⁽ ⋯ ⁾ ㅤ𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 ㅤ𝙱𝙾𝙼𝙱 .

𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 : stephanie   ruiz   (  drums   )  ,   rebecca   clarke   (   lead   guitar   )   ,   lisa   wiles   (   rhythm   guitar   ,   sometimes   keyboard   )   &  lucia varela   (   vocals   &   bass   guitar   )   all   met   at   eighth   avenue roller derby   in indianapolis .   while   they   were   not   all   on   the   same   team   (   lucia   &   stephanie   were   )   ,   the   league’s   teams   practiced   together  .   during   the   𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 ᵒᶠ '𝟖𝟒   ,   the   cherries   ,   an   all   female   hard   rock   band   ,   was   born   .

lucia is the primary music composer for her band , 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 , but receives 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙥𝙪𝙩 from her brother , lucas varela , & the cherries' drummer , stephanie ruiz . her songs are riff - heavy , fuzzy , & have a lot of d i s t o r t i o n . she takes heavy inspiration from 𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔨 𝔯𝔬𝔠𝔨 , 𝚙𝚞𝚗𝚔 𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚔 , 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖞 𝖒𝖊𝖙𝖆𝖑 , & 𝕡𝕤𝕪𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕔 & 𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕕 𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕜 . lu's lyrics feature themes such as rebellion , drugs ( often marijuana & some psychedelics ) , 𝖗𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖎𝖔𝖓 , feminism , & 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 ( brazilian , norse , & greek specifically . )

lucia has an expansive vocal range , though is more comfortable singing as an alto . she takes 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 from singers such as joan jett , suzi quatro , janis joplin , & grace slick . lu frequently slides , g r o w l s , & belts while singing . when performing , she is 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 with her expressions & movements .

𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 have left a lasting legacy on the music industry , pioneering the riot grrrl movement & being one of the first bands to perform in the modern 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕣 𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕜 genre .

the band started taking their music seriously in 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 ᵒᶠ  '𝟖𝟔 . lucia's brother was able to set up a recording session with his band's studio for the girls as a late birthday gift for his sister . the band recorded a few demos & sent the tape to a multitude of recording labels , 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 with fingers crossed someone would sign them . 𝙼𝙴𝚁𝙲𝚄𝚁𝚈 𝚁𝙴𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙳𝚂 in 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘰 , 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴 reached out a few weeks later .

the band had a slow start , not necessarily rising to stardom with their debut album in 𝐅𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘 ᵒᶠ '𝟖𝟖 , psycho - delic , featuring black smoke , fuck or kill , light 'em , & a cover of dazed & ⁽ ᶠᵘᶜᵏⁱⁿᵍ ⁾ confused by led zeppelin . their second album was released in 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 ᵒᶠ '𝟖𝟗 , 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚝 + 𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚕 , which shot the band to fame . the songs on the album included themes of feminism ( proud woman ) , pro - choice ( pro - fuck you ) , & the war on drugs ( drug czar . ) other songs included middle finger , shit list , & 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒅𝒂 ( love song about two girls , references the time lucia realized she was bisexual while watching princess leia organa in star wars . )

'pon the publication of 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚝 + 𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚕 , 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 were offered a record deal with a national tour with a recording studio out in 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 , 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘢 , called 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝙴𝚁𝚃 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝚃 𝚁𝙴𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙳𝚂 . the band created their third album in 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘 ᵒᶠ '𝟗𝟎 titled 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 , lyrics written by lucia . songs featured on the record included 𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓹𝓲𝓮 , cherry soda ( sequel to strawberry soda from rebel + revolt ) , & a cover of 𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕓𝕠𝕞𝕓 by the runaways . the cherries moved out there while recording the record . the tour was from 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 ᵗᵒ 𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐓 '𝟗𝟎 & they traveled all 'bout the 𝚄𝙽𝙸𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚂 alongside 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖔𝖞𝖑𝖆𝖓𝖉 as their opening act .

in the beginning years of the band , 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 typically performed covers with a couple original songs intermingled . some of the bands they covered included the runaways , joan jett + the blackhearts , girlschool , iron maiden , metallica , the rolling stones , the ramones , dio , led zeppelin , black sabbath , jefferson airplane , suzi quatro , among others .

lucia's favorite songs to sing include cherry bomb by the runaways , bad reputation by joan jett + the blackhearts , & white rabbit by jefferson airplane . her top three songs to play on the bass are for whom the bell tolls by metallica , trouble by suzi quatro , & hallowed be thy name by iron maiden .