Celeste “CC” Spina ticks all the boxes when it comes to defining every man’s fantasy woman. She’s brunette, smacks a drum skin with authority and – having worked as a chef in a previous life – knows her way around a spatula.

As drummer and bit-time vocalist for rising San Diego duo Little Hurricane, CC is used to the bumbling approaches from countless love-tipsy gentlemen at gigs. For her, it’s become part of the territory.

What she isn’t quite used to however, are the suggestive advances from her own gender. “I’ll get a lot of girls that will be like; ‘I have a girl crush on you’,” she confesses with a touch of shyness. “I hear that a lot, which is really funny because I don’t think they’re lesbians.”

Looks and culinary proficiency aside, CC hones a musical thump ‘n’ grind style that draws comparison to the likes of Meg White (The White Stripes) and Emma Richardson (Band Of Skulls).

Such an impressive rep hasn’t come easy however. It was only a few years back when she was forced to veer away from the security of her kick pedal to concentrate on vocal duties.

“I had to start singing right when the band happened, I didn’t really have a choice. I really wanted to be in a duo and with just two of us we have to do as much as we can,” CC explains. “Singing is definitely new to me so it was hard to try and make it sound natural. It took a lot of work on my part for the vocals as I’m definitely a drummer at heart.”

Complementing CC’s sass is the rustic tenor of her frontman and co-writer, Anthony “Tone” Catalano. In stark contrast to his female counterpart, Tone spent his apprenticeship twiddling volume knobs for the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica. It’s as intense a work experience gig as you can get. Indeed anyone who can deal with the pressure of pitching for Lars Ulrich is worthy of Spartan-like praise.

The teaming of the unlikely couple occurred after Tone placed an ad in the classifieds. After several years of support slots and local tours, their hard work bore fruit and led to the release of a debut LP, Homewrecker.

Without hesitation, CC attributes much of her confidence to her partner in crime. “Tone’s been great, I’ve learned so much and, of course, I still have so much more to learn.” she says. “He’s definitely encouraged me and inspired me to do things that I didn’t think I could do.”

Being a drum and guitar duo, critics have been quick to pigeonhole Little Hurricane as another White Stripes/Black Keys follower and hearing the band’s debut gives credence to this theory.

The album’s a dirty, enjoyable mess that is driven by the band’s penchant for producing a bluesy wall of sound. It’s also highlighted by the same ‘back and forth’ chemistry that sent Jack and Meg White to the top of the heap.

Despite the similarities, CC isn’t so sure such observations are on the money. “If you hear one of our songs you wouldn’t conceive it was a Black Keys or White Stripes song,” she explains.

“I don’t know if it flatters me but it definitely doesn’t bother me. I mean, they’re both terrific bands – there are definitely worse bands to be compared to. I just don’t think we necessarily sound like them.”

“I think the fact that those sorts of bands have risked it has paved the way for (groups like) us,” she concludes.

Melburnians and Sydneysiders will be able to decide for themselves when Little Hurricane tears a hole through Ding Dong and The Vanguard in early October. As well as hearing early crowd favourites like ‘Haunted Heart’ and ‘Give ‘em Hell’, fans should also expect the duo to unleash a harder edge.

“We’ll put on a great show,” CC explains. “When we play live it’s a lot more rock than people initially expect. We try and play loud and have a lot of energy.”

Unlike Tone’s natural progression from audiophile to frontman, it’s been a vastly different path for CC. She’s gone from kitchen to stage to studio with a few trips to the tattoo parlour in between. Given the winning formula of Little Hurricane and her ever-increasing group of admirers, it seems a return to chopping cabbages and stuffing turkeys is highly unlikely.

Homewrecker is out now through Shock, you can read the Tone Deaf verdict here. Little Hurricane play two special shows in Melbourne and Sydney in early October. Full dates and details here.

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