All Girls. All Zeppelin
Founded in 2004 by New York guitarist, Steph Paynes, the all-girl quartet, LEZ ZEPPELIN, has since gained unanimous critical acclaim as one of the most exciting live acts around, becoming the first female rock act to pay homage to Led Zeppelin and to garner rave reviews across the board. LEZ ZEPPELIN stays true to the musically audacious spirit of the original, delivering the legendary rock band’s blistering arrangements and monstrous sound note-for-note at sold-out frenzied shows around the world. In June, 2013, Jimmy Page attended their show in London and said of the group, “They played the Led Zeppelin music with an extraordinary sensuality and an energy and passion that highlighted their superb musicianship.”
The thing that sets LEZ ZEPPELIN apart is the seamless and unique way they inject their gender-bending performance into the original material. They have been featured on major television including the BBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, MTV, VH-1, FOX and radio shows worldwide, such as Sirius XM and NPR. The group’s first studio album, Lez Zeppelin, was produced by legendary producer/engineer, Eddie Kramer (Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix). The group’s second LP, Lez Zeppelin I, is an authentic re-make of Led Zeppelin’s first album, using the very same vintage equipment employed by Led in 1968. Lez Zeppelin also recorded a holiday song, Mystic Snowman, a wry mash-up of Stairway and Frosty the Snowman. The group just released its third album, The Island of Skyros, which features the band in full force with the addition of a string section. All records are distributed in the United States, Japan and Europe.
Since Lez Zeppelin’s formation, the group has broken both glass and class ceilings. Whether it’s playing on catwalk above Times Square for 40,000, or on the main stage at Bonnaroo, Hellfest and the Isle of Wight; flying to India for a benefit concert for ambulances or taking the stage – twice! — at Madison Square Garden, it’s clear that the unique power, personality and magical force of Lez Zeppelin is far beyond that of a “tribute” act.
SPIN Magazine called them “the most powerful all-female band in rock history.” For those sceptics who still dare to ask: Can four women pull off the exuberant, powerful and musically intricate performances for which Led Zeppelin are known, a LEZ ZEPPELIN show is nothing short of a revelation.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY ABOUT LEZ ZEPPELIN…
“They played the Led Zeppelin music with an extraordinary sensuality and an energy and passion that highlighted their superb musicianship.”
— Jimmy Page
“There are a few jarring moments when it will feel like the most powerful all-female band in rock history…”
— Chuck Klosterman, SPIN
“Four women rockers who took on the music of Led Zep are driving audiences to a frenzy…the group is electrifying!”
— Reuters/CNN.com
“Best Tribute Band in the World: Lez Zeppelin. The parallel universe genius of Lez Zeppelin, the sass-stacked all woman band toured the world, slayed it, and recorded an album with Led Zep’s producer Eddie Kramer. We know whom John Bonham would have been rooting for.
–The Guardian, London
“What Lez Zeppelin has done is taken their talent and wrapped it around one of the most classic of the classics, Led Zeppelin I. Their attention to sounds in the studio, energy, and playing has put them as one of the first to capture the overall vibe of the original. I have never heard it done better.”
— Joe Perry, Aerosmith
They are the Other. The mirror image, gazing upon the fairest of all rock bands, refracting reflection into Blakean dualities of light become dark, devil or angel, good bad (but not evil). A turnabout and ultimate turn-on.
— Lenny Kaye
“After a single listen to their music, it’s obvious Lez Zeppelin has a tremendous amount of love and respect for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s Led Zeppelin. Lez Zeppelin are great musicians. And then some.”
– Time Out
“Strapping on the double-necked Gibson with attitude to burn, this all-girl quartet pays tribute to its swaggering namesake Led Zeppelin, ripping through the catalogue with blazing accuracy.”
— The New York Times
“Indeed, Lez Zeppelin I is no mere romp through the classic album. Both in the studio and onstage, Lez Zeppelin channels their idols in impressively genuine fashion.”
— Guitar World
“Their coolly delivered parts displayed musicianship beyond practiced…A remarkable performance.”
— The Boston Globe
“In a 2005 article in Spin, Chuck Klosterman suggested that Lez Zeppelin — an all-girl Led Zeppelin tribute — might be “the most powerful all-female band in rock history.” Mr. Klosterman’s sentiments aren’t particularly hyperbolic. Lez Zeppelin, from New York, has somehow harnessed the energy, a kind of magical looseness, that helped catapult Led Zeppelin into the rock ’n’ roll canon.”
–The New York Times
“It’s a shame when bands don’t live up to the hype, but Lez Zeppelin’s woes might only lie in said hype not being laudatory enough. From the sultry lines of the opener, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” it was obvious that Lez Zeppelin’s estrogen-enhanced set would not only be technically spot-on, it would bring Led Zeppelin’s music to another level.”
— The Daily Iowan
“The girls score points for taking the entire first Zep album and recreating it, musically. Guitarist Steph Paynes does an amazing job recreating Jimmy Page. We are talking the real deal…”
– Classic Rock Revisited
“When Lez Zeppelin hits the stage, it might as well be the real thing.”
— Columbia Spectator
“Lez Zeppelin’s Steph Paynes is the best woman guitarist I’ve ever heard play.”
— Schenectady Daily Gazette
“Lez Zeppelin absolutely owns their stage and even if credit is owed to Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham, these musicians have taken it to a new level.”
— New York Examiner
“There are Led Zeppelin tribute bands. And there is Lez Zeppelin — a quartet of female musicians who rock louder and harder than their male counterparts.” — Lehigh Valley News