live at ULTIMATE JAM NIGHT - ALLISON CHAINS
ALLISON CHAINS is the world's only all-female tribute to the band, Alice In Chains. Based in Los Angeles, Allison Chains delivers heavy metal riffs, hypnotic musical textures, and unique harmonies, creating the haunting, tortured sound that put Alice In Chains at the forefront of Seattle's early grunge bands. Although often equated with grunge, Alice In Chains has also been categorized as: hard rock, sludge metal, alternative, blues metal and just straight metal. Living and playing in Seattle might have given them the grunge tag, but according to Mike Inez, AIC were always the metal stepchildren of the Seattle scene. Allison Chains has made it a mission to honor all the musical ingredients that made the original AIC band rise to international fame. These extraordinary female rockers are are seasoned, accomplished performers with many individual achievements and awards. They authentically recreate Layne Stayley's wailing rage, Jerry Cantrell's melodic guitar fervor, Mike Starr and Mike Inez's powerful bass lines, and Sean Kinney's grinding rhythms. Allison Chains brings you back to the early 1990’s, performing songs from classic AIC albums: Facelift, Dirt, Alice In Chains, Sap, and Jar of Flies.
THE BAND:
Caroline Heldman
Caroline sang "allelujah" as her first word, began formal vocal training at the age of three, and was a paid soloist by age five. As a teenager, she toured the West Coast with the popular rock band, Selah. Allison has a great number of credits including many impressive performances in some of the hottest clubs in New York including; CBGB's and The Gaslight with The Problems and Silicone Sirens. Her vocal stylization has graced over thirty albums as a studio musician, and she was a principal performer in professional theater productions of Chicago, A Little Night Music, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Brighton Beach Memoirs. Allison studied classical voice for two decades with the distinguished Oral Peru, and performed in numerous operas before returning to her first love: grunge metal. Her haunting rocker persona transforms her classical training into passionate, edgy growls and distinctive "snarl to a scream" vocals that are perfect for channeling the essence of AIC’s original infamous front person, Layne Staley. And it is no surprise, because Allison lived blocks away from the rock clubs in Seattle during the rise of grunge and didn't miss a moment in the mosh pit! She is also a 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do who holds two national championship titles and is a well-known political pundit and book author.
Felicia Villani
Felicia Villani is a member of the Gibson Guitars Family of Artists. She is an accomplished lead guitarist and vocalist who early on became a professional player, getting her first paid gig at the age of 13. Felicia majored in music at the University of Colorado and acted in professional musical theater. She cut her teeth in the rock world, touring the U.S. and recording with bands out of both Denver and Detroit Motor City scenes including; Snowblind, Infrared, and The Music Zoo. Felicia has also toured internationally, performing throughout Asia, Australia, and British Indian Ocean Territories with the rock band Surrender Dorothy. Upon returning from overseas, she dove head first into the Los Angeles music melting pot and was signed to the Asha record label with the band Soul Instinct. She also worked as a session guitarist/singer under the wing of renowned producer, Gloria Jones-Bolan (Motown, Capitol/EMI). Felicia became a regular in L.A. studios, Rusk and Hit City. She also has been honored among Los Angeles area rock musicians, taking home the Rock City News Award for Best Female guitarist. Felicia is also a skilled house music DJ and production remixer who continues to influence dance floors with her energetic live sets after decades in the industry. Her blend of house and dark tribal music has earned multiple West Hollywood Award nominations for Outstanding DJ of the year and a Top 5 Bicardi DJ USA award. In a final twist, she is also a samurai sword wielding, three time Martial Arts Black Belt Grand Champion.
