Regina Zernay was born in
Queens,
New York, but grew up in a tiny Florida village. After moving to
La Puente in
Los Angeles County, California, she graduated from
Nogales High School and
Azusa Pacific University. She married Darren Roberts in 2009.
Early years Even as a young child, she wanted to be a musician. There was always a piano in the house. She took lessons until a conflict with her teacher about writing with her left hand. She began playing guitar at age 11, inspired by (her "first love as a teenager")
Duran Duran. After high school, she did her first
West Coast tour for two weeks with a band in small pickup, often in difficult living conditions; but nothing made her happier than playing bass. She also performed with
hip hop/rock band Jam Balaya, appearing on two episodes of
Half & Half in 2005. She was featured as the front-cover
Bass Quarterly interview for the issue of January/February 2011, and was chosen number 3 of the top 10 bassists to watch in 2010. More recently, she has toured with
Red Elvises during November 2011 through December 2012.
Méchant Circa late 2002, Zernay formed her own band,
Méchant (French meaning "
wicked"). playing more than 200 shows annually, During her time with them, Cowboy Mouth released the live concert DVD
The Name of the Band is Cowboy Mouth and the full-length CD
Fearless. They were also featured as a cartoon in
The New Yorker, and performed on
Live with Regis and Kelly twice.
Scarlet Fever Beginning in June 2010, she toured with
Cee Lo Green and the
all-female backing band named
Scarlet Fever on promotional tours for "What Part of Forever" (from
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack) and
The Lady Killer album. They performed for
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
BBC Radio,
Late Show with David Letterman,
Saturday Night Live, and many other venues. Core band
members include
Sharon Aguilar (lead guitar, violin),
Brittany Brooks (drums), and
DANiiVORY née Theresa Flaminio (keyboards, background vocals).
Detroit Diesel Power Circa late 2011, Zernay and her husband formed a punk band, Detroit Diesel Power. They debuted at
Molly Malone's on July 2, 2013, and again at
The Viper Room on July 23, 2013, both in
Los Angeles, California. Other members include Patrick Jones (drums) and Michael Martinsson. Their first EP, "16:16", was released December 1, 2013. == Discography ==