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‘Jessica Rabbit meets Joan Jett’ at Tudor on Sunday

Tim Parsons
For the TribuneColleen Duffy is the front woman for Devil Doll.
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With the Tahoe music scene dominated by jam bands, hip-hoppers and punk rockers, it’s nice to see something different come through town once in a while.

Welcome Devil Doll.

“Take Jessica Rabbit meets Joan Jett and throw a cowboy hat on every once in a while ” that’s what you would get with Devil Doll,” said Colleen Duffy, the band’s frontwoman.



She’s actually more than a frontwoman. She’s in-your-face bold and sexy.

A devout fan of Elvis Presley, Duffy always thought rock ‘n’ roll should be delivered in a sexual manner. And that’s her philosophy with Devil Doll.



“She totally brings it,” said Chapin , the promoter-owner of We Ain’t Saints, who goes by a single name.

Chapin is bringing Devil Doll to South Lake Tahoe for the first time Sunday, Jan. 27 for a show at the Tudor Pub.

“She comes out with feather fans and does the burlesque thing,” Chapin said. “She comes out in the full regalia dressed to the T. It’s pretty entertaining.”

Inspired after hearing Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll,” Duffy sang in several punk and ska bands and hosted a rockabilly-psychobilly show called “Rockability” on a Cleveland radio station. She left the Midwest for New York and eventually landed in Los Angeles.

Devil Doll has a singular style: “I’m heavily influenced by the film noir movies and the torch singer,” she said. “So it’s the ’40s torch singer and jazz mixed with a punk-rock delivery with some rockabilly thrown in there with some ’40s- and ’50s-style country stuff with some really dirty kind of raunchy blues. I’m also really heavily influenced by Etta James.”

Chapin calls Duffy “the white Etta James.”

The band is solid, too.

“I’m known for having a bunch of badasses in my band,” Duffy said. “It’s definitely one thing I don’t compromise. The music pulls from so many different influences, you can’t be a half-measured musician and pull off playing Devil Doll songs. It just isn’t possible.”

The band, which recently finished a national tour and is about to make an extended run in Texas, plays mostly originals with an occasional cover, including “Fever.”

“It’s nice for the audience to sing along every once in a while even if you’ve never seen Devil Doll before,” she said. “We’re entertainers. Our job is to make people forget how much they hate their job.”

Two more bands will be featured Sunday, along with a pin-up girl contest.

“There’s no G-strings or nudity,” Chapin said. “This is full vintage-style pin-up. It’s a great excuse for a girl to shop.”

A 2008 snowboard will go to the winning contestant, and each of the participants will receive free clothing.

The contest will be after Shaun Kama & Kings of the Wild Frontier play.

Reno rockabilly band The Darlins open the show at about 9 p.m.


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