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 group’s extraordinary sound (courtesy of childhood friends Jenn Alva on bass and Phanie D. on drums) and Nina Diaz’s 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 band’s name, Girl in a Coma, comes from the classic Smiths song “Girlfriend in a Coma”), the Girls have managed to create a sound and style that not only pays homage to their heroes, but is uniquely their own.
The first Girl in a Coma tour was in the summer of 2004. The Girls won over a bevy of new fans throughout the south, the Midwest and along the west coast. They also turned the heads of tour managers and indie label reps. In January of 2005, the Girls traveled to England to record their first demo with Boz Boorer (guitarist extraordinaire and musical director for Morrissey). The strength of this demo allowed the Girls to embark on two more national tours.
In addition to playing hundreds of their own headlining shows, Girl in a Coma have opened for Frank Black and the Catholics, theSTART, The Epoxies, The Eyeliners, Boz Boorer, Manda and the Marbles, The Groovie Ghoulies, The Cruxshadows, Lillix, and Brassy. In early 2005, the Girls played several dates on the infamous Warped Tour, then set off on another coast-to-coast tour of the United States to hit the stages at legendary venues such as CBGBs in New York City and the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle.
In early 2006, the Girls found themselves back in New York City where they were introduced to two of their biggest fans Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna of Blackheart Records.
In May 2007 GIAC released their first full length Both Before I’m Gone. Their second full length is expected to release early 2009.
“Music is in a depression, let us wake it up” - ironically, Girl in a Coma
