BIO
IBIO
Felicia Villani is a multi-faceted disc jockey, musician and martial artist with a diverse background. She is currently the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Allison Chains (All Female Tribute to Alice In Chains), and also tours as a House music genre DJ. Felicia grew up in Colorado was raised in a talented family. Her father sang opera as a young man, her brother, was a playwright/actor in musical theater and film, and her mother was a poet, artist and played the mandolin. Her family exposure to all types of music, inspired her to chose a life's path in the entertainment world. Felicia picked up her first electric guitar at age nine, started learning blues and rock riffs, and quickly formed her very first rock band with childhood friends. She played her first professional band gig at age 13 at Denver's Bonfil's Theatre. From youth through college, she sang in concert choir and madrigal groups, played guitar in jazz band, studied acting singing, dancing, and performed in local drama and musical theatre. She studied at The University Of Colorado, double majoring in the music and acting schools, with a minor in psychology as a fall back plan. During this time Felicia began a dual performers life, with professors frowning on her balancing act between classical vocal training by day, and belting out rock anthems in clubs by night. She was gigging part time as a musician when a radio industry friend offered Felicia her first opportunity behind the turntables at a local nightclub. Her musical background was a plus, making her a natural as a club disc jockey. Immersed in both arenas of dance and rock music, she also began doing local studio recording work in the Denver/Boulder area. As a rock guitarist/vocalist and club DJ, Felicia strove to break down doors and make her mark during a time when it was rare for women in the genre. The only way to gain acceptance, was to shred and spin as fiercely as possible! Felicia became resident DJ at Denver's venues, Traxx-Paradise Garage, Stars, and Boulder's Radd nightclub, all the while continuing to perform with a number of bands locally and nationally. She cut her teeth on the road, touring much of the West and Mid-West with original and cover rock bands originating out of both Denver and Detroit areas including; Sterling, Snowblind, Infrared, The Music Zoo, Isis, and Surrender Dorothy. Surrender Dorothy most notably landed an overseas DOD rock concert tour of the Far East and South Pacific. There she gained international experience performing for U.S. troops and audiences in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, British Indian Ocean territories, and Australia, (following in the tradition USO performers such Marilyn Monroe, Bob Hope, Brook Shields, Kansas, the Doobie Brothers, The Judds, and many others). Shortly after the tour, Felicia moved to Southern California. Upon arriving in Hollywood, she immediately secured a Saturday night club residency and became head Dj, spinning at West Hollywood's Palms nightclub. She was in turn quickly picked up by promoter Joani Weir, who billed Felicia as "DJ Diva". Weir's Klub Banshee parties were originally based out of Los Angeles, and quickly spread from Southern California's Orange County, Palm Springs, & San Diego, to other regions including Arizona, New Mexico, & Colorado. Banshee circuit events were notorius for a sexy theme of cutting edge deep house, vocal house, tribal, and techno music. By day, Felicia worked as a music buyer and Bilboard Magazine reporter for Hollywood's Wherehouse Records on Sunset Blvd. She later joined the staff at Macy Lipman Marketing in Beverly Hills, promoting albums for major labels including, CBS, Sony, Virgin, Elektra, and Paisley Park. She also worked in the L.A. musician's scene and was co-lead guitarist and co-vocalist for the r&b pop rock group, Mix. The band wrote and recorded the "Laker Girls L.A. Jammin' " full length video soundtrack, benefiting the Magic Johnson AIDS foundation. When Mix disbanded, Felicia and guitarist Gretchen Schultz, (GIT graduate), founded the original r&b/funk bands, Apparition, and Soul Instinct. They signed to the Asha Records label and became studio regulars, recording under the direction of producers, Gloria Jones and David Horn. (Jones is a recording industry icon, known for Motown roots, her original artist version of "Tainted Love", and producing musicians including The Jackson 5, The Supremes, Marc Bolan/T Rex, Gladys Knight, Gonzales, and George Michael). On Jones' label, Felicia's guitar, vocals, and production arrangements were featured on the compilation album release, "Griots 1 - Tales of the City". The album showcased various artists including singing diva Patricia Hodges, and Soul Instinct's dance single, "Might As Well Party" with 12 inch vinyl remixes by house music producer, George Acosta. Supplementing her band work as a "hired gun" studio musician, Felicia regularly lent a hand, recording with variety of hard & mainstream rock, r&b, funk, rap, and alternative artists at a number of Los Angeles' area studios including Rusk Studios, O.G. Pierce studio, and