Gina Villalobos

===Biography===
California Native, Gina Villalobos is an American singer-songwriter. Villalobos became one of the most acclaimed new artists in the alternative country community with her breakthrough album, 2005’s Rock N Roll Pony when legendary BBC disc Jockey Bob Harris called it “a contender for album of the year”.


===Early Life===
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Lake Sherwood, A patch of countryside within wildfire distance of Malibu. Her father, Reynaldo Villalobos was a respected cinematographer and mother was a passionate music fan who shared her love of music with her daughter. Villalobos showed that same passion and was playing guitar by age ten.


===Career===

===Early Years===
By her early 20’s Villalobos was fronting her first band, Liquid Sunshine and playing publicly up and down the state of California. Liquid Sunshine was as an acoustic folk trio. In 1991 Villalobos and Liquid Sunshine recorded their first album in Santa Barbara CA, Titled: Sweet Commitment. A collection of acoustic folk songs written by Villalobos. Villalobos and Liquid Sunshine followed up with Barbary Lane and the self titled, Liquid Sunshine EP in 1996. Liquid Sunshine dissolved in 1996.

In 1997 Villalobos formed and fronted her second band called, The Mades. The Mades released two CDs of Villalobos’ songs. The band dissolved in 2001.


===The Solo Years===
Villalobos released her first solo album, Beg from Me in 2002, in which she allowed herself to come to the forefront for the very first time. Villalobos supported the album with plenty of appearances in nightclubs across the US. In 2003 she began work on her follow up album, Rock N Roll Pony”


===Rock n Roll Pony===

In October 2003 Villalobos was halfway through sessions for Rock ‘N’ Roll Pony, when she sustained serious injury to her right eye in an accident. Her life was put on hold for months to come, as she underwent four major surgeries before being told she would remain forever 100% blind in her right eye.

Villalobos completed Rock N Roll Pony in early 2004. It gained a US release that summer and a much-deserved wider release in the UK, Europe and Australia in February 2005 when she signed a deal with Laughing Outlaw Records. The disc became a major critical success in both the United States and Great Britain; after receiving excellent reviews in national US magazines like No Depression, Harp, Acoustic Guitar Magazine and legendary BBC disc Jockey Bob Harris called it “a contender for album of the year”.


===Life On The Road===
With the album’s critical success, though, another set of shadows descended on Villalobos. Depth perception issues, tunnel vision, retinal flashes, and other consequences of her vision loss forced Villalobos to suffer disorientation and nausea for nearly two years post surgeries.

It also pointed Villalobos toward a new perspective, from which she began to write the songs that would fill her third solo effort, Miles Away.


===Miles Away===
Villalobos unveiled Miles Away in the UK on May 8th 2006 to critical plaudits, and support from BBC radio 2 her acclaimed predecessor, Rock N Roll Pony received. This along with a 6 week US national tour supporting the band World Party set the stage for the US release, April 3rd 2007, on Face West Records, which was widely anticipated in the Americana/Alt Country circles in which Villalobos first gained attention.

===Days On Their Side===
In the summer of 2009 Villalobos released "Days On Their Side". The album included 12 original songs and was produced by Villalobos along with Erik Colvin. American Songwriter magazine raved about the songs- "coming off the speakers like holographic Cracker Jack surprises" & stated that Villaobos had "taken the Lucinda Williams / Sheryl Crow model to a new level (and it's about time somebody did)"

===Sola===
In 2014, after an extended hiatus and having taken the time to produce the album since January 2012, Sola was released. She produced and Erik Colvin engineered, as he’s done for each of her previous three offerings. Augmenting Gina’s vocals and guitar are guitarist Kevin Haaland (Andy Grammer), back for his fourth Gina Villalobos album, and returning guitarist Josh Grange (Sheryl Crow, k.d. lang, Beck, Dixie Chicks); Also credited are Eric Heywood (Son Volt, Ray LaMontagne, The Pretenders, Alejandro Escovedo) on pedal steel. Upright bass was performed by Ian Walker (k.d. lang, Cher, Paula Cole, The Ditty Bops). Quinn (Tracy Chapman, Daft Punk, Paula Cole) was the drummer.

===Recent Work===
Villalobos continues to tour and compose in her work as a music creator at Feverpitch, where she services the motion picture industry, specifically those companies making movie trailer music. She creates sound effects, produces music, and composes original scores.

In late 2015, Gina Villalobos & Erik Colvin wrote and produced the music featured for The Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award-winning Amazon Studios TV show, a derivative version of the 1971 Sly and the Family Stone hit "Family Affair" featuring the vocals of Ruby Friedman for use in the trailer promoting the launch of Season 2.



===Discography===

Beg From Me (2002 – Out Of Print)
Rock N Roll Pony (2005)
Miles Away (2007)
Days on Their Side (Summer 2009)
Sola (May 2014)


===Live Albums===
Live at KXLU Radio

===Singles===
Can’t Find My Way Home (2008 Face West)
Ghost In You (2011 Face West)
World Keeps Turing (2016)

===Compilation Appearances ===

Sin City Volume 9 Sampler (2008)
Hear it Here Vol 36, (2008)
Undiscovered - Media Creature Music (2008)
Paste Magazine Sampler Number 32
Sin City Social Cub Compilation Volume 9


===Guest Appearances===
2007 - Ted Russell Kamp “Can’t Go Back”
2007 - Ted Russell Kamp “Close your eyes, Maria”
2006 - Redlands Palomino Company “She is Yours”
2005 - Angie Heaton “Drive”


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http://ginavillalobos.com