Torrance Heather Castellano (born January 8, 1979) is an American attorney and the former drummer of The Donnas. She announced her retirement from drumming in July 2010.

Torry Castellano
Castellano performing with The Donnas (2008).
Castellano performing with The Donnas (2008).
Background information
Birth nameTorrance Heather Castellano
Born (1979-01-08) January 8, 1979 (age 45)
OriginSan Francisco, California, U.S.
GenresRock
OccupationDrummer
Years active1993–2010
LabelsLookout!, Atlantic, Purple Feather[1]
Websitewww.thedonnas.com

About

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Castellano was born in San Francisco, California. She met future bandmates Maya Ford, Brett Anderson and Allison Robertson in junior high school.[2] They formed a band in 8th grade called Ragady Anne, later calling themselves The Electrocutes at Palo Alto High School.[3]

Before the release of The Donnas' sixth studio album Gold Medal, Castellano developed tendonitis and in October 2003, she had surgery for it. During her recovery, she had to take drum lessons to re-learn to hold drum sticks the correct way.[4] For Gold Medal, she recorded with her recovering wrists, but could only play for short periods of time.

A shoulder problem forced Castellano to withdraw from The Donnas' tour following a show on December 27, 2008 at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. Amy Cesari of the band The Demonics filled in on future tour dates. On July 9, 2010, Castellano announced on the band's website that due to her shoulder she would have to retire from drumming and performing with The Donnas. Castellano still attended events the band was involved with as well as promoted the last album she recorded with the band, Greatest Hits Vol. 16.

She attended Santa Monica College before transferring to Stanford University, majoring in political science.[5] Castellano graduated from Stanford with distinction and attended Harvard Law School.[6] While at Harvard, she interned for Adalah,[7] Habeas Corpus Research Center, and Article 36. [8] As a Frederick Sheldon Traveling Fellow at Harvard, she designed a legal research project on the way cracks in domestic and international legal frameworks lead to a deprivation of rights for the residents of areas that are de facto no man’s land, created by protracted conflicts, focusing on East Jerusalem and eastern Ukraine. She interviewed key human rights attorneys working to protect human and civil rights, Israeli government officials, and local residents in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood.[8] She is currently an attorney working at the Texas Office of Capital and Forensic Writs (OCFW) which serves as a post-conviction public defender.

References

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  1. ^ "The Donnas > Discography > Main Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved April 14, 2007.
  2. ^ "Mayhem and mood swings -- a day with the Donnas". SFGate. 6 November 2004. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  3. ^ "The Donnas with Blondie and Pat Benatar". citybeat.com. 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  4. ^ "Torry Castellano: The Grip Of Death". Modern Drummer Magazine. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  5. ^ "Stanford Magazine - Article". alumni.stanford.edu. 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  6. ^ Groth, Gabriela (16 January 2015). "Top five Stanford alumni in the music industry". Stanford Daily. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  7. ^ "2014 Chayes International Public Service Fellows". The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs at Harvard Law School. Harvard University. 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  8. ^ a b "Torrance (Torry) Castellano: Harvard Frederick Sheldon Traveling Fellow, 2017-18 Harvard Law School, J.D., Class of 2017". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
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