Kelly Rice and members of Razor You'd be hard pressed to find a lesbian who doesn't have fantasies about fronting a rock band ... but there aren't many who actually make it up on stage channelling Blondie. Kelly Rice, frontwoman of devoted (but not "so" serious) Auckland covers band Razor will be doing just that at lesbian hotspot Candy bar this Saturday night. Known for performances at Lesbian Balls and the Big Gay Out, Razor are made up of a "musical genius" high school HOD, two sound operators and a project manager, and fronted by Rice, a former Queer Nation presenter and the host of the Kel Word Saturday Night Shakedown on Radio Ponsonby. Rice says the band formed with the idea of playing at a Lesbian Ball. They had a couple of practises and got along well and realised they better ask the ball's organisers if they actually wanted them to play. "And they were like, yeah, come along, have a good time. And we really enjoyed it. It was just going to be a one-off, but we got right into it – and just kept going really. Seven years later here we are." They belt out rock covers, with Muse track Uprising among the recent additions to their set list, which ranges from Kings of Leon and Blondie to Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. "We kind of do it all," says Rice. "And it's a cool take for a woman to be doing that stuff, because you don't often see women rocking out to hard men's songs." "I'd never listened to AC/DC before joining the band. And they did this song – AC/DC's A Whole Lotta Rosie. And I just went 'oh my god'. And for some reason I can channel the bizarre voice that is really great. And when the crowd hears it, they just go insane. So I've got this really small feeling about what it must be like to be that lead singer from AC/DC." So next stop Western Springs Stadium? "Maybe the Ellerslie Race Course," Rice laughs. Rice says Razor have something for the young, the old, the hard rockers, "and even the people who don't like rock, they're always the funniest because they're the ones that end up dancing like mad people up the front." The band is more than a hobby for its members, but they are not overly serious. "We play maybe four gigs a year, that would be the max, we've all got our day jobs. If we get a gig we start practising. They are so good at what they do that they can learn songs in half a day," Rice marvels. "It's amazing, they're very good." She believes the fact they only play sporadically keeps it fresh and fun when they get together and catch up on each other's lives. She says they have a special bond and love playing together. "It's just a really nice thing for us all to do I suppose – does that sound a bit pathetic?" she laughs. Razor are playing at Candy bar Saturday 17th July, with special guest DJ Sophia Sin from Melbourne. Free entry. Jacqui Stanford - 15th July 2010