The Dead Deads

Welcome, rocker nation, to a brand new episode of Rock it Out! Blog. Every Friday, host Sami Jarroush rounds together an esteemed panel of critics, musicians, and comedians to discuss the week’s biggest headlines.

This week’s episode comes to you from the deck of the Norwegian Sky which, from September 28th to October 2nd, was known as the Motörhead Motörboat. Watch as we bring you the sights and sounds from the week long heavy metal cruise including interviews with Lemmy from Motörhead, members of Anthrax, and Kerry King of Slayer.

We also chat with stand-up comedian Brian Posehn, introduce you to the rising Nashville metal act The Dead Deads, and talk with the fans about their time on the ship and what they love most about the experience.

Also, make sure to stick around for the belly flop contest and decide for yourself who you think should have won. -

Show openers, Nashville’s The Dead Deads, offered a surreal mix of post-grunge hard rock, classic heavy metal, and classic punk, coupled with showmanship that would make Alice Cooper blush. Featuring members of The Wolf Sisters, PRIM! and Catfight, The Dead Deads are five women dressed mostly in black who wore black X’s over their eyes. They ripped through their thirty minute opening slot with an intense fervor featuring fuzzed out guitars, thundering drums, both lead and bottom end bass playing, intense vocals, and strange effects on keys. Playing tracks like “Rainbeau” and “Sour Blooms,” among others, The Dead Deads take three chord rock to new heights. They certainly were the perfect opener, intelligently blending a wide variety of genres, creating a style all their own." - Cryptic Rock Magazine

The Dead Deads destroy at The Palladium. - Greg Waldowiak

The new self-made video by The Dead Deads has rocketed their song "Organ P" to the top of everyone's rock 'n' roll playlist. With classic rock riffs, rock screams backed by doo-wop harmonies, five sexy women and a giant dancing penguin, this video has it all. -

Coverage of The Dead Deads supporting Halestorm on national tour. - Michael Clare

Without a doubt, The Dead Deads performance turned me lesbian…for life!
(Photo Gallery on link.) - Palaver Records Blog

"I recently saw The Dead Deads play live. I watched the entire set. I have not watched the entire set of a band in 20 years. I'm a true fan and look forward to following their successes." - Bassist of Cheap Trick

Julie Godstein photographs The Dead Deads at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. - Julie Goldstein

"I don't care where you live you must go see this band The Dead Deads. I felt like I walked into CBGB 1979 the way rock used to be! The Dead Deads are the real deal." - Bassist of Alice Cooper

"The Dead Deads have a big, bawdy sound with a sly sense of humor. They are a raucously refreshing return to intelligently written fun rock and roll, and they sold record-breaking amounts of booze." - Manager/Owner of The Basement Nashville

"I may have heard and seen the raddest rock n roll band ever last night. Do yourself a favor and run-don't-walk to the new DEAD DEADS album. Demonstrates expert and knowledgable song craft, is competent, eclectic, punk as fuck, and has a sense of humor. If you don't love this band, you are totally incorrect about things." - Bassist of Randy Houser

They are sisters with the last name "Dead."
Nashville-based The Dead Deads recently wowed a Chattanooga audience at JJ’s Bohemia, sharing a bill with Japanese punk rock band Peelander-Z.
Now, they’ve released a proper music video for single "The Glow."
Fronted by Leticia Wolf (formerly of Chattanooga), the all-girl band features Mandy Wolf, Angela Lese, Erica Sellers and Mavis Turner.
"The Glow" is a catchy alt-rock song that manages to be loud, infectious and a tad creepy at the same time.
The video was recorded during a photo shoot as a sort of mock Vogue cover spread. The idea was to maintain the elegance of a photo shoot while straying away from being "too sexy," according to Wolf.
"I didn’t want to pose in our underwear," Wolf said. "That’s not what we’re about. Mandy and I already owned all the corsets, so we hooked up with a stylist and went more Marie Antoinette with the shoot."
The Dead Deads formed as a pet project for all the women involved. Lese and Sellers formed Catfight in Louisville, and Wolf was impressed by their performance.
"You don’t often see a drummer and a lead guitar player like that," she said. "So I just filed it away, and we ended up becoming pretty good friends."
After they moved from Nashville, Mavis Turner (of Prim!) joined the band for jam sessions.
They were asked to perform at a Nashville benefit show during Halloween called Night of the Living Cover Bands. Wearing X’s on their eyes, they performed as The Dead Milkmaids, a tribute to the '80s satirical punk band The Dead Milkmen.
And they kept rehearsing and performing. The audiences loved it.
"We’re writing kind of weird music," Wolf said. "It’s really loud and kind of strange, but we weren’t sure if people were going to get it."
It really wasn’t until their first Nashville performance at The Basement over the weekend that Wolf started to breathe. The band broke the Sunday bar sales record and had people moshing on a Sunday night, which is an accomplishment in the Music City.
They were already invited back to play at The Basement and have plans to return to Chattanooga soon.
In the meantime, The Dead Deads will continue to record music via Wolf’s Tishimon Records. They have four tracks under their belt that they hope will become a part of 7-inch splits with other bands. With a unique sound, look and endearing weirdness, The Dead Deads is a band to watch. - Nooga

"The Dead Deads are an all-girl pop-punk act of undead “sisters” that have taken the last name Dead and perform with x’s over their eyes. The group not only has a great, adorable schtick — something more important than the faceless, boring, white-boy indie bands I see week after week will ever acknowledge — but they also could play their instruments well and be charismatic. All of that looks way easier than it actually is. These girls have clearly put in the time and thought in multiple areas to make a unique and memorable band. The Dead Deads play heavy pop-punk that leans towards metal on occasion but doesn’t take itself too seriously, with a silly song about legalizing weed and choruses that are easy to sing along to. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see them headlining Warped Tour or their t-shirt on sale at Hot Topic in a couple years." - Review by Jacqui Sahagian (No Country for New Nashville)

Motörhead’s Motörboat Cruise, well it is just __________ (you fill in the blank)!

