Dead Sara Bust Ribs and Pave Their Own Way, Gender Be Damned

If you listen to mainstream rock radio stations, it's safe to say you've heard Dead Sara's "Weatherman" pouring through the airwaves. The Los Angeles rockers released their self-titled debut album in April 2012 and watched it peak at No. 16 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The four-piece, led by vocalist Emily Armstrong, serve as further proof that gender doesn't matter when it comes to who's fronting a good band.

"We have a leg up I'd say because of the lack of female-fronted rock bands these days, but at the end of the day, we are just friends who love rock music and love playing rock music with a passion. There is no boy-girl equation," Armstrong tells Spinner.

Success has come fast for Dead Sara, who are currently on the road throughout November. They are also gearing up to perform on this year's ShipRocked cruise, which features Korn, Godsmack, and Five Finger Death Punch. Armstrong says she's still surprised by the band's accomplishments: "Finishing a record and getting to tour it, that's something I've wanted to do for many years. To see it all coming along is pretty awesome. Seeing it actually happen is really awesome!"

The raspy-voiced singer recently joined the Doors' Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger on stage at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, an experience she refers to as "something that probably only comes once in a lifetime." While she's been compared to iconic vocalists like Patti Smith and Janis Joplin, Armstrong is striving to carve out her own niche in the rock world. "I don't consider myself like anybody -- not in an arrogant way -- but singing for me is more of a freedom and an outlet. It's more of a therapy rather than trying to be like somebody. It's always great to be compared to legends, though. That's extremely humbling."

While Dead Sara continues to grow in popularity, their success hasn't come without setbacks. The band was forced to pull out of this year's Warped Tour just two weeks in after guitarist Siouxsie Medley fractured a rib. "I guess you could say she was rocking too hard. By the sway of her body and the weight of her guitar, it caused repetitive bruising and hitting which turned into a stress fracture," explains Armstrong, who says that the band is working with Gibson to create a hollow body guitar that will allow them to perform at their optimal stage energy. The band also considers their would-be name to be a bullet that they gracefully dodged. "We almost called ourselves Masturbation Salvation," Armstrong jokes.

Dead Sara's success has given them cause to look back on their early career days and reminisce on some "not so great" shows. "We once played one at a fair-type thing with lawn chairs. We took the stage and thought, 'That's supposed to be a rock show?' It was awkward, super awkward," Armstrong says. "It's just hard for us to get into it as performers when it's filled with white lawn chairs!"

Luckily, they probably won't face that problem any time soon.