.”

But that doesn’t mean it’s been easy. Clem’s spent days on end picking tracks apart, listening closely, watching DVDs, and reading transcriptions – not all of which are always 100 percent on target.

“Bonham is so far advanced technically, and I haven’t been playing very long. I’m not Bohnam, so I don’t have the chops he naturally had. So with Bonham it’s been a lot more about trying to improve my technique. For instance, my right foot. He’s famous for having one of the fastest right foots ever, well that was really daunting when I started playing.”

Though terrifying at times because of Zep’s complexity, being Bonham has given Clem a newfound freedom too. “With Bonham I have to be willing to take risks on stage,” she says. “I think he was a really risky drummer. I’ve reached for things and it’s ridiculous – it just sounds like I fell off the drum stool!”

It’s hard enough sitting in your own room, ruminating over bluesy classics like “The Lemon Song,” but doing it in front of a die-hard Zep crowd, well, that takes ovaries. “People like to say ‘Wow you’re playing Bonham. There just must be all these guys standing in the audience with crossed arms.’ And a lot of people tell me [at shows], ‘I came here to see how bad the train wreck was going to be.’ But they’re always coming up and complimenting us.”

Channeling Bonham, Clem is obsessive. She’s studied every move, every sound, even had multiple dreams about him. She’s come to notice more and more nuances: the way he plays with and for the vocals and lays back a bit on the beat, and of course that signature feel. “I love Bonham so much that I couldn’t wait to play him and to understand it more,” she says. “I love how emotionally he plays – take ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You,’ the drums in that song make me want to cry.”

Playing Bonham’s boosted her chops, made her a better listener, further tightened her rhythm section lock with bassist Nila Minnerock (whom she played with both in the original all-girl hard rock band Bottom and in AC/DShe), and inspired her to tackle new originals too – with the Zep girls in the House Of More and solo with an upcoming project, tentatively titled (Conversation With) Francis Bakin, where she plays everything including a standup kit she built. And she’s getting ready to tackle the next level of Zep, too. Though she adds, she’s still not ready to scale the likes of “Achilles’ Last Stand.”

“We have different tiers of difficulty and we’re getting into the next tier,” she says. “I’ve been coasting for awhile but I have to woodshed to be able to play the next set of songs we’re going to do. They are more drum-driven, and lots of fills and some crazy stuff. With some of it, who knows what he’s doing!”

Even with Zepparella it’s not all Bonham all the time. She throws a little bit of Clem in too. “Zeppelin is such a great band to cover. We get to take all kinds of liberties because they never played the songs the same way twice. We get to really stretch out and be the players we are, be the band we are.” Of course there are those proving-ground moments too. “Gretchen [Menn] has to do the ‘Heartbreaker’ solo exactly. It’s a three-minute solo. They want to see it, and to see if she can do it. But then she does, and we’re free from there.”

Linda McDonald: Mastering Maiden

For Linda McDonald playing in the Iron Maidens was a dream come true – bringing her musical passion, drumming, and earliest years of rock star idol worship full circle. She still remembers the moment she knew she wanted to play drums – sent home from school for (what else?) bad behavior, she spent the afternoon lazing around in the backyard listening to her brother’s copy of Maiden Japan – over and over.

“I couldn’t believe the power and the energy I was getting from Clive Burr, from the music in general but from Clive Burr in particular,” she recalls. “It was at that moment I decided that was what I wanted to do: I wanted to play drums, and I wanted to play drums like him.”

And a bad girl and badass drummer was born. Tupperware became toms, a fistful of marbles in a Folgers Coffee can became a gravely snare, a set of chopsticks her first drum sticks. Alongside her big brother’s wailing guitar, she busted beats to Judas Priest, AC/DC, Lynrd Skynrd, and of course, Maiden.

“I saw Maiden live. It was the last tour that Clive Burr played with them – Number Of The Beast. The opening band was Girls School. I still hadn’t gotten my drums yet and I saw that and I thought, ‘Oh my God, they’re girls playing here with my favorite band. I wish that was me! Not only did I want to play like Clive Burr in a band like Iron Maiden, I wanted to do it and be on stage. It was just so powerful. I can’t even describe how it made me feel. It just overwhelmed me with inspiration and drive – and then I got my drum set.”

But she didn’t land immediately in the arms of The Iron Maidens. Like most rockers, she spent years struggling – first in a three-piece all-girl outfit, Andromeda, where she took her first stab at mastering Maiden, learning “The Trooper” then “Murders In The Rue Morgue.” “I don’t play it the same now as I did in the very, very beginning because I wasn’t able to. It starts with a really fast roll and I’d only been playing for, like, months, and I couldn’t do that yet.”

Fate came calling when she was drumming in Phantom Blue, an all-girl hard-rock outfit. She and the guitar player went out trolling for a bassist – a female heavy player with chops – and wound up at a Maiden tribute. The pair stayed after to chat and suddenly found the tables turned, with the band recruiting them. “They had been wanting to go all female for some time, but they weren’t able to find female members who were able to play this type of music.”

