RAHWAY, NJ — Lez Zeppelin is so much more than a tribute band. They attack the music as if they’ve written it themselves according to founder Steph Paynes.
In fact, the band is so amazing they have Jimmy Page’s stamp of approval, after seeing them perform in London. He put his arms out and gave Paynes a big bear hug. He told her they were doing a fantastic job – just stunning.
“I think it blew his mind,” said Paynes. “He was not expecting that we would understand what was so incredible about Led Zeppelin, what made it magical. We were free with it; jamming. I think he was like, ‘That’s it. That’s the way it should be played. Each of you is amazing.’ I could die happy.”
It seems Paynes was born with rock ‘n’ roll in her blood. At the age of 6, she asked for a guitar. And her brother asked for a violin. Her mother played piano quite well. Her parents were into classical or jazz, then Paynes discovered rock ‘n’ roll. Seeing bands on television, Paynes knew she wanted to do just that. “I had this hankering to play,” she said.
In high school and college, Paynes played in jazz bands. She was inspired by Django Reinhardt, who she says is “the greatest guitar player that ever lived.”
Paynes was also in a college production of “Hair” for six months. She then moved to London, where she played in bands and worked as a journalist.
“I made my living as a writer before I made a living as a musician. The other love of my life is writing,” she said. Her articles were published in prominent magazines, such as Rolling Stone and Guitar World.
When Paynes moved back to New York City, she continued playing music in many different bands. But an all-girl band she was in caught the attention of Joey Ramone, who recommended her to Ronnie Spector. “He was putting a band together for Ronnie. I was a Ronnette with a guitar,” said Paynes. “She was incredible. Super nice person. To be recommended, to be thought of by Joey Ramone, is a gift.”
In between gigs, and not playing with Spector anymore, Paynes wondered what would be fun to do. “If I had my fantasy, what music could I play for fun?” she said. “Led Zeppelin was something I thought would be fun to do. I decided, ‘I’m gonna do this.’”
Lez Zeppelin was born organically. Paynes simply put the world out and found her people for the original line-up. There were no ads; it was all word of mouth. She took the band very seriously and made sure they rehearsed at least six months before going out. “It was a great energy,” she said. “We all loved it, and we all wanted it badly. We were all serious about the music being right, capturing Led Zeppelin as it should be.”
She also didn’t want to play New York City too quickly, so they booked shows in Connecticut to see how it would go. “People were shocked,” she said. “People went nuts from day one! The energy was great. It was sexy. It was loud. It was a beautiful thing. It just took off from there. I had no idea it would be like that. You try so hard with so many bands and if something is going to work, sometimes it seems effortless. I like to say there was magic involved.”
This all happened more than 20 years ago and Paynes never considered Lez Zeppelin to be a tribute band. She said, “We were four players trying to interpret it in our own way. We did stuff that no tribute band was doing – ever. We toured Europe. We did a record with Eddie Kramer distributed in Japan and all over the United States. We made three records. We were charting new territory and acting like we were Led Zeppelin.” Paynes paused and then said, “Why not?”
In addition to Paynes on guitar, mandolin and theremin, other band members are Dana Athens on vocals; Joan Chew on bass, keyboards and mandolin; and Hillary Blaze on drums/percussion.
At Union County Performing Arts Center, on Saturday, Feb. 21, Lez Zeppelin will play “The Song Remains the Same” in its entirety. Tracks include “Rock and Roll,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Stairway to Heaven” and “Whole Lotta Love.”
“It’s the quintessential Led Zeppelin,” said Paynes. “They were just at their peak. It’s the music everyone knows.”
For tickets visit: https://ucpac.org/.
To learn more about Lez Zeppelin, visit: https://lezzeppelin.com/.
Photos Courtesy of Kerry Quinn, Mike Stone and Rob Janos