"P-Nut” Amelia Gioiello
P-Nut developed an interest in the Guitar at age 15 and later expanded to drums. She finally settled in with the bass in her early 20s after being recruited into a Los Angeles based all girl punk band, Female Chauvinist Pigs. For a decade P-Nut kept a kept a full schedule with the band, touring locally and regionally throughout the U.S., and releasing 2 full length albums. The group later morphed into a new band, minus 1 member, as Kill Kitty Kill. Her musical background includes a music degree from Southern California's Harbor College, hands-on work in the recording studio, and a collection of live performance credits with various Rock and Metal projects out of Southern California. Influenced by a wide range of musical styles, P-Nut's versatility ranges from the hard hitting heaviness of metal, the bravado of classic punk, the technical mental aspects of progressive, and the organic feel of rock, roots and indie. Holding down the low end for Allison Chains is a natural fit for P-Nut who is no stranger to drop down tunings, hard driving riffs, and melodic sensibility. Her current basses of choice are her Vintage 1984 SB Elite I, Black N Gold Aria Pro II, her Fender Aerodyne and her trusty Ibanez Ergodyne. Sighting her main influence as the instrument itself, her love for the bass drives her forward to learn and experience more with her craft everyday.
Gretchen was born and raised in Satellite Beach Florida. She grew up loving both animals and music. Most of her time was split between competing in horse show jumping, and playing guitar. She excelled as both a horse woman and as a musician, but later decided to focus on her music. Gretchen played in rock and big hair metal bands in local florida venues until she decided to take a step further and moved to Hollywood, California. She studied at Guitar Institute Of Technology, which is now known world wide as Musician's Institute. While at GIT, she trained with premier instructors of various genre, who inspired her to add funk, r&b, and other styles to her bag of guitar talents. On any given day at GIT, she found herself jamming eye to eye with members of Earth Wind & Fire as well as many other legends and masters of music. After attending GIT, Gretchen played many iconic Sunset Strip venues with reggae-pop band, New World. She later joined the r&b pop band MIX, writing, and recording in the studio. While MIX was composing the L.A. Laker Girl full length music video soundtrack, Gretchen met guitarist Felicia Villani, and brought her in to the project. As a guitar team they also did session work for producers Gloria Jones-Bolan (Motown, Capitol EMI) and David Horne, laying down guitar tracks for various Los Angeles based recording artists at Rusk Studios and Hit City. The guitar team also formed two funk r&b bands, Apparition, and Soul Instinct, with record releases from the later. Following the closure of those projects, Gretchen branched out her professional direction, by enrolling in the Los Angeles Police Academy. She is now a decorated and tenured LAPD officer and detective. In early 2017, Gretchen joined Allison Chains and is shredding better than ever.
Melanie picked up her first pair of sticks at the age of 14. That was when she knew that she wanted to make her life's career being a professional drummer. She decided to major in Jazz drumming at The University of North Florida, studying drums with Jazz legend Danny Gottlieb. While a still attending classes at UNF, she made a living playing and touring around the state of Florida and much of the southern United States with various artists and bands. After graduating from the University of North Florida, Melanie packed up and moved away to sunny Los Angeles California. Since recently residing in Los Angeles, she has played gigs at many of of L.A.'s famous live music venues such as The Whiskey A Go Go, The Viper Room, House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, and has hired to travel and perform at many popular casinos in the Las Vegas area. She has also performed with popular artists in Los Angeles such as. Z LaLa, Love Tease, and Ariel Bellvalaire. Melanie is a proud endorsee of DW Drums, hardware, accessories, and pedals. In 2015 she performed at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Annual Festival with actor Cory Feldman's band. Also in 2015, Melanie was brought on to tour with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. She toured with his solo band, Billy Gibbons and the BFG's. They played shows all over the United States as well as internationally, including performing at the 2015 Havana Jazz Festival in Cuba. During that leg of the tour, they filmed the documentary, "Billy Gibbons: Cuba", in which they chronicled their historic trip to Cuba. Melanie joined Allison Chains in early 2017 and has become a solid rocking anchor for
the band.
ALLISON CHAINS: JUNKHEAD - LIVE at the WHISKY a GoGo
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