As a rule, supergroups (bands comprising of members who are already famous from being in other groups or as individual artists) never work out. There are just too many egos and too much baggage. It's hard enough to keep original members egos in check; having the studs of different bands come together, even for a finite period of time, is a recipe for nuclear meltdown. Jane's Addiction alone has to juggle Flea, Perry Ferrell, and Dave Navarro. They might be the exception rather the rule, having just reunited at South by Southwest music fest. (Who knew that Carmen Electra would provide the cohesiveness? She actually might be the anti-Yoko.) Right now, Scott Weiland and Velvet Revolver are definitely on my watch list.

When larger-than-life personalities collide, body parts usually hit the ground first. So, it's surprising to see a group of individuals, all of whom bucked the system their whole lives, put their egos aside for a common cause. This is the supergroup that is the Tampa Bay Derby Darlins, a throwback to late 1970's athletic melodramas that were the precursor for women's pro wrestling. As a collective of women who likely never joined a softball team, sorority, JCC club, or summer camp, they shatter the notion that Alphas cannot work together as Betas and Gammas.

And what a mix of bad-ass Alphas they are. Successful in their own right, the Darlins are acupuncturists, make up artists, accountants, television producers, mothers, bartenders, and yes, band members. The common thread shared by everyone besides the constant craving to knock each other down whilst on rollerskates is that every girl cites music as the inner dialogue to their lives.

With colored razor-bladed hair, tattoo sleeves, and multiple piercings, it is easy to assume, like I did, that these are adrenaline-crazed punk/rockabilly dykes looking to crack cartilage and spill blood on paneled wood floors. This couldn't be further from the truth. On the contrary, they exist as a layer cake of personalities, genres, and attitudes, each girl a hellblazer in hotshorts. Living up to the potential of a supergroup, all of the girls unite to organize one of the best forms of live entertainment in the Bay area. (Sorry, "Hogan Knows Best" does not count). With team names such as Switchblade Sisters (chicks with blades), Cigar City Mafia (chicks with guns), Vice Grip Vixens (chicks with wrenches), and the Black Widows (chicks with venom?) no one is going to confuse the Darlins with Junior League.

These teams take to the rink at United Skates of America like expansive forces of nature. Their blockers are cyclonic titans roaming the rink, whose one mission is to prevent a jammer from passing their unified front. Meanwhile, the other team's blockers and jammers are battling in the rink at the same time, on the same mission. Think football, but in reverse and on skates. Coming together like Voltron, the blockers deny the opposition's wiry sprite of a jammer a chance to pass their ranks. The end result is a melee of helmets, elbow pads, and fishnet stockings. Rest assured, the obligatory catfight is always imminent.

The Darlins use their sexuality in similar fashion to the schlock movie producers of the seventies who distributed Women in Prison exploitation films. With pseudonyms like Gerty Sanchez Dee Bauchery,Ida Smackda,Meg Abbich, and Ophelia Up and Down emblazoned on their team uniforms (or lack thereof), the Darlins play up feminine sexuality to their advantage. This tongue-in-cheek end result stems from a league started by, organized by, and starring women.

Declared "Project Mayhem", the Darlins' premiere bout on 5/7 had all the makings of a Tyler Durden mindfuck. Infractions were issued for low elbows, and parole from the penalty box was only allowed if feats of nonsense, such as jumping jacks or hoola-hoop revolutions, were performed.

And, the entertainment was not just confined to the rink. Since music is entrenched in the very fabric of the Derby, a live band performed between bouts. But, for an audience that waited fifteen minutes while being fueled on the free kegs of PBR outside, this was not exactly a crowd looking for Natalie Merchant. However, electrically-speaking, the Darlins might have benefited from Merchant. Rude Squad, the halftime band, blew out most of the rink's circuits by plugging all of their equipment into a single outlet supported by duct tape. The girls were less than patient during the technical glitch, resorting to offering their own impromptu mini-bouts to entertain the crowd. A few of these spontaneous battles resulted in real punches being thrown'”Rude Squad barely survived unscathed. During the brief brown-out, a distinct shout rang out that the boys may fuckin' know how to rock, but they know shit about wiring!"

