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 guita ...

The Donnas The Donnas were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993. The band consisted of Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (drum ...

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 estab ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, 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 fu ...

in 4th grade,

Maya Ford Maya Anne Ford (born January 8, 1979, in Oakland, California) is an American musician and the former bass player of rock band The Donnas. She also goes by the name Donna F. Early life Maya Anne Ford, was born on January 8, 1979, in Oakland, C ...

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 * Gi ...

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 i ...

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 built a ...

track "

Six Months in a Leaky Boat "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" is a song by New Zealand art rock group Split Enz. It was released in May 1982 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, '' Time and Tide''. The title is a reference to the time it took pioneers to ...

". In early 2007, she played lead guitar for band Loudlion. One of their songs appeared on ''

The Hills Have Eyes 2 ''The Hills Have Eyes 2'' is a 2007 American horror film and the sequel to the 2006 film, which itself was a remake of the 1977 horror film. The film follows several U.S. Army National Guard comrades as they fight for survival against the mutan ...

'' 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 a ...

(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 albums ...

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 Catskill ...

, and Corey Parks (ex.

Nashville Pussy Nashville Pussy is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Initially called Hell's Half-Acre, the band's name comes from Ted Nugent's introduction to "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" on the '' Double Live Gonzo'' album. Following the initial ...

), 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 with ...

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