Aja Volkman (; born March 4, 1980) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the frontwoman of the indie rock band

Nico Vega Nico Vega is an American indie rock band formed in 2005 in Los Angeles, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to th ...

. She has also released an EP titled ''Egyptian'' as a duo with her then husband

Dan Reynolds Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the lead vocalist and a founding member of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons, which formed in 2008. He is a recipient of the Songwriters Hall o ...

(of

Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons are an American pop rock band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The band currently consists of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, and bassist Ben McKee. They first gained exposure with the release of ...

) under the moniker

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

Personal life

Volkman is the daughter of James Volkman and artist Rogene Manas. She attended South Eugene High School and graduated in the class of 1998 at the age of 18. She was married to the lead singer of

, on March 5, 2011. They have three daughters and a son. Their oldest daughter was born August 2012, fraternal twin girls in March 2017, and their son in October 2019. On April 26, 2018, Reynolds announced that he and Volkman would divorce after 7 years of marriage. Volkman confirmed the pending divorce the following day. However, on November 6, 2018, along with the release of the Imagine Dragons song " Bad Liar", Reynolds announced that he and Volkman were dating once again and that she helped co-write the song with him earlier in the year. After four more years together, they announced that they had separated once again on September 16, 2022. Volkman filed for divorce the following April, which was then finalized in March 2024.

Career

Nico Vega (2005–present)

Volkman was approached by

Michael Peña Michael Peña (; ; born January 13, 1976) is an American actor. He has starred in many films, including '' Crash'' (2004), '' World Trade Center'' (2006), '' Shooter'' (2007), '' Observe and Report'' (2009), '' Tower Heist'' (2011), '' Battle: L ...

after a solo performance in 2005. Although Peña later left the band to pursue acting, Dan Epand (drummer) joined and this formed the basic structure of Nico Vega in 2007. The band released a series of EPs. They signed to now defunct MySpace Records. Two years later the band released their debut eponymous album. Three tracks off of the album were produced by

Linda Perry Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She is the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, including their 1993 hit " What's Up?". She has since founded two record label ...

(Pink, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani) and the rest were produced by Tim Edgar. The album was mixed by

Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with artists and musicians including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arctic Monke ...

(The Black Keys, Sheryl Crow). Nico Vega performed on ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with '' ...

'' later that year and then toured for the next couple years. They toured extensively with artists including

Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale is an English musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992. Upon the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer and guitarist for Institute an ...

(of Bush),

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

She Wants Revenge She Wants Revenge is an American rock band, based in San Fernando Valley, California. Formed in 2004, the band is a duo of singer and guitarist Justin Warfield and multi-instrumentalist Adam Bravin. Their music has been influenced by post-pun ...

, and Blondie. They have also opened for

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. For most of its career, the band has consisted of vocalist and founding member Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young. Keyboar ...

. During this time the band signed to

Five Seven Music Five Seven Music is the alternative/indie sub-label under The Eleven Seven Music Group. Five Seven Music launched with Jet's Shaka Rock in 2009 followed by She Wants Revenge's Valleyheart in 2011. The label has rapidly grown since and has al ...

. Their single "

Beast Beast most often refers to: * Animal, a multicellular, eukaryotic organism in the biological kingdom Animalia * The Beast (Revelation), one of three beasts described in the Book of Revelation * Monster, a type of creature found in fiction, folklo ...

" gained popularity in 2013 through

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advertisements, resulting in more than five million combined downloads and streams. Their second album, ''

Lead to Light ''Lead To Light'' is the second full-length album by American indie rock band Nico Vega. It was released on July 22, 2014 on iTunes. The album was produced by Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons), Tony Hoffer (Beck, Foster The People, M83), and Tim Ed ...

'', was released on July 22, 2014, and featured production from

(Imagine Dragons, X Ambassadors),

Tony Hoffer Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer. Career Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including Travis, The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air. His reco ...

(Beck, Fitz and the Tantrums), and Tim Edgar (Nico Vega). Their single " I Believe (Get Over Yourself)" was co-written by Volkman's husband, Reynolds. Track "Lightning" was co-written with Adam Bravin and

Justin Warfield Justin Evan Warfield (born April 20, 1973) is an American musician and hip hop MC. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist of the darkwave duo She Wants Revenge, which formed in 2004. In 1993, he released a hip-hop album titled '' ...

of rock group

. Aja Volkman and Dan Epand created a new band, named TWWO, and put out an EP, "Pull The Knife Out", in July 2020.

Egyptian (2010–2011)

Invited to perform an opening set for

, Reynolds met Volkman in 2010. He invited her to help him finish some demos he was working on. The two began a collaborative process which they titled Egyptian. They recorded and released independently a four track eponymous EP digitally. They have performed this material once at the M Resort in Las Vegas.

Solo career (2015–present)

In 2015, Reynolds mentioned that Volkman is working on a solo project. Album ''Sandy'' was released on May 19, 2017, and featured lead single "My Man". The album features production by Joshua James and producer Tim Edgar (Nico Vega, Imagine Dragons).

Discography

Nico Vega

*''Nico Vega'' (2009) *''

'' (2014)

Egyptian

*'' Egyptian EP'' (2011)

TWWO

*''Pull the Knife Out EP'' (2020)

Solo

*''Sandy'' (2017)

Other appearances

*" Our Demons feat. Aja Volkman" –

The Glitch Mob The Glitch Mob is an American electronic music duo from Los Angeles, California. It consists of edIT (Edward Ma) and Ooah (Josh Mayer). Boreta (Justin Boreta) was a member of the group from its formation until 2023. Chris Martins of ''LA Weekly' ...

(2014) *" I Need My Memory Back feat. Aja Volkman" – The Glitch Mob (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Volkman, Aja American alternative rock singers American indie rock musicians American women rock singers Musicians from Las Vegas Living people Musicians from Eugene, Oregon 1980 births Singers from Oregon 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers