Femme Fatale (American band)

See also: Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)

Femme Fatale
Origin	Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Genres	Hard rock Glam metal Heavy metal
Years active	1987–1990, 2013-Present
Labels	MCA
Members	Lorraine Lewis Courtney Cox Nita Strauss Janis Tanaka Rachael Rine Athena Katt Scarlett
Past members	Mazzi Rawd Bill D'Angelo Rick Rael Bobby Murray

Femme Fatale is an American hard rock band active from 1987 to 1990 and 2013–present. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, the band moved to Los Angeles but only released one studio album before disbanding. Lead vocalist, Lorraine Lewis, restarted the band in 2013 with a new line-up.

Biography

Formation and disbandment (1987-1990)

Femme Fatale was formed in 1987 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Later on that year, the band moved to Los Angeles and signed a recording contract with MCA Records after a well-received showcase. The band's self-titled debut album, released in 1988, peaked at No. 141 on the Billboard 200 the following year. MTV gave heavy airplay to the videos for "Waiting for the Big One" and "Falling in and out of Love", the band's two signature songs. The airplay helped the album to sell nearly 225,000 copies, but Femme Fatale was unable to match the popularity of other bands in the glam metal scene. The band saw their status at MCA shrink and the band's manager, Andrea Accardo, developed a rare brain cancer. Shortly after touring the world in support of Cheap Trick, recording was to commence on a new studio album, but ultimately it was never completed and the band dissolved in 1990.

Post breakup (1990-2013)

Since leaving Femme Fatale, Lorraine Lewis has recorded a few modestly successful solo albums in country, new age, and other rock genres. Lewis competed on MTV's Remote Control in 1988, against Britny Fox's Dizzy Dean Davidson and Anthrax's Charlie Benante, who won.

Guitarist Mazzi Rawd left the music industry and went on to get his PhD in Physics, and is now a Vice President in a Fortune 500 company. Guitarist Bill D'Angelo died of a heart attack in 2005, aged 43. The Albuquerque Tribune reported on March 26, 2006, that D'Angelo's death was due to methamphetamine misuse.

In recent years, satellite radio and VH-1 Classic have given the band's two signature songs a new life, with display on VH1C's Metal Mania and the two main satellite networks' 1980s-themed stations.

Reformation

In 2013 Lorraine Lewis reformed the band with new line-up of Courtney Cox and Nita Strauss on guitars, Janis Tanaka on bass, Katt Scarlett on keyboards, Rachael Rine and Athena on drums.

Band members

• Lorraine Lewis - lead vocals, tambourine (1987-1990, 2013–Present)
• Courtney Cox - Guitar, backing vocals (2013–Present)
• Nita Strauss - Guitar, backing vocals (2013–Present)
• Janis Tanaka - Bass, backing vocals (2013–Present)
• Katt Scarlett - Keyboards, backing vocals (2013–Present)
• Athena - Drums (2013–Present)

Past members

• Mazzi Rawd - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1987-1990)
• Bill D'Angelo - lead guitar (1987-1990; died 2005)
• Rick Rael - bass, backing vocals (1987-1990)
• Bobby Murray - drums, backing vocals (1987-1990)

Discography

Studio albums

• Femme Fatale (1988)
• Lady in Waiting (unreleased 1989)

Singles

• "Waiting for the Big One" (1988)
• "Falling In and Out of Love" (1989, b/w "It's a Long Way To The Top" and "Fortune and Fame") - UK No. 69
• "Touch and Go" (1989, Kerrang! flexi disc)
• "Rebel" (1989)

Other appearances

• License to Drive soundtrack (1988, "Touch and Go")
• Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead soundtrack (1991, "Chains") - Lorraine Lewis solo track.

External links

• Femme Fatale at AllMusic
• History of Femme Fatale w/ Lorraine Lewis
• 2009 SplatterTribe.TV Interview With Lorraine Lewis