Event

Girl in a Coma + Black Gold + Throwing Stars

Female rock trio Girl in a Coma formed in San Antonio, Texas in 2001. Their first show at Sin13 that same year left their audience in awe of the groups extraordinary sound (courtesy of childhood friends Jenn Alva on bass and Phanie D. on drums) and Nina Diazs jaw-dropping vocals, which have been compared to those of Bjork and Patsy Cline.

Girl in a Coma's history began in 1993 when Phanie and Jenn found themselves seated next to each other in an art class at Longfellow Junior High School and decided to form their first band. The group, called Day Old Rice (D.O.R.), featured Phanie on guitar and Jenn on bass. They played regularly at local clubs in the San Antonio area, but constant lineup changes took a toll and the group disbanded after only a year.

During this time period, Phanie noticed that her younger sister, Nina, was also showing quite an interest in music. With a few guitar lessons from Phanie, Nina began to write her own songs and develop her own style at the age of twelve. When Phanie and Jenn decided to form a new band in mid-2000, Nina played them some of the songs she had been working on. It was immediately clear to Phanie and Jenn that they had found their vocalist. Nina had also become such a skilled guitarist that Phanie taught herself to play the drums in order to leave the strumming to Nina. The lineup was then complete.

While Nina is often referred to as "the female version of Morrissey," the band as a whole has been compared to The Smiths, Interpol and the Pixies. Drawing heavily from these influences (the bandÂs name, Girl in a Coma, comes from the classic Smiths song ÂGirlfriend in a ComaÂ), the Girls have managed to create a sound and style that not only pays homage to their heroes, but is uniquely their own.