Sylvia Juncosa
| Sylvia Juncosa | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Instrumental rock, punk rock, jazz fusion, heavy metal, post punk, hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, computer programmer |
| Instruments | Guitar, piano, keyboard, vocals |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Ringent, SST, Restless, Fundamental |
| Associated acts | SWA, To Damascus, The Leaving Trains, The Unclaimed, The Nymphs, Clay Allison |
| Website | sylviajuncosa.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson SG series guitars | |
Sylvia Juncosa is an American punk and metal guitarist, singer, songwriter and keyboardist from Los Angeles. Noted primarily for her guitar work, during the 1980s she was among relatively few women with established aggressive rock guitar credibility. She released four solo albums and three albums with her band To Damascus after starting her career as a keyboard player in The Leaving Trains. She was also a member of the band SWA with ex-Black Flag bass player Chuck Dukowski. She was active from 1980 to 1995 before taking a hiatus, then started playing guitar again in 2009.
Juncosa was born and raised in Los Angeles. She started playing piano and composing instrumental pieces when she was six years old.The Leaving Trains was the first band Juncosa joined, as keyboard player, when she was 16 years old. They released the "Bringing Down the House" / "Going Down to Town" 7" single and appeared on the Keats Rides a Harley compilation. She left that band in 1982, citing a preference for guitar over keyboards. However she did accept an opportunity to tour with Clay Allison, playing keyboards and acoustic rhythm guitar.
She then started the band, To Damascus, named after a play by August Strindberg. The band experienced numerous personnel changes over the next three years. They recorded a single at Radio Tokyo studio with producer Ethan James, where the majority of Juncosa's releases would later be recorded. For a very brief period in 1985, she was the guitar player in The Healing Dream, which soon afterward became The Nymphs. When David Winogrond and Tyra von Pagenhardt joined in 1985, To Damascus finally had a more stable line-up and began a busy, productive period that would exemplify Juncosa's high-activity work style during those years. The band completed and released its first album, Succumb, which Juncosa had started earlier with former Leaving Trains members Jason Kahn and Tom Hofer filling in on drums and bass, respectively. Shortly afterward, they recorded a second album, Come to Your Senses, distributed by Restless Records, and embarked on a shoestring-budget US tour.
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