The BellRays

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More About

• Lisa Kekaula
• The BellRays
• Tupac Shakur
• Tony Fate
• Hip-Hop and Rap

They say rock is dead -- but so is Tupac, and that hasn't stopped him from continuing to chart on Billboard. On occasion, yes, rock's inappropriate cousin shows up and pisses all over the genre (let's call him Scott Stapp). But face it: Every family has a douchebag. Cut the bastard ties already and find a real rock mama, one like Lisa Kekaula of the BellRays. This chick fronts Riverside, California's funkiest export, and there's no shame in calling the BellRays out for exactly what they are: rock and fucking roll. Have a Little Faith resurrects the spirit of dirty '60s garage riffage with the soul of '50s R&B. Kekaula wails like Aretha Franklin, while her bandmates -- bassist Robert Vennum, guitarist/piano guy Tony Fate and drummer Craig Waters -- bang out the pure filth and fury of their punk predecessors. The record falls short in truly capturing the intense heat of the act's live show, but rock was never meant to be buried in a plastic digital coffin anyway.