See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Danielle Furfaro
Brooklyn Daily
It takes a fan to start a fire.
A Brooklyn-based Cramps tribute band called Flame Job replicates the punk-meets-blues sound of the original band’s legendary, sexually-charged performances, but founding member Lu Baez did not know how to play guitar until she learned to shred specifically for the role of punk diva Poison Ivy.
“[She] was my idol,” said the bassist-turned guitarist Baez, who goes by the name Poison Ovaries onstage. “I loved her attitude and that she was a hot chick wailing on a guitar.”
Becoming Poison Ivy required more from Baez than just looking the part. She said learning to play Cramps songs was deceptively difficult.
“The most challenging thing about it is not the riffs or the notes but more the feel and getting into a groove,” she said. “It’s all blues-based, and even the most technical person could miss that swing.”
Baez started the band last year after she met other members Slim Pickins, Lux Inferior, and Nick Nuts at a music store, beauty school, and a bar respectively.
The band will perform at Glamdammit, a monthly ritual of glam where musicians and DJs keep the grit and glitter alive and many audience members arrive in self-made clothes from the period.
The glam-fest, which music venue Grand Victory has hosted for eight years, has also featured a Ramones night and several David Bowie tributes.
Twig the Wonderkid, who books the shows, said he is a big fan of Flame Job.
“The singer does real justice to the songs,” he said. “It’s the next best thing to seeing the Cramps.”
Flame Job at Grand Victory [245 Grand St. between Roebling Street and Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg, (347) 529–6610, www.thegrandvictory.com]. April 6, 11 pm, $5.
Reach reporter Danielle Furfaro at dfurfaro@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2511. Follow her at twitter.com/DanielleFurfaro.