By RICHARD D. OXLEY
Kitsap Week

LITTLE BOSTON — Run to the hills … of North Kitsap … to The Point Casino where the ladies of rock are gonna shake you all night long.

And if you’re a naysayer who thinks they can’t handle the rock, well, you’ve got another thing comin’.

In May, The Point Casino is hosting a month-long feature of tribute acts to some of rock’s most distinguished bands: AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin and Judas Priest.

“It’s a lot of high energy, and a lot of fun,” said Mandy Reed, bass player for local favorite Hell’s Belles, an AC/DC tribute band. Reed hails from Bremerton, and the other members are Northwest residents.

“It’s just good old rock ’n’ roll,” she said. “Adrian, our Angus, is all over the place.  We play the music well. It’s a really fun, high-octane show. Forget work, forget the day. Just go in and have a good time and let your hair down.”

Hell’s Belles have been together for 15 years. Recently, its members formed another band that is also appearing at The Point: Belles Bent for Leather, performing the songs of Judas Priest.

“It’s a lot of leather and guitar solos,” Reed said. “Amber, our singer, does a fabulous job singing Rob Halford. It’s just a lot of good visual and fun.”

The Belles are just two of the four bands that will grace, and rock, The Point’s stage in May. Also coming to town is Zepparella, performing the hits of Led Zeppelin. Los Angeles’ The Iron Maidens will perform, you guessed it, Iron Maiden.

Rock music has a heavily male-dominated history, but that hasn’t stopped some women from shredding their way to the top, and the four bands landing at The Point are no exception.

“We definitely like to support the ladies playing music for sure,” Reed said. “Nowadays, it’s more and more common. Back when I started, there wasn’t a whole lot of women playing.

“I think you still get the skeptical people that come in and don’t think you can do it. Unfortunately, that happens and there are still people that think that way. I like to school them a bit. When they come and see us play they leave surprised. That’s the goal. We like to change the minds of naysayers.”

Linda McDonald, drummer for the Iron Maidens, had a similar experience when the band formed 14 years ago, but things have changed since then.

“The first shows we were always met by audiences with crossed arms and they wouldn’t stand near the stage,” McDonald said. “They were disbelievers. It took half a song and it was over, hands were up and they come up to the stage. And they come back.”

“They” have been coming back for 14 years.

“It’s pretty remarkable, considering we started this all for fun,” McDonald said. “It was just something to do. We thought it would be fun to get out there and play some of the songs we loved. It just hasn’t stopped since then.”

Iron Maidens attempt to recreate the arena experience on a smaller scale, McDonald noted.

“We have props, we have monsters, we have the devil and a lot of other stuff,” she said. “If anybody has been to an Iron Maiden show, you know there is always a guest appearance by their mascot Eddie, so we have our own.

“Be prepared to relive a lot of great memories and get some of those old feelings you used to get. If you haven’t seen Iron Maiden live in their early days, we play a lot of those songs they don’t play anymore.”

Zepparella is another band that brings back the feeling of the good old days. From over the hills and far away, also known as San Francisco, Zepparella performs the hits of Led Zeppelin. The band formed nearly a decade ago and have been going strong ever since.

“I wanted to learn the catalog of John Bonham and I mentioned that to my guitarist, Gretchen Menn, and she wanted to learn Jimmy Page’s stuff. And that was 11 years ago,” said Clementine, drummer for the band.

“We really approach the material from a musical aspect,” Clementine said. “Everyone in the band are really great musicians. We like to stretch out an improvise in different part where allowed. There’s a nice cohesive musical joy coming from the stage.”

From “The Wicker Man” to “Thunderstruck,” and “Breakin’ the Law” to “Ramble On,” The Point is set to 11 this May.

For those women about to rock, we salute you.