{{Short description|Canadian bassist}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians --> | name = Talena Atfield | image = Talena Atfield.jpg | caption = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1983|1|14}} | birth_place = | origin = | death_date = <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date 1st) --> | death_place = | instrument = Bass | genre = Nu metal, industrial | occupation = Musician | years_active = 1999–2009 | past_member_of = Kittie, Amphibious Assault | website = }}
'''Talena A. L. Atfield''' (born January 14, 1983) is a retired Canadian bass guitarist and Indigenous persons historian of the University of Waterloo, best known as a former member of the heavy metal group Kittie.<ref name="bravewords.com" />
== Early life == Atfield grew up in London, Ontario, the elder sister of two children. At age 14, she received her first guitar as a Christmas present from her parents, inspiring her to play music later on. She cites Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Kiss, and Guns N' Roses as influences,<ref>{{Cite web |title=TaLeNa |url=http://www.elfjesland.freeservers.com/custom2.html |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.elfjesland.freeservers.com}}</ref> as her parents introduced her to their music at a young age. Throughout her youth, she would float around memberships with various bands as a guitarist and drummer, but none would persist past a few gigs.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://talenaandryknow.tripod.com/id1.html | title=Talena's Bio }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fun Facts About Talena (2001) |url=https://www.angelfire.com/biz6/talenagoddess/facts.html |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.angelfire.com}}</ref>
== Career == === With Kittie === In September 1999, after receiving a phone call from Mercedes Lander, the drummer for Kittie, Atfield was asked to replace Tanya Candler as their bassist had departed. Talena had been a supporter of Kittie and was happy to join them, so she learned how to play bass guitar in two weeks to go out to New York and film the video for their hit song, "Brackish". Atfield plays bass on the re-recording of "Paperdoll" on Kittie's debut album ''Spit'' (1999),<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hefflon |first=Scott |date=2000 |title=Kittie |url=https://archive.org/details/juggernaut-3-2000/page/32/mode/2up |magazine=Juggernaut |publisher=Implosion Publishing Inc. |location=Orlando |pages=32, 34–37 |via=Internet Archive |issue=3 |oclc=858943196}}</ref> which was reissued with new artwork featuring her in place of Candler in 2000.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharpe-Young |first=Garry |title=Metal: The Definitive Guide |publisher=Jawbone Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-906002-01-5 |page= |pages=471–472 |chapter=Kittie |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/metaldefinitiveg0000shar/page/470 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Atfield performed on their second album ''Oracle'' (2001) and the band's accompanying live appearances.
During her tenure with Kittie, her primary equipment consisted of an ''Ampeg'' SVT-CL amp (Spit and early Oracle era), an Ampeg B5R amp (later Oracle era), and an Ampeg SVT-810E cabinet as well as an ''LTD'' F-205 bass (early) and an LTD B-205 (later) during the Spit era, and a custom ''B.C. Rich'' Widow 5-string bass during the Oracle era.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Talena Atfield |url=https://equipboard.com/pros/talena-atfield |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=equipboard.com |language=en}}</ref> These pieces of equipment would be revoked after quitting the band. She initially used a pick, but switched to fingerstyle picking shortly before the Oracle era.
On March 18, 2002, Atfield left Kittie, and was replaced by ex-Spine member Jennifer Arroyo two days later.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-02-03 |title=Prick Magazine - Kittie Feature |url=http://www.prickmag.net/kittiefeature.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030203064741/http://www.prickmag.net/kittiefeature.html |archive-date=February 3, 2003 |access-date=2025-02-22}}</ref> Atfield was involved in early photoshoots for the documentary film ''Kittie: Origins/Evolutions'' (2017), but ultimately declined to appear in the film.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biography |url=https://kittieonline.com/bio/ |access-date=February 23, 2024 |website=Kittie Online |quote=The trailer promising never seen before footage saw the return of Jenn, Fallon, Tanya & Talena, though Talena ultimately decided that she didn’t want to take part in the documentary.}}</ref>
=== After Kittie === Atfield was also a member of Fallon Bowman's Amphibious Assault industrial music project, and made contributions to album ''District Six'' and EP ''On Better Days And Sin-Eating'' in 2003 and 2006, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gausten |first=Joel |title=Surviving 'Spit:' Fallon Bowman on Life after Kittie |url=http://www.joelgausten.com/2018/03/surviving-spit-fallon-bowman-on-life.html |access-date=2025-02-22 |language=en}}</ref>
Atfield served on a judging panel for ''America's Hot Musician'', a reality talent competition for instrumental musicians, alongside Duke Ellington Orchestra alumnus Gregory Charles Royal and National Symphony Orchestra violinist Marissa Regni. The show was to air on the Oxygen Network in July 2007. An attorney representing the current incarnation of Kittie served American Youth Symphony (producers of ''America's Hot Musician'') a cease-and-desist letter for their use of clips from the band's video "What I Always Wanted" in the opening sequence of the show.<ref name="roadrunnerrecords.com" />
After retiring from the music industry in 2009, Atfield would go on to receive a doctorate In Anthropology at the University of Toronto, and currently specializes in Indigenous relations and history.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://uwaterloo.ca/history/profiles/talena-atfield | title=Talena Atfield | History }}</ref> In a July 2022 interview with Media Relations, it is revealed that she is a member of the Kanien'kehá:ka Nation of the Six Nations of the Grand River, an Indigenous peoples society primarily based in Canada.<ref name="mediarelations.io" />
== References == {{Reflist | colwidth = | refs =
<ref name="roadrunnerrecords.com">{{cite web| url =http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=72988| title =KITTIE Attorney Serves 'America's Hot Musician' Cease-And-Desist Letter – May 21, 2007| author =Blabbermouth| year =2007| work =roadrunnerrecords.com| publisher =Roadrunner Records| archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20090330160007/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=72988| archivedate =March 30, 2009| accessdate =December 5, 2007| url-status =dead}}</ref>
<ref name="mediarelations.io">{{cite web| url =https://uwaterloo.ca/indigenous/news/q-and-talena-atfield-reclaiming-indigenous-histories| title =Q and A with Talena Atfield: Reclaiming Indigenous histories – July, 2022| author =MediaRelations| year =2007| work =mediarelations.io }}</ref>
<ref name="bravewords.com">{{cite news | title = NEWS > Former KITTIE Bassist Talena Atfield On Judges Panel For America's Hot Musician | first = Martin | last = Popoff | authorlink = Martin Popoff | url = http://www.bravewords.com/news/70360 | newspaper = Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles | publisher = Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles | location = Toronto | issn = 1705-3781 | oclc = 57191652 | date = July 19, 2007 | page = | pages = | at = | accessdate = February 24, 2011 | quote = | archiveurl = | archivedate = | volume = | issue = }}</ref>
}}
== External links == * {{MusicBrainz artist|id=864f0676-3c72-4dd4-bbe7-12f423e1dcac|name=Talena Atfield}}
{{Kittie}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atfield, Talena}} Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century First Nations women Category:20th-century Haudenosaunee people Category:21st-century First Nations women Category:21st-century Haudenosaunee people Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Canadian heavy metal bass guitarists Category:Canadian rock bass guitarists Category:Canadian women bass guitarists Category:Musicians from London, Ontario Category:20th-century Canadian bass guitarists Category:21st-century Canadian bass guitarists Category:20th-century Canadian guitarists Category:21st-century Canadian guitarists Category:Kittie members Category:Canadian Mohawk musicians Category:Canadian Mohawk women Category:Women in metal Category:20th-century Canadian women guitarists Category:21st-century Canadian women guitarists Category:Six Nations of the Grand River people Category:21st-century First Nations musicians