Blessed with a voice that can sound tough and vulnerable at will and a gift for writing songs that mine rough-hewn beauty from life's tragedies, Gina Villalobos became one of the most acclaimed new artists in the alternative country community with her breakthrough album, 2004's Rock 'n' Roll Pony, though it took her a long, hard road to get there. Villalobos was born in Lake Sherwood, CA, not far from Malibu; her father was a cinematographer and her mother was a passionate music fan and amateur vocalists who shared her love of Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Linda Ronstadt, and Waylon Jennings with her daughter. Villalobos started playing guitar in high school, and after a brief stab at college, she decided to take a shot at a career in music after seeing a life-changing Rickie Lee Jones concert. Villalobos sang in a pair of rock bands that won some local buzz in southern California, Liquid Sunshine and the Mades, before striking out on her own as a solo artist in 2001.
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