| Tina Root | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Bettina Root |
| Alias: | Tina Minero |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California |
| Instrument: | Voice |
| Occupation: | songwriter vocalist |
| Years Active: | 1989-2015, 2024-present |
| Label: | Cleopatra Records Independent |
| Associated Acts: | Switchblade Symphony Tre Lux Small Halo |
| Website: | Official website for Tre Lux |
Tina Root (born Bettina Root), also now known as Tina Minero, is an American classically trained female vocalist and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She was the lead singer of Switchblade Symphony during the mid- to late-1990s.[1] [2] Her latest work included a solo performance and recording project, Tre Lux, and a partnership project, called Small Halo, with guitarist and fellow songwriter George Earth.
Tina Root was born in Los Angeles, California and still resides there. She is a classically trained vocalist with a background in musical theater.[3] She married in June 2002 and has a daughter, Gabriella Star Minero, who was born in June 2007.
She formed the San Francisco-based band Switchblade Symphony in 1989, with composer Susan Wallace. They performed and recorded with several other band members over the years, including guitarists Robin Jacobs and George Earth, and drummers Eric Gebow, and Scott van Shoick. They released several records on Cleopatra Records, including the critically acclaimed albums[3] Serpentine Gallery in 1995, Scrapbook in 1997, Bread and Jam for Frances in 1997 and The Three Calamities in 1999, and performed international tours in support of those albums until the group disbanded in 1999.
In April 2001, she created the solo trip hop project, Tre Lux, performing her first show as Tre Lux in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in January 2002, with the help of San Francisco duo BeatDestruct.[4] She has so far recorded one full-length album as Tre Lux (also known as Tré Lux), entitled A Strange Gathering, released in 2006 and featuring her covers of several other artists' hits, including one from Switchblade Symphony, Bad Trash. In 2008, she reunited musically with former Switchblade Symphony guitarist George Earth to form Small Halo, a project that has so far recorded one self-titled five-song EP, which they released in 2009.[5] [6]
In 2010, Tina recorded vocals on the MC Lars song, Reaping Beauty, inspired by the SEGA game Bayonetta, which was included on the 2011 second re-release of Lars' album 21 Concepts (But a Hit Ain't One).[4] [7] [8] In 2015, she retired from the music scene and became a realtor, although she announced her return to music in early 2024.