Allison Rae Robertson (born August 26, 1979) is an American musician and the former guitarist for
rock band
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...
s
The Donnas and Chelsea Girls.
Early life
Allison Robertson was born on August 26, 1979, in
North Hollywood, California
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...
. She comes from a musical family. Her father is musician Baxter Robertson who wrote the track "Feel The Night" on
''The Karate Kid'' soundtrack. Her mother, Lisa Jimenez, worked for
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
and for a variety of music publishing companies in Los Angeles prior to the family relocating to Palo Alto in the early 1980s. Although she was born in North Hollywood, she later moved to
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was es ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, early in her childhood. She started to play guitar at the age of 12.
Music
Her first guitar was a Mexican-made Fender Telecaster which she later sold to get her first Gibson guitar. In Palo Alto she met her bandmates (from what was later known as The Donnas)
Torry Castellano
Torrance Heather Castellano (born January 8, 1979) is an American percussionist and the former drummer of The Donnas. She announced her retirement from drumming in July 2010.
About
Castellano was born in San Francisco, California. She met ...
in 4th grade,
Maya Ford in 5th grade, and
Brett Anderson
Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004- ...
in 7th grade in school. They formed a band in 8th grade called ''Ragady Anne'', later calling themselves ''The Electrocutes'' at Palo Alto High School. She toured with the band, straight out of high school.
She is known for playing
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* Gibso ...
guitars and
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an ...
amps, her signature guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Standard.
Side projects
In 2006, she formed the band Elle Rae, with her sister Emily. The name was a combination of both their middle names, Ellen and Rae. Elle Rae has recorded two songs, both of which are available for streaming on their
Myspace page. One of the songs is a cover of the
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band bui ...
track "
Six Months in a Leaky Boat".
In early 2007, she played lead guitar for band Loudlion. One of their songs appeared on ''
The Hills Have Eyes 2'' soundtrack.
As of May 2007, she has her own show called ''Fun in The Dungeon with Allison Robertson'' on the internet radio station Women Rock Radio.
In January 2009 Allison joined with
Samantha Maloney
Samantha Maloney (born December 11, 1975) is an American musician best known for playing in the bands Hole and Mötley Crüe. She has also performed live with Eagles of Death Metal and Peaches.
Early career
Maloney received her first drum-kit ...
(ex.
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albu ...
,
Hole
A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...
), former ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' model/disc jockey
Jill Janus
Jill Janus (née Janiszewski; September 2, 1975 – August 14, 2018) was an American singer who was the lead vocalist of heavy metal bands Huntress, The Starbreakers and Chelsea Girls.
Early life and education
Janus was born in the Catskills ...
, and Corey Parks (ex.
Nashville Pussy), to form Chelsea Girls. Chelsea Girls were offered a monthly gig at
The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre (often just the Roxy) is a nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, owned by Lou Adler and his son, Nic.
History
The Roxy was opened on September 23, 1973, by Elmer Valentine and Lou Adler, along wit ...
in Los Angeles, after the band's first 3 live shows there sold out and attracted major media attention.
In February 2010 Robertson announced that she was no longer playing with Chelsea Girls via The Donnaholics message boards. In October 2010 Robertson began playing select shows with the Chelsea Girls once again.
References
External links
The Donnas’ official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Allison
1979 births
Living people
The Donnas members
Guitarists from California
Palo Alto High School alumni
People from North Hollywood, Los Angeles
American rock guitarists
Lead guitarists
Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area
People from Palo Alto, California
21st-century American women guitarists
21st-century American guitarists