Since using her tennis racket as a guitar as a little girl, Cathy Henderson knew she would be a musician. It was only a matter of time before she and her sister started a band.

Sisters Cathy and Kristen Henderson, along with Dena Tauriello, Jen Zielenbach and Cassidy make up Antigone Rising, an all-female rock band. The women of Antigone Rising are trying to rise above the male-only stereotypes in the genre of rock music.

“We’re doing something different than what is expected,” says Cathy Henderson, guitarist and vocalist for the group.

Untrue to stereotypes, the women don’t just sing. The five women of Antigone Rising also play their own guitars, drums and bass.

Henderson says Antigone Rising proves the inspiration for both women and men rockers comes from the same place.

Even though Henderson says the group sometimes has a hard time “being taken seriously,” it’s able to relate to fans differently as an all-female band.

“It’s probably a different kind of emotional bond. We draw in people based on the fact we do understand and have emotions,” she says.

Antigone Rising draws on emotions from personal experiences for songs such as “You’re the Reason,” says Henderson.

“That’s about us and what we’ve gone through to kind of keep it together,” Henderson says.

She says women rockers, such as Pat Benetar, also provide inspiration for Antigone Rising.

“Early women rockers busted the door in the 60s and 70s,” she says.

Henderson says she hopes Antigone Rising helps pave the way for a female rock super-group.

Like the integration of women into the rock genre, Henderson says the group’s music is a product of evolution.

“There are folk, rock and soul influences,” she says. “But at our essence, we are the songs and musicianship.”

Antigone Rising showcases this “musicianship” in its latest release, “From the Ground Up,” a live album.

“We were able to capture a show that was very special and emotional,” Henderson says. “It captures live spontaneity.”

Henderson says the energy of Antigone Rising’s concerts surprises some people.

“We really blow a lot of minds,” she says. “We’re loud and we know how to express ourselves.”

The band has opened for Aerosmith in the past, and Henderson says the performance was quite an experience.

“It was really crazy,” she says. “Like being high for a week.”

Even though the band has opened for other big names besides Aerosmith, like Joan Jett, Henderson says her favorite part of Antigone Rising is the relationship she has with the other members.

“I love how hard we make each other laugh. We’re a bunch of sisters on the road,” she says. “We get along and we fight, but we understand each other.”