Janis Tanaka | |
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Background information | |
Born | January 9, 1963 |
Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) |
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Janis Tanaka (born January 9, 1963) is an American musician who has worked as a session bassist and on tour with a number of well-known artists including Pink, [3] Fireball Ministry, Hammers of Misfortune, Stone Fox, and L7. She was also a member of Pagan Babies, a band formed by Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland in the 1980s.
Tanaka grew up in Long Beach, California, in a family with several sisters. She took courses at UCLA for one year followed by Long Beach City College [4] and San Francisco State University. Tanaka began playing guitar, violin, and piano in elementary school. [4]
Early bands Tanaka played with include The Jackson Saints and Pagan Babies. [5]
She left Hammers of Misfortune to play with Pink. [6] In 2001, Tanaka appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno supporting Pink. [6]
She has also played in the band Winterthrall. As of 2017, Tanaka was reportedly playing in The Big Meat Combo and in the all female version of Los Angeles-based Femme Fatale. [4] [7]
Tanaka has appeared in several films as herself including L7: Pretend We're Dead, released in 2016 and directed by Sarah Price, and Fireball Ministry: Master of None, released in 2003. She has acted in the films: Live Freaky Die Freaky, Down and Out With Dolls and starred in the film The Year of My Japanese Cousin (1995). [8] She had a starring role in The Year of My Japanese Cousin and received a favorable review of her performance in the San Francisco Chronicle. [9]
Janis Tanaka, bassist with local rockers Stone Fox, belonged briefly to Sugar Baby Doll and never laid eyes on Harrison