And thanks to the advice of an exiting male member, the coed cover band morphed into the all-femme Maidens. From that first rehearsal in an L.A. studio, a gaggle of fans lined up, noses pressed firmly against the glass, throwing devil horns in the air and lapping it up. But it wasn’t always for the music. “Most of the people came in because it was [voice deepens] ‘hot chicks playing metal.’ Great, if that's what they want to come and see, great, come on in – that's the attract mode, and then we’ll deliver for you.” Others were motivated by a kind of skeptical macho attitude. “The first three songs you’d be greeted by an audience with crossed arms, then once you started playing that’s all out the window. What they’re trying to do is see if you’re going to crash and burn and really choke on the material or if you’re going to represent.”

Because one thing’s for sure – these ladies have got the goods. From a arena-worthy stage show filled with fire, appearances by the Grim Reaper and a fem version of Maiden mascot Eddie, to skintight leather and animal print outfits, sweaty, shredding guitar solos, and fast, furious drum beats. “We all love Iron Maiden too much to go and publicly butcher them, that would be sacrilege!”

Though she was already a skilled heavy hitter, McDonald had some serious woodshedding to do – tackling the dual-headed demon of channeling not just one classic drummer’s licks but two. “When you’re learning this stuff, the Iron Maiden stuff, it’s learning to cop someone else’s vibe. It’s not just playing their parts. As any drummer in the world knows, any two people could play the same part and it’ll sound different because it’s all your touch, your feel, and how you approach it, your attack and everything.

“Clive Burr and Nicko [McBrain], people are always saying which one is better? Neither of them are better. They both were the perfect drummer for Iron Maiden at the time period they were involved. [Burr is] raw, vibing, more of that punkish, driving, solid slamming energy. You hear the difference in the vibes of the first three albums Clive Burr was on. When Nicko came in it was more of a polished type of feel, more technical.

So what does she do to help master the two? Divide and conquer, of course. “Clive Burr, he does a lot of fast sixteenth singles on the hi-hat with the right hand. He’s more of an endurance guy. I have to really keep up on my aerobics with him to keep up. Nicko McBrain’s got more subtleties involved. He’ll do subtle accents on the hi-hat with the left hand as he’s going. It’s a whole different thought, a whole different way of playing too.”

McDonald watches live DVDs and creates a set list grouped by era – but the best advice she can offer anyone tackling someone else’s parts is: listen, listen, listen, practice, practice, practice. Be willing to make adjustments. Wash, rinse, repeat.

“If there’s a fill that just doesn’t sound the same, I have to readjust and try to do something that will at least keep that signature feel going. It’s all about capturing their vibe. You have to really listen and get all the little subtle nuances, like when you hear the hi-hat on the & underneath this crazy fill.

“I get very anal about this because I want to delver it. I try to do the fills as close as I can. When we do these shows, people in the audience know when a signature fill is coming. It’s almost like they’re testing you. They look at you and they air drum. If you do it, they’re giving you the thumbs-up!”

Of course, she also sneaks a little of herself in there – like a slave pedal for big endings or a little double-handed ride pattern here and there. “We’re not trying to be them, that would be ridiculous. It just doesn’t happen. You can’t be somebody else. You just go and you represent what you feel your interpretation of what they sound like, and do your best to deliver as best as you can. And you’ve got to throw a little of yourself in there too,” she adds in a hushed, conspiratorial tone.

“It’s like living a childhood dream in a way. When you’re first starting out you’re learning all these songs and you’re like ‘I want to be in Iron Maiden.’ Reality is, the chances of me being in Iron Maiden are pretty close to none … so this is as close as it gets.”

Metalchicks Contacts

Big hair, skintight leather, tattoos, teetering Marshall stacks, and thundering drum solos – really, what’s not to love about classic hard rock and heavy metal? From AC/DC to Black Sabbath, all-female bands are grabbing this raw, raucous bro-rock by the balls and going for it – hard, fast, mean, and loud – girl-style. Here’s a quick roundup of all-female tribute bands to get you started. If you dig what you hear, check out the inspiring comp, Girls Got Rhythm.

Hell’s Belles (AC/DC)
hellsbelles.info
Zepparella (Led Zeppelin)
zepparella.com
The Iron Maidens (Iron Maiden)
theironmaidens.com
The Little Dolls (Ozzy)
thelittledolls.com
Lez Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin)
lezzeppelin.com
Kissexy (KISS)
kissexy.com
Everyone loves AC/DC …
ThundHerStruck (AC/DC)
thundherstruck.com
Whole Lotta Rosies (AC/DC)
therosiesrock.com
AC/DShe (AC/DC)
acdshe.com
And on the pop side:
Cheap Chick
cheapchick.com