Sharon Aguilar

Sharon Aguilar
Background information
Birth name Sharon Isabel Borrego
Born 1986 (age 2829)
Panama
Origin Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres Pop rock, rock, funk
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Guitar, violin, mandolin
Years active 2008–present
Associated acts 2NE1, Scarlet Fever, Pretty Little Problem
Website facebook.com/SharonAguilarRocks
Notable instruments
EVH Wolfgang Special, Fender American Deluxe Strat, RainSong Graphite "Black Ice", ENGL Axe-Fx, "Steve Morse" head, and other ENGL gear.[1]

Sharon Aguilar (born 1986) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. She toured with 2NE1 in 2012, and has both founded and performed with several other groups.

She played lead guitar and violin with Scarlet Fever, the all-female backing band that toured with Cee Lo Green during 2010 and 2011. She and varying members of Scarlet Fever have performed with other front women as In 4D, No Salt, and Miss President.

Biography

Sharon Aguilar was born in Panama, and raised in Miami, Florida.[2][3][4] Her mother, Delia Aguilar-Borrego, was from Penonomé, Coclé, Panama. Her father, Richard Borrego, was an American serving there in the military.[2][3] Earlier performance credits,[5][6][7] and occasional recent credits,[8] are under the surname of Borrego.

As a teenager, she attended a magnet school music program.[1][2] She also attended school in Panama, living with relatives without amenities such as hot running water, refrigeration, and air conditioning.[2][3]

In 2010, she attended and worked at the Musicians Institute located in Hollywood, California.[1][2][7][9]

Early years

Aguilar began playing violin at the age of 12,[10] and played first violin with the Dade County Honors Orchestra, and the Greater Miami Youth Symphony.[1][11] She taught herself guitar and mandolin during high school.[10][11][12] She has performed in Miami at open mic venues with her sister Kristen Borrego (bass guitarist), Erika Coromina, and others.[6]

Influences

When she started playing guitar, Aguilar gravitated toward the classic rock her father listened to at home.[2][3][10] A family video shows her headbanging to Led Zeppelin's "In My Time of Dying" in her playpen.[2] She went with her father to see The Guess Who for her first concert as a teenager.[2] Her father showed the film "The Song Remains the Same", and she was inspired by watching Jimmy Page[2][12] to become a professional guitarist.

Later role models include Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, "because of the way he bends his notes. I can feel them in my chest and they just really move me."[3][12]

Breakout success

After moving in late 2007 to Los Angeles, California, Aguilar performed with several bands: Bad Apple,[13] The Bitchfits (all girls tribute to the Misfits), The Ramonas (all girls tribute to the Ramones), and Pretty Little Problem.[2][5][9][11][14]

Her national television debut playing a Fender electric violin[10] backed Diddy's Dirty Money on Hello Good Morning for the March 31, 2010, American Idol.[1][4][7][15]

Aguilar also played lead guitar with Suede (of Austin, Texas) on "You Shook Me All Night Long" opening the January 29, 2011, George Lopez comedy tour in Phoenix, Arizona.[16] Lopez donated proceeds from this concert to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).[17]

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 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack) and The Lady Killer album.[1][2] They performed for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,[18] BBC Radio,[19][20] Late Show with David Letterman,[21] Saturday Night Live,[22][23] and many other venues. Core band members include Brittany Brooks (drums), DANiiVORY née Theresa Flaminio (keyboards, background vocals), and Regina Zernay Roberts (bass guitar, Moog synthesizer).

Members of the band continued to play together in various combinations (sometimes under other band names). Aguilar, Brooks, and DANiiVORY performed with front woman Sammy Allen at Whisky a Go Go in April 2012, where Cee Lo joined them on stage.[24]

2NE1

Aguilar, DANiiVORY, and Divinity Roxx backed 2NE1 on their New Evolution World Tour in 9 cities among 5 countries during 2012. Their performance at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey,[25] was ranked by The New York Times critics among the best concerts of the year.[26] The concert at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles ranked #29 on Billboard's Current Box Score, the first K-Pop girl group to make this rank.[27]

Miss President

Aguilar, Brooks, and DANiiVORY have performed with Goldielox née Brittany Burton as In 4D,[28] and debuted as Miss President at Whisky a Go Go on February 10, 2013.[2][29][30] Their music encompasses "standard pop riffs, to neo-classical, and everything in-between."[2] The band name was chosen as "empowering" for women, "... we can create great music just as guys do. We can do everything they do, and even better."[1]