Hit City.Felicia's production skills branched into the DJ realm when in 2003 she grabbed a Top 5 award in the "Bacardi DJ U.S.A." remix competition for her track "Element Fire". DJ Felicia has been twice nominated for a "WeHo Award" in the category of "Outstanding DJ Of The Year" in 2007 & 2008 along with superstar DJs including; Manny Lehman, Scotty K., Kimberly S., & Kio Kio, ranking her one of the top eight live event DJs in Los Angeles. She has been consistently firing up dance floors with her mix of house, circuit and tribal music for a number of promoter's events including; RocknRolla Promotion's Angels & Demons Los Angeles After Hours, Evenstar's Reflex After Hours Los Angeles (recently sharing the bill with international DJ/Producer Paulo), Talbott Street Indianapolis, Red Nightclub Detroit, Tom Whitman's L.A. events, "Size", "Popular", "Cherry Pop" at Here lounge and Ultra Suede, Eleven Nightclub West Hollywood, Micky's West Hollywood, Rage Nightclub West Hollywood, Faces Nightclub Sacramento, Rainbow Circuit Party Sacramento, (appearing in the weekend line up with international DJ/Producer Tony Moran during The Rainbow Festival), Ripples Long Beach, and The Abbey West Hollywood. Other residencies and events of note include Club Montage San Diego, Gay Days Anaheim-Welcome To The Jungle, (along with Billboard charting DJ/Producer Scotty K.), DeDe's circuit events on the Queen Mary, (Long Beach's original circuit events in the ship's exhibition hall), Hunters and Heaven nightclubs Palm Springs, Club Maxx Los Angeles, Texas Circuit Boyz "Valley Of The Dolls" Memorial Day Circuit Weekend Dallas, (performing in the line-up with circuit DJ's Susan Morabitio, Alyson Calagna, Lydia Prim and Wendy Hunt), Texas Circuit Boyz "Texas Tea" at Club One Dallas, Favorite Movies:Sanker's "White Party 2000" opening event at Club INternational Palm Springs, Dinah Shore Weekend events Palm Springs, Kurfew NYC's Las Vegas event, Ripples Long Beach, Klub Banshee events, and Men of The Stable circuit events Los Angeles & Las Vegas. Felicia has spun multiple pride events through the years including; Los Angeles' Christopher Street West Festival, Greater Palm Springs Pride, and Long Beach Pride's 15, 000 plus person "Night at The Dome" event in the massive Spruce Goose hanger. Felicia has also headlined entertainment industry events and charity fundraisers at host venues Eleven, Here, and The Abbey. Events of note include; Jovy Janolo & Cher Rue's "Old Fashion Christmas", GLAAD's "Thank Glaad It's Friday", Bravo Channel's "Jackie Warner Work Out" Season 2 Premier event, and The Trevor project & Tom Whitman presents "Oscar Night".Felicia is also no stranger to the airwaves. She has been a featured artist for a number of broadcasts on San Francisco's Energy 92.7 radio show, "the Massive Mix", where her DJ mix sets have been heralded. Her debut appearance on the show in 2005 marked her as the second female DJ, (following NYC artist, DJ Jackie Christie), to be invited to the Bay area's popular broadcast. Felicia's mixed sets have also been featured on world-wide mix shows and web-casts, including, Partylist.com's Circuitmix radio (Paris, France/San Franciso), Muzophile In the Mix (Los Angeles/Detroit), MaryTV.net (West Hollywood), Electric FM (New York/Canada), and The Real Mix Show (Boston). In 2008, Felicia performed with the rock band, Absinthe as co-lead guitarist and backing vocalist. Southern California shows including iconic rock venues; The Knitting Factory, The Whiskey A Go Go, The Viper Room, and The World Famous Derby. They celebrated the end of '08 with an awards sweep over some of L.A.'s premier musicians. The band won three 2008 Rock City News Awards in categories including Felicia for Best Female guitarist. She also signed an instrument endorsement with Daisy Rock Guitars and in turn has had the honor of performing live at the 2009 NAMM show. In early 2009, Felicia was also proud to announce a new endorsement, becoming a part of the Gibson Guitars family of artists. In 2010, Felicia joined Allison Chains, The World's Only All Female Alice In Chains tribute band. The Los Angeles band is currently performing in some of the hottest rock venues including the House Of Blues Hollywood, Paladino's, Dave Navarro's Bleck Door Vegas, Viejas Dreamcatcher Venue, OC Fair's The Hangar, and others. They have also been appearing on tour throughout various parts of the USA, including their recent Rock N' Roll Heaven Tour throughout the Pacific Northwest. In 2011, Felicia also landed endorsements with Clayton guitar accessories and Core One Bullet Instrument cables. More info on Allison Chains can be found at http://www.wix.com/allisonchains/tributeAlong with her musical talents, she is also a karate practitioner, and holds a 4th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do. As Sensei, Felicia has been involved in teaching many students under the direction of Martial Arts expert and Hall of Fame inductee, Master Lana Hyde. Felicia loves practice of the samurai sword, and in open tournament competition has achieved multiple Southern California area Grand Champion titles.
