Snap-Her

During the nine years that Andrea Beltramo-Shay spent as Snap-Her lead singer/bassist, she was often compared to former-Runaway-turned-solo-star Joan Jett. And, to be sure, there are elements of Jett's vocal style in Beltramo-Shay's singing. But while Jett is essentially a punk-influenced hard rocker, the Los Angeles-based Snap-Her provided forceful, snarling, totally in-your-face punk and punk-pop with an old-school outlook -- old school as in heavily influenced by the classic American and British punk bands of the late '70s and early '80s. Some of the trio's work is pop-influenced, but not in a slick, glossy way -- and certainly not in the way that emo bands like Blink-182, Fenix TX, and the Sloppy Meateaters are pop-influenced. For Snap-Her, punk-pop meant owing an artistic debt to the Ramones, the Buzzcocks, X-Ray Spex, and other great bands who were active during punk's early years. However, Snap-Her wasn't around in the late '70s or early '80s; Beltramo-Shay formed Snap-Her in 1993. And by that time, she had a resumé that included playing bass with the Creamers (another L.A.-based punk combo) and the De Rita Sisters. Beltramo-Shay also plays guitar and has backed singer Nina Hagen on that instrument. During their nine-year run, Snap-Her had more than their share of lineup changes. At times, Snap-Her had an all-female lineup; ex-members include bassist Lisa Pifer and drummer Sue Owens (among many others). But in the early 2000s, Beltramo-Shay was joined by two males: guitarist Vince Buckley and drummer Tom Curry (formerly of the '80s band Kommunity FK). Whomever was onboard, Snap-Her reflected Beltramo-Shay's creative vision -- and that vision often involved explicit, over-the-top lyrics and the sort of shock value that Fear's Lee Ving thrived on in the early '80s....