About

Photo by Katie McElhaney

Rebecca Villaneda is a Los Angeles-born writer educated in southern and northern California. She now lives in Santa Barbara, Calif. She is the youngest of four children, all first-generation Americans. Her parents left their roots in Zacatecas, Mexico, in order to raise their family in the United States because they wanted to give their children the best opportunities possible. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism at San Jose State University, and became a writer to raise awareness of social and environmental issues, and because her mother’s passion for the written word was contagious.

Her first celebrity interview was with San Diego rock band Slightly Stoopid, who was discovered by the legendary Brad Nowell of Sublime. She fell in love with music journalism, and sought out any interview she could get with an artist. While writing for a Los Angeles-area beach city newspaper, she had the great pleasure of interviewing “Dream Weaver” singer and writer Gary Wright, Bob Marley’s son Julian Marley, and the great reggae artist, Yellowman.

She was a staff writer for the national online magazine, HispanicBusiness.com, where politicians and international entrepreneurs were her subject matters. These personality types, coupled with musicians, philanthropists, and scientist, have given Rebecca a strong versatile foundation in the art of interviewing.

Her first book, a collection of autobiographical short stories titled “Stories 4 Women,” was a collaboration with three other writers released in November 2010.

For her second book, “The Record Store Book,” she collaborated with photographer Mike Spitz. “The Record Store Book” features 50 independent vinyl record stores in and around Los Angeles. It will be released April 14, 2015 and available for purchase at select retail locations, including Urban Outfitters or various online book stores.

The first moment I held my second book, “The Record Store Book.”
Photo by Julie Simpson Jennings