When they're not blowing up transformers, Rude Squad, six year veterans of the Tampa scene, can usually be found playing at venues such as Jannus Landing (7/18 with Rancid). Their high-energy five piece ska set matched the frenetic vibe of the event. But serving up licks as Derby's halftime show is not the oddest venue for the band; according to saxophonist Rusch Young, a nudist colony in Brooksville was one of the strangest, I think, but it was a great show and the naked people loved us!â€

However, stereotypes survive because they are based on a grain of truth. While the Derby Darlins and their fans may differ in tastes, there is no denying the Derby's punk/rockabilly roots. Why the attraction between the two? Young sees the connection between Rude Squad's ska/punk sound and the Darlins in straightforward terms. I think it all comes down to one simple thing: having fun with people you like, Young says. We play upbeat, fun music, with no political view. Besides most punk/ska/rockabilly bands contain guys in them, and what guy doesn't want to be involved with a bunch of bad-ass, hot, tattooed girls on skates that fight each other for your enjoyment? So, in a game of powder puff role reversal, it's the boys cheering for the girls.

The rollergirl stereotype is what women like Strawberry Shortskate (a.k.a. Joannie Atkins) have been fighting her whole life. A jammer for the Vice Grip Vixens, Atkins has led what can best be called a multi-genre life. Her personal musical evolution has carried her from punk, goth, glam, to new wave. Her newest manifestation is as vocalist for the band Stuck in Shermer (the name is in homage to 80's teen film auteur John Hughes). She describes her chrysalis-like metamorphosis as being completely organic: I was goth before I knew what the hell goth was. Atkins likens the Derby's own positive influence to her introduction to drums as a 14 year old, which was encouraged by her parents as a means to escape juvenile delinquency. She says that the Derby Darlins affords time for us away from the kids, our crappy jobs, and our own heads.

Bipolar Bear (a.k.a. Jill Trilling) has followed her own path as well. She is a local tattoo artist that works in other mediums besides epidermis, such as acrylic, water color, ceramic, and Photoshop. Her music tastes range from Nirvana to Trail of Dead to Cursive, but she was raised on classical Beethoven. She has endured practice since the first Derby recruitment meeting in September 2005, and was committed (or drafted) to the cause through this inaugural season. Trusting her fellow teammates seemed to be the hardest pill to swallow when first joining the league. There is no stability in the world, she says, and it is easier to rely on yourself before others. While women like Trilling lived most of their lives like Cain in Kung Fu, a true cohesiveness comes to the surface when an opposing Darlin goes down with an injury. Trilling and her teammates show mutual respect and take a knee when the fallen opponent rises.

For Trilling, Derby girls “live on the cusp that the majority of girls do not, therefore it appeals to the punk rock/rockabilly girl, and it's life on the cusp that connects all of the Darlins. Trilling herself certainly lived on the cusp most of the night, as she was the most physical of all the Darlins, giving out just as many licks as she received. Some of those hits were not exactly legal, but for Trilling and the rest of the Darlins, what happens on the ring, stays out on the ring. And please remember, she's no teddy bear, either. There are some scores to be settled out on the ring in the next bout, she says, and she'll get that chance come 6/10 during the next bout, which is appropriately titled Bloody Sunday.

While no boys are allowed on the rink to compete, there are a select few brave souls with XY chromosomes who are willing to risk their bodies and male pride to referee the Darlins. Mr. Wonderful (a.k.a. Angel Oqueindo), and his motley crew of Buster Chops, B.A. Baracus, and Mister Fire have the dubious distinction as being human pincushions for the Darlins. More foil to the girls than an actual umpire, Oqueindo (as well as the other referees) hears more go-fuck-yourself from the girls than at his day job as a bouncer at a local strip club. He seems to revel in his heel role, always blowing his infraction whistle with a sly smile.

A former guitar player himself in a speed metal band, Oqueindo sees the musical melting pot of the Derby as one of its greatest strengths. The punk-rock-girl attitude is definitely out there on the rink,†he says, but to label everyone as a punk rocker would be a mistake. Somehow when these words are coming from the mouth of one of Tampa's toughest bouncers ”who also happens to be a huge Dio fan I do not doubt their accuracy. Dio fans carry that much weight.

Maybe the secret to the Darlins success is placing every girl's aggression on the table and removing all notions of distrust. For Bipolar Bear to earn your trust, maybe she needs to smack you around a bit to see if you stay. For Mr. Wonderful to love his job as the resident Derby villain, maybe he needs to feel the Derby as an accepting forum for musicians like himself and Strawberry Shortskate. Either way, the Tampa Bay Derby Darlins answer the supergroup conundrum with aplomb.

Scott Weiland and Velvet Revolver should take notes.

Check out photos, upcoming bouts, and good old fashioned felonious assaults on wheels at www.tampabayderbydarlins.com