Biography
A native of Southern California, Zilinskas was born in Van Nuys and was recruited into The Bangs, which later became The Bangles, as bass guitarist. She played bass and harmonica on The Bangles' eponymously titled 5-track EP, but left the band to join Blood on the Saddle as lead singer before The Bangles' first album. After her departure, Michael Steele became the bass player for the band. [2]
Zilinskas started joining the Bangles for live shows again in 2014, before she formally rejoined the band in 2018. [1] Zilinskas first left the Bangles to become lead vocalist with influential roots-punk outfit Blood on the Saddle, whose juiced-up anthems inspired the cowpunk genre and paved the way for the No Depression movement and its related alt-country/Americana revivals. Zilinskas later lead the dream-pop group Weatherbell and the contrastingly punky all-girl garage-rock trio 3 Hole Punch. In 1989 she helped form and create the band Medicine (band) with Brad Laner. The two met up and wrote/recorded a series of demos together, that would become a collection of songs on the early albums of Medicine. Zilinskas performed with the band in the early days and reunited with Laner to record, Scarred for Life as . She's a noted spoken word stylist and a longtime member of the celebrated spoken-word/music troupe the Ringling Sisters, whose debut album on A&M Records, 60-Watt Reality, was produced by the legendary Lou Adler. She's had a huge impact on the creation and start of Los Angeles bands Weather Bell, [3] The Bangles, Blood on the Saddle, and Medicine. [4] She's also known for her seamless transition in different genres of music.
