The Warning’s Alejandra Villareal
Alejandra Villareal is only 18 years old and has been playing the bass since the age of 6. She’s a beautiful, gifted musician who keeps incredible time and gives her all on stage with the her fellow sisters. The Warning is a Mexican rock band that sings in English and is a throwback to the rock era of the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Although they’re only a three-piece, you can expect to hear guitar solos much like those of Mick Mars back in his heyday with Motley Crue. The single guitar sound can be compromising at times, but with a tight rhythm section as you have with bands like The Warning, you’d never skip a beat. Many bands, from Van Halen to Pantera are able to accomplish rhythms and leads without employing a rhythm guitarist. Ultimately this can be achieved thanks to a tight rhythm section and you have that with the pairing of Ale and Pau Villareal. These sisters can rock and they get tons of media. That being said not all members receive equal attention and recognition.
When it comes to media fanfare and camera time, The Warning seems more like a duo than a trio. It’s often said that Ale Villareal is the quiet one. This would normally apply to most rock bassists, with the exception of band leaders like Gene Simmons, Geddy Lee, or Nikki Sixx. Unless the bassist is the sole writer or founder of the band, they tend to set into the background. Typical rock band dynamics have center-stage type personalities and background types. Take Aerosmith, for example. That band centers around Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. Brad, Tom, and Joey have been termed by roadies as “the other three.” They don’t tend to do many interviews, they don’t command legions of fans, and they rarely – if ever – will sing a lead vocal. They’re every bit as much members as Steven and Joe, but they take on the role of supporting musicians. Do they like this role? It really doesn’t matter what they like. It’s not like they have a choice. And if they were missing on stage few would notice, much less care. Sorry, but we all know it’s true.
Although The Warning is a family endeavor and the band is comprised of three sisters that grew up together that does not make them immune to the excesses and trivialities of stardom. Look at Oasis and the hatred between the Gallagher brothers. I’m not saying that anything like that will happen to this great band, but we also don’t know what the band dynamics are behind the scenes. The band can’t control what film crews and the media decide to film, who they want to interview, and/or who they write about. What the band and their management can control is how members are portrayed and what roles they have in the band.
While all three sisters can sing leads, Dany sings the most songs. As a result of singing, playing guitar, and doing the most press, it would seem Dany is the leader of the band and that is how’s treated by the press. She’s also the oldest and the first to pick her instrument. Pau is the middle sister, sings leads, and has tons of mic time with the audience. Pau picked drums as her instrument.
The story goes that Ale picked bass, but in reality, bass was all that was left. Had she picked guitars or drums, it’s unlikely they would have given the youngest sister her choice to play instruments already covered by her older siblings. I don’t for a second believe a 6 year old picked bass over guitar or drums. Sometimes alternate narratives just don’t make sense and when it comes to The Warning, I’m guessing it was bass or nothing.
In any event, Ale is a phenomenal bass player with a wide range of styles that create in her a very seasoned player despite her very young age. Sadly, her bass is often turned down so low that fans can barely hear it. This happens in guitar/drums dominated bands like The Warning. Moreover, Ale is often kept to the back during interviews, and interrupted ad nauseum by her two older sisters. Is this just sisters being sisters or more so shameless attention-seeking by Dany and Pau?
At what point will this constant relegation to the background get old? The irony is that Ale is not quiet and actually likes to talk. The reason that’s such a piece of bombshell news – even for Warning fans – is because the youngest sister is often kept quiet. Her videos on social media usually outperform her sisters and the fans have a very special bond with her just the same. The fact Ale is such a skilled musician, can probably write her own songs, and has a fantastic lead voice, makes her likely to be the first member of the band to go solo.
Perhaps there won’t ever be a need for Alejandra to break out. This could be the case if they raised her profile and let her speak more. I think it would also be a good idea to give her a few songs where she sang lead. The bottom line is she’s just too gifted and too ambitious to settle for being the other member of the band. I’ve seen tons and tons of videos from concerts to tv appearances where Dany and Pau each get about 45% of the questions and talking time and Ale is lucky to get 10. Maybe that was ok when she was 12, 16, or even 18, but as she becomes more of an adult musician, I think she’ll hit a breaking point.
Also, if Ale’s not writing as much as she’d like – or – if her songs aren’t making the cut, but Dany’s and Pau’s are, it may be the publishing that splits this band up. It’s one thing to split the sales and contracts three-ways, but it’s quite another when publishing money starts rolling in. Publishing factors in with regards to who receives writing credits on songs. If big publishing checks start arriving for Dany and Pau and Ale is left out, that’s going to be a problem over time. It is for most bands.
Like I said, we don’t know anything about the business side of The Warning, but something tells me Ale is getting the short end of the stick.
I’d love to see this band go all the way, but I just hope they take very good care of their baby sister. Unlike Brad, Tom, and Joey in Aerosmith, Alejandra Villarreal Vélez has a lot of choices. She’s very musical, very beautiful, and could easily go solo and do very well for herself. I hope her two older sisters shut the fuck up every so often and let Ale speak without interruptions. I also hope they dramatically raise her profile because this not an artist that should be in the background.
Ale does not need The Warning to be a star.
Christian I. Duque
