Juanita Stein
| Juanita Stein | |
|---|---|
Juanita Stein, Bristol, 2009
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| Background information | |
| Born |
25 June 1977 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, floor tom |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Bella Union, Liberation, Independiente, Play It Again Sam, Hostess, Nettwerk, Cooking Vinyl, Birthday Records |
| Associated acts | Howling Bells, Waikiki, The Killers, Coldplay, Albert Albert |
| Website | www |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Musicmaster, Fender Mustang, Fender Telecaster, Gibson SG, Rickenbacker 330 | |
Juanita Stein (25 June 1977) is lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in indie rock band Howling Bells. She has younger twin brothers Joel and Ari. Joel Stein is lead guitarist in Howling Bells.
Juanita Stein was born in Melbourne, Australia and moved to Sydney at an early age. Her father Peter Stein is a songwriter and musician; mother Linda Stein is a former stage and television actress.
Stein attended Moriah College in Sydney before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Literature at university in the city, where she also studied Theatre Performance and an electronic music course. Her first time in a music recording studio was when she was five years old and contributed vocals to one of her father's songs. The experience shaped her life as she later said; "From then on, innately I knew that's what I would do." Brother Joel remembers her dedication to learning songs even in childhood: "She would sit in her room and learn old Beatles songs with the door shut until three in the morning. This was when she was about twelve. I would hear her voice at night."
Juanita Stein was brought up listening to all kinds of music but the first song she remembers hearing was Bob Marley's Buffalo Soldier. She said; "It's strange out of all the songs in the world that that was the one that I distinctly remember connecting with at a very, very young age. It was a really great moment. I just remember that song sounded different to me than every other song that was playing on the radio." Her own early favourite artists were Nirvana, Juliana Hatfield, Björk, Portishead and Jimi Hendrix.
Her adolescence was different from that of many other teenagers: "There wasn't a lot to rebel against, my parents were cool and listened to cool music. Dad told me about his drug experiences, so I couldn't rebel by doing that."
Juanita Stein wrote and played music while at university, mainly "[a] kind of folk music, in duets and trios." Then "at one point I really wanted to stop playing other people's music" so, after a brief stint in a group called Dirty Boots, in 1999 she and Joel Stein formed Waikiki, the name chosen by picking a random word out of an encyclopedia. She said, "We’d been playing in different formats for a while, and that was when I felt like it was possible for me to play music with a bunch of people. He's a brilliant guitarist. I feel very lucky to work with him all the time."
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