Motörhead’s Motörboat is a music themed NCL cruise put on by ASK4 Entertainment every year and it is an amazing experience that brings together concertgoers on the high seas of the Caribbean. For four nights there is hard rocking music spread over three stages, and as an added bonus, there was even comedy thrown in along with the SDR Show.

Wandering around for the first time at one of the largest parties in rock n’ roll on a cruise ship, you just have to just smile! The sun was shining (when it was not raining), the beer was flowing, and there was music everywhere!

The cruise featured Motörhead, Slayer, Exodus, Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies in addition to The Dead Deads, Corrosion of Conformity, plus the supergroup Motor Sister. Also on board were Death Dealer and Phil Campbell's All Starr Band. And if that’s not enough to make you throw your horns up, there was Fireball Ministry, Kyng, The Shrine, Others, Gabbie Rae, Crobot and Dark Before Dawn.

(Personally, I thought Kyng and Crobot really stole the show with their amazing music and funny stunts while on stage.)

With that many bands, you really got your exercise walking from stage to stage and around the ship. In between the metal there were many great ports of call, onboard activities, and a packed merch area.

I met so many wonderful rock fans throughout the week, and it was so cool to see the bands themselves walking around to see their favorite artists perform.

The vibe was so cool. It was one big family on the high seas with people of all ages rockin’ out mid afternoon until late night with an energy that was contagious.

Justin, one of the many Motörboaters that I met said, "A week in the company of not only great friends, but also unrestricted access to metal heads from across the world is damned inspiring!"

And I have to agree, this was an experience like no other!

-Zara -

If you can imagine the result of Rob Zombie having love children with the Go-Go’s, who are then mentored by The Ramones, you might come up with this group. The Dead Deads are a five-piece, all-girl band hailing from Nashville, Tennessee. They have toured with Halestorm, and are part of the lineup of September’s Motörboat, along with the likes of Motörhead, Slayer, Anthrax, Budderside, and many others. They took to the stage wearing black x’s across their eyes, walked up to their instruments and began their sonic assault on the audience with their upbeat, pop-punk song “Rainbeau”, during which singer Meta Dead broke her guitar and had to borrow one from another band that was there.

Recovering from their brief technical difficulty, the Dead girls continued to thrill those of us who attended the show with Hella Dead performing trippy synth effects, Meta and Betty Dead shredding through heavy riffs, Daisy Dead rocking her bass, and Billy Dead keeping it all together with rapid-fire drumbeats. They seemed genuinely happy to be at HOB, and kept us very entertained, interacting with the audience and smiling the whole time while performing songs like “Blackout”, “Sour Blooms”, and “Lemonade”.

We met them at their merchandise table after their set, where they were very amicable, posing for pictures with their fans, including my daughter, selling and signing stuff, and encouraging people to tag themselves at the show via social media. They informed me their next stop was in Jacksonville, and I later found out about their gig on the Motörboat. If you are lucky enough to have a Motörboat ticket, be sure to check out The Dead Deads. I know if I see them on a billing somewhere, I will be there if possible! Like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedeaddeads, and tell them Rarasfarm sent you. You can pick up their music at their website: http://www.sonicbids.com/band/the-dead-deads/audio/ . - Rara's Farm's Rock Music Blog

"...an amazing 5-girl band that got the beach party started..." - Lithium Magazine - Andrew Hartl

"...the Dead Deads brought the heat with their memorable performance. The group had limitless amounts of energy and charisma. The Dead Deads are not to be missed on land or at sea!" - Loudwire - Liz Ramanand

Photos and words by Amy Harris
Motorhead’s Motorboat sailed last week with thousands of the most diehard metal fans in the world. The boat sailed away from Miami for the 4 day adventure with rockers Exodus hitting the deck stage to get the party started with Heidi from Butcher Babies and members of Anthrax in the middle of the crowd rocking out.
Motörhead, Slayer and Anthrax headlined the second annual cruise. The lineup was rounded out with Suicidal Tendencies, a Corrosion of Conformity reunion, KYNG, Motor Sister, Huntress, Exodus, Fireball Ministry, Santa Cruz, and the all female punk band newcomers The Dead Deads who made an instant first impression and found many new fans onboard.
Motorboat is all about the fans and the fan experience. Band members were out of their rooms enjoying the ship, meeting fans, taking pictures, and signing autographs every day. Fans also can participate in activities on and off the boat in the Bahamas. Off the ship fans can see live shows on the beach, participate in meet and greets and compete in Beach Wars challenges. This year the bands Crobot and Santa Cruz formed teams and competed for the win. Onboard the ship fans participated in the competitions that include: beer pong, motor boating, and belly flop contests.
The highlight of the trip was seeing Lemmy, Phil and Mikkey Dee hit the stage for two performances that blew the doors off the Stardust Theater. The boys still have it and proved it with two 75 minute sets playing classic hits like “Lost Woman Blues,” “The Chase Is Better Than the Catch,” “No Class” and “Ace of Spades.” - LA Record