Paulina Villarreal Vélez (born 5 February 2002) is a Mexican musician who is the drummer of the rock band The Warning. Alongside her sisters in the band, she also sings and plays piano.[1]
Paulina Villarreal | |
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 Villarreal in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paulina Villarreal Vélez |
| Also known as | Pau |
| Born | 5 February 2002 San Pedro Monterrey, Mexico |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2013–present |
| Member of | The Warning |
Life and career
editVillarreal was born in San Pedro Monterrey, Mexico. She went to a bilingual high school (Liceo de Monterrey Redwood) making her fluent in English.[citation needed]
From her early childhood she was taught classical piano, and began drums lessons at the age of six. Her parents' passion and her playing the video game Rock Band led Paulina to rock music. Her father uploaded multiple videos to YouTube where she played drum covers of well-known pop and rock hits.[2][3]
Neil Peart was the biggest influence on her drumming style.[4]
In 2013, the Villarreal sisters formed The Warning. In this band, Paulina trades lead vocal duties with guitarist Daniela.
In 2014, Villarreal was profiled in the women's drumming publication Tom Tom Magazine.[5] Also during this year, Kirk Hammett of Metallica saw a video of her and her sisters playing a cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman", which led Hammett to praise Paulina's drumming in a tweet.[6]
In 2015, after the "Enter Sandman" video went viral, Villarreal and her sisters were invited to The Ellen Show as musical guests. Ellen DeGeneres supported them with a financial donation that helped to get a scholarship to attend Berkelee College of Music's five-week program[7] – with an age waiver, because the required entry age level for this program was 14 years. By that time, Villarreal was already writing her lyrics and music, and the band's first EP was recorded and released in 2015.[8]
In April 2022, she was invited to teach a Drum and Composition masterclass at the Sound:Check Xpo event in Mexico.[9]
In 2024, Villarreal debuted as an artistic director by creating and directing the official video for the song "Qué Más Quieres".[10]
As frontwoman
editAlthough Villarreal is mostly found behind the drum kit, she sometimes acts as frontwoman. She did this singing The Warning's "Narcisista" at Teatro Metropolitan in 2022 with her drum teacher, Beto Ramos, as a guest drummer. She also owned the stage singing Nirvana's "Breed" and Olivia Rodrigo's "Brutal" when The Warning and the Argentinian band Eruca Sativa performed live on tour together. In 2024, Villarreal sang with Dead Poet Society at the Aftershock Festival. Other memorable performances have included playing the piano and singing alone.[11] [12]
Equipment
editVillarreal plays DW Performance Series drums. She uses a Ludwig Black Beauty snare drum, and a DW rack modified for her body size.[13]
She is officially sponsored by Sabian,[14] and currently uses the HHX series cymbals.
She uses Roland MIDI pedals and a laptop computer with Ableton to control the timing of the band's live show, additional instrumentation, and certain stage visuals.
In some songs, Villarreal uses a cowbell.[13]
Awards
editIn September 2023, Villarreal was voted number one by readers of Modern Drummer in the "Up and Coming" category.[15]
Drumeo presented her the Rock Drummer of the Year award in February 2024.[16]
In March 2024, she received the Decididas Global Award at the 2024 Decididas Summit, for "transcending borders and inspire us to dream BIG". She was honored for her contribution to the Mexican music industry and society, and for standing out as an exemplary leader who seeks to inspire more young women to pursue their dreams. Upon receiving the award Villarreal said: "When they told me about this recognition, the first thing I felt was insecurity and intimidation, doctors, astronauts and engineers came here, and I said 'I'm a drummer', but my mother explained to me that what I do has an impact on the lives of others".[17][18]
In June 2024, Villarreal was chosen to be included in The 100 most powerful women in Mexico by the Mexican edition of Forbes magazine.[19]
Personal life
editPaulina is the middle of the three Villarreal sisters of the Mexican rock band The Warning.
Villarreal has mentioned in interviews that she is interested in finance and plans to study the field.[18]
She likes fantasy books, anime, and manga, which inspire her in writing music and lyrics.[20]
References
edit- ^ "The Warning homepage". Archived from the original on 2 March 2021.
- ^ "Mayday in the Making Episode 2". YouTube. Lava Records.
- ^ "Mayday in the Making Episode 4". YouTube. Lava Records.
- ^ Dowdell, Michael (11 February 2019). "You've Been Warned: How The Warning went from video game players to Rock Band musicians". Guitar Girl Magazine. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Lumbiarres (2014). "Killer Drummer Paulina Villarreal Vélez". Tom Tom Magazine. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ Kennelty, Greg (14 April 2015). "These 3 Young Mexican Sisters' Awesome METALLICA Cover is Kirk Hammett-Approved!". Metal Injection.
- ^ Keefe-Feldman, Mike (14 August 2015). "School's in for Summer: Metalhead Sisters the Warning Hone Chops at Berklee". berklee.edu.
- ^ Sweeney, Chris (16 April 2015). "'The Warning' Hits GoFundMe Goal, Drops EP in Same Week". Boston Magazine.
- ^ "Historia - sound:check Xpo". soundcheckexpo.com.mx. 18 December 2020.
- ^ Villamil, Valentina (25 April 2024). "The Warning ejecuta un crimen perfecto en el nuevo video de 'Qué Más Quieres'". Rolling Stone (en Espanol).
- ^ "Paulina Villarreal de The Warning | Decididas Summit 2024". Decididas youtube. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ "The Warning - Black Holes (Live from Pepsi Center CDMX)". The Warning youtube. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ a b "The Warning's Paulina Villarreal Vélez - GEAR MASTERS Ep. 475". YouTube. Digital Tour Bus.
- ^ "ARTISTS / DRUMSET". Sabian homepage.
- ^ "Readers Poll 2023: Paulina "Pau" Villarreal Vélez Wins "Up And Coming"". Modern Drummer. 26 September 2023.
- ^ "The Winners Of The 2023 Drumeo Awards". Drumeo. 1 February 2024.
- ^ "Decididas Summit 2024 - Programa" (PDF). decididas.com. 2024.
- ^ a b Toriz, Miguel Angelino (10 March 2024). "Paulina Villarreal (The Warning): "Si el profesor te lanza una silla, ahí no es"". Playboy Mexico.
- ^ "Las 100 mujeres más poderosas de México 2024: un nuevo frente de lucha". Forbes Mexico (in Spanish). 11 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ "The Warning Band: Pop Culture Inspiration Meets Music". Scoop. Retrieved 18 July 2024.