Anya Marina

"I was traumatized on a school bus once. I was seven, on my way to the zoo, along with the rest of the first grade class. We had all been belting out '99 Bottles of Beer' quite happily, actually, when all of a sudden, Mr. Jones (our teacher who doubled as the bus driver) screeched on the brakes, pulling the bus to the side of the road. He turned around to look me dead in the eye and said, 'Anya, if you're going to sing, sing! If you're going to shout, shut up!’' That quarter, I was sent home with a report card that read, 'Anya needs to learn to modulate her shrill voice.' I suppose, that's where I got my 'I'll-show-you' mentality."

The daughter of professors (Psychology, Russian Lit & Math), Marina forged ahead to carve out a career in entertainment. She soon began starring in theatrical productions and was accepted into the prestigious British American Drama Academy (a program taught by Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Anne Jackson, and Eli Wallach). She also attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, and began landing parts in television and independent film. During her study at Santa Clara University where she earned a degree in English, she wandered into the campus' basement radio station, and soon became the host of a popular radio show. "The Void" became such a success that KROQ's sister station, KOME, hired Marina as a fledging on-air staffer. Soon after graduation, Anya's demo tape got into the hands of renegade radio programmer, Michael Halloran at XHRM ("San Diego's Independent Radio") who hired Anya as a primary on-air personality.

While in San Diego, Anya began singing and playing guitar in coffehouses and nightclubs, sharing the stage with everyone from Jason Mraz and Glenn Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) to Rhett Miller (Old 97's), and Juliana Hatfield. After XHRM fell into the hands of larger radio mongers, Anya joined Halloran again at Y107 in LA, then 92/1 in San Diego, and most recently at F.M. 94/9 in San Diego, where she DJ's from 6-10pm weeknights. She also hostsThe Local 94/9 (Sundays 8-10pm), a show devoted to San Diego music.

Anya's acting talents were hilariously showcased in the feature-length comedy "100 Girls," (Michael Davis) in which she plays the eccentric "eyebrow-picker," Rhonda. She continues to play live and win over audiences, and released her full-length debut Miss Halfway in early 2005.