By Gerry Gittelson

Rock-n-radio.com

LOS ANGELES -- One of the hottest guitar players on the scene is Angela Grant – yes, she’s a girl – who has played for a variety of bands and projects, most notably Blonde Jovi, an all-female Bon Jovi tribute band that also features singer Lorraine Lewis, formerly of MCA recording act Femme Fatale.

Grant looks great and plays great, and that’s a combination you just don’t see much in today’s music world.

Los Angeles is Grant’s third city – she grew up in Hawaii and spent some of her teenage years in Las Vegas – and she is right where she belongs, a sought-after guitarist who is technically solid and loves to rock.

Blonde Jovi, sometimes billed as Blonde Jersey for legal reasons, plays the Roxy on Sunset Strip this coming Saturday, Jan. 30, and if you’re a fan of Bon Jovi himself -- or Angela Grant – then you’ll surely have a great time.

Let’s start with the stigma of being a girl -- a good looking one, at that -- who plays guitar. Has it been harder to be taken seriously through the years?

There are tons of women out there who are great players, and good looking girls but there has yet to be a female who has been a true "guitar hero" on the level that Page, Clapton, Van Halen are. So I think that might be part of the issue.

So tell me about the formation of Blonde Jovi ...

But the great man himself, Jon Bon Jovi, didn't like you using the name Blonde Jovi, right?

I have no idea if Jon himself is or has ever been aware of us. But his lawyers sent us a cease and desist letter, and their wording was quite comical. The best parts were "we have no objection to your use of the word blonde" and "such use creates a likelihood of confusion with our client.

Do you find it strange considering Bon Jovi is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and you girls are just kind of kicking it around in a club for a hundred people or so?

Well, lawyers will do what they do. I know we're not the only Bon Jovi tribute to receive a cease and desist letter.

Who does more drugs, you or Richie Sambora?

I can barely even finish a beer! Drugs? Not interested. Not enough hours in the day. And I thought Richie was sober now?

Yeah, but he is always making the news for stuff.

Hopefully he can or has gotten it together. He's one of my favorite players, I wish he would do another solo record.

Tell me about each member of the band, starting with the great Lorraine Lewis of Femme Fatale.

I love Lorraine! She's a riot, and has more energy than all of the girls in the band combined! I was a Femme Fatale fan, so it's an honor to play with her. Priscila is a talented girl, but she wants to focus on some personal stuff. We wish her the best. Keyboards is Celeste Kim. She's played in Savage Garden, and with Coolio! Guys are always asking me about the "hot keyboard girl".

Yeah, Kim is a hottie. And the drummer is like a female Tommy Lee.

Sara Skelton! She used to play with Whole Lotta Rosies. I had to chase her for awhile to get her in the band. Bass is Emily Weber. Berklee graduate, and fun girl to hang around.

We need to have a party at The Mondrien Hotel after the show on Saturday – and destroy the suite. You up for it?

My party days are over! And I've never been the throw-the-TV-out-the-window type.

Yeah, but if you sold a million records, you might have.

If I sold a million records, I'd be too busy thinking of how to sell another million. Ha!

Are you looking forward to the new movie about THE RUNAWAYS. Surely you can relate,

I am! Lita was a huge influence on me.

Did you like the Go-Gos?

I like them, but I wouldn't say they were an influence. I was more into Lita, Doro, Femme Fatale, Vixen.

Yeah, Vixen was cool.

Yeah.

So, tell me about the craziest rock and roll night of your life.

That would be a Lorraine question! I'm the boring girl, who's running around to make sure everything runs smoothly. I have a few from the past but nothing that you could print without it turning into "Dear Penthouse Forum".

If Jon Bon Jovi bought a ticket to the Roxy for Saturday's show, do you think he would like it? What would his reaction be?

I think he would offer us some advice, and keep his public persona on, but privately, he would rip us to shreds.

You're kidding? You don’t think he would love it?

He's said some not-so-nice things about Lorraine in the past. I would rather have Richie at the show.

How close are you to executing all of Sambora’s guitar parts?

I try to nail the parts as close as possible, and we keep the arrangement the same for the most part. I've spent hours on You Tube watching live videos of them, and I've seen them live on almost every tour since “Slippery When Wet” when I was still in grade school!

When a Bon Jovi song comes on the radio, do you involuntarily play air guitar?

Ha! I'm definitely going over the parts in my head.

Have you netted enough money to cover all the fancy equipment like the talk-box effect on your guitar?

Not even close.

Are you going to be old and gray one day and still playing "Livin on a Prayer"?

No, no! I have no desire to be doing Blonde Jovi in 10 years. I'd rather have a lot of fun with it now, and move on. Not that I'll be old in 10 years!