Discography

Compositions

Endorsements

Although a young musician, Aguilar has garnered endorsements[2][3] with Fender,[33] RainSong Graphite Guitars,[34] ENGL amps,[35] In Tune guitar picks,[34] and Ernie Ball strings.[36]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Whitmore, Laura B. (April 15, 2013). "Guitar Girl'd: Interview with Sharon Aguilar on CeeLo, 2NE1 and Miss President". Guitar World. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Boyd, Steve (March 19, 2013). "Interview with Sharon Aguilar: Administrator of Guitar for Miss President". Guitar Girl Magazine. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Introducing Guitar Shredder – Sharon Aguilar". AllAboutLuxury Magazine. September 2, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Meet Sharon Aguilar – Miami girl turned Cee-Lo's guitarist slash violinist". the305.com. March 23, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Sharon – Guitar Star on Myspace". Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Teal, Kyle (January 24, 2010). "Miami Open Mic Night Guide". Miami.com (Miami Herald Media). Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 "MI Students Backing P Diddy, Destinee&Paris, Jordin Sparks". April 6, 2010. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  8. "VH1 Storytellers: Cee Lo Green". Baseline. The New York Times Company. May 20, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Sharon Aguilar, Brittany Brooks Land Gigs with Cee-Lo". June 15, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Tozier, Nicholas (June 13, 2011). "Interview With Sharon Aguilar". guitar-muse.com. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Sharon Aguilar's Profile". December 30, 2008. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Epstein, Julie (May 22, 2011). "Cee Lo Green Guitarist Sharon Aguilar Rocks UCSB Extravaganza". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  13. "Bad Apple". Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  14. "Pretty Little Problem". Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  15. "Diddy Dirty Money on American Idol". April 1, 2010. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  16. "Sharon Aguilar on Guitar with Suede at George Lopez Show". January 29, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  17. "The Lopez Foundation Pledges Proceeds to MALDEF From Arizona Concert". Latin Heat Online. February 21, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  18. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". NBC. June 14, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  19. "Cee Lo Green Session". 1Xtra. BBC. October 26, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  20. "Cee Lo in the Live Lounge". Live Lounge. BBC. November 3, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  21. "Late Show with David Letterman". November 8, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  22. "Gwyneth Paltrow hosts Saturday Night Live with musical guest Cee Lo Green!". Saturday Night Live. NBC. January 15, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  23. David, Valerie (January 18, 2011). "Gwyneth Paltrow & Cee Lo Green Are Game for Anything on 'Saturday Night Live'". Retrieved 2011-02-14. Cee Lo Green did his own version of Robert Palmer on the "Saturday Night Live" stage, singing his hit while being backed up by a girl band dressed in tight, hot pink mini-dresses. The difference between Palmer's models and these sexy gals, however, was that Cee Lo's band "Scarlet Fever" is the real deal, rocking out on their instruments with sass and true talent.
  24. "Scarlet Fever, Cee Lo Green's Ladykiller band live with guest Sammy Allen". April 23, 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  25. Caramanica, Jon (August 19, 2012). "Korean Pop's Singular Mélange". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-13. 2NE1 was backed by a mostly female band, which injected flourishes of real skill amid the music's more direct demands.
  26. Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Ratliff, Ben; Chinen, Nate (December 26, 2012). "Pop's Big Nights – The Best Concerts of 2012, as Seen by Times Critics". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  27. "2NE1 becomes the first K-Pop girl group to rank on Billboard's Current Box Score". AllKPop. September 4, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  28. Ruano, Jenifer (July 2012). "Brittany Brooks Giving Us Fever". Tom Tom Magazine (10): 23–24. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
  29. "Miss President – About". February 10, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  30. "Miss President Tour Dates". February 10, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  31. "'Popstar' rehearsal". April 10, 2009. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  32. "Hellcats creator Kevin Murphy promises a soundtrack". Wet Paint. September 17, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  33. "Sharon Aguilar – Fender® Artists". Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  34. 34.0 34.1 "Girl Rock Nation Artists Sharon Aguilar". Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  35. "ENGL Professionals". Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  36. "Ernie Ball Artists". Retrieved 2011-09-30.

External links