The Warning

by

Summerfest

Sisters? Forming a rock band? It's not an unprecedented idea. But unlike forebears like Fanny and Heart, The Warning's Daniela Villarreal Vélez (guitar, piano) and her siblings Paulina (drums) and Alejandra (bass) make for a self-contained unit without non-familial members.

The uniqueness surrounding their coming together as a band doesn't end there, however. Other groups may have benefitted from their members having played the Rock Band video game. Few others have likely merited thumbs-up from the band whose song they performed via that popular video game after going viral on YouTube. That was the case with The Warning's rendition of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and the Bay Area thrashers' guitarist, Kirk Hammett, giving his endorsement of Paulina's skills behind her kit.

From there, it's been a fairly charmed path for The Warning, albeit one that has largely bypassed the step of saturation play on commercial hard rock radio.  It's not that their melodic power trio attack wouldn't fit there; they have had the occasional hit there. But exposure on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, opening for acts including Foo Fighters, Halestorm, and Guns N' Roses, a Pepsi endorsement in their native Mexico, giving a TEDx talk number among the ways they have bypassed the need for much airplay.

And speaking of their Hispanic heritage, many of their releases include at least one song in Spanish, adding a level of versatility without relegating The Warning to rock en Español. And though Daniela and Alejandra often sing of darkness, conflict and confrontation with self and others—on brand for metal—there is a kind of wholesomeness about seeing three sisters rocking out on stage without exploiting their sexuality, as some women in their genre do. The Warning should provide just the kind of metallic experience befitting a Summerfest Saturday night.