Short version
Ginger Pooley (Reyes) is an American rock musician best known as a bassist and backing vocalist for the band The Smashing Pumpkins. More recently she has co-written two songs with Katy Perry for her Just Eat campaign and her Las Vegas residency, Play. Ginger also co-wrote two songs for the Las Vegas show Awakening at the Wynn. After the Smashing Pumpkins, Ginger played bass for Gwen Stefani and Lea Michele. Ginger is a singer-songwriter who has released solo music under the name Ginger Sling. She was also part of the female punk band The Halo Friendlies. She has toured all over the world and her music has been placed on many television shows and films. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter where she continues to create music for various projects.
Ginger was born in Chicago, Illinois and is of Peruvian and Mexican decent. As an infant she lived in Lima, Peru. She then moved to Southern California when she was three. It was in California where Ginger began playing the bass guitar at the age of 14. Inspired by her friends in garage bands, she began taking bass lessons. Her big influences were Rush and the Beatles. During high school, she played in various garage bands and then joined the all-girl punk band The Halo Friendlies. While playing in the Halo Friendlies, she also attended and graduated from UCLA with a degree in History.
As the bass player of the Halo Friendlies, Ginger recorded on two of the band's album releases, respectively called Acid Wash and Get Real. The band recorded a song for the movie Freaky Friday and received a gold record for the sale of it's soundtrack. The band's music was placed on many television shows including Joan of Arcadia and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Videos for the band include, "Run Away" and "Me Against the World." With the Halos Friendlies, Ginger toured extensively throughout the U.S and Europe. Tours included many years on the Vans Warped Tour and supporting such bands as MXPX, Good Charlotte, Lagwagon, Homegrown, Rancid, Dance Hall Crashers, Funeral for a Friend and No Use For A Name.
After the dissolution of the Halo Friendlies, Ginger began writing songs under the name Ginger Sling. She recorded and released three EP's called Room, Laguna Beach Demos and Ginger Sling, a self titled release. Her music as Ginger Sling was placed in many television shows including Laguna Beach, Teen Mom and Jersey Shore. She also recorded a song for the movie Sky High, that appears in the movie and on the movie soundtrack. As a solo artist she often cited her musical influences as The Beatles and Elvis Costello.
In