Who says punk is dead? Not Barb Wire Dolls, the Greek girl-fronted “street rock” band that is cranking up Los Angeles. Tune in to KROQ, the world-famous Los Angeles radio station that launched the careers of bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and you’ll catch their single “California” which has been on the playlist for well over twenty weeks–and counting. DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, an arbiter of rock tastes who has helped the public discover bands from The Clash and Blondie to Nirvana and Coldplay, says the band is “really good” and pronounced the song “a hit”.
“Barb Wire Dolls are kinda like a girl-fronted Green Day. They could become huge,” says Bouncing Souls’ drummer Michael McDermott.
Barb Wire Dolls–Queen Isis on vocals, Tas Doll on guitar, VooDoo Doll on bass, and Greg Doll in drums–landed in L.A. thanks to Rodney. He had been looking for new talent to launch and they had been looking to get their music heard outside Greece. In December, the band made its live U.S. debut at a sold-out Roxy Theater on the Sunset Strip. They have several February dates, including the Viper Room, the legendary West Hollywood club; in March, they’re booked back at the Roxy’s VIP lounge for a Thursday night residency.
It all started at the Ikarus, an artists’ commune on Crete that also hosts an annual rock festival. Tas, a professional surfer and skateboarder, has a childhood training in classical piano but abandoned it for the electric guitar. “I had the honor of playing on Chopin’s piano in Poland when I was young, but when I first heard electric rock and roll, I just couldn’t wait to start my own band,” says Tas. “That inspiration still burns in me.”
Lead vocalist Queen Isis is named after an Egyptian goddess, a powerful woman who has the friend of the downtrodden. Though she lacks formal training as a vocalist, this punk rock Barbie hits all the notes most vocalist reach after years of training. She sings from the heart–and it shows. “I feel alive when I’m on stage,” she says. “There’s something about performing live that bonds the audience and me–and it’s life-changing for me at every show. Live music is the energy that speaks to all souls.”
Tas and Isis write and produce their music. They have a “take it to the street” approach to composing, and on any given day you’ll find them hanging out around town, absorbing what’s happening on the street. Their music aims to inspire people. Or as Isis belts out in “Street Generation”, punk isn’t dead “so get up and fight / for your God-given right…and I can’t hear you scream / street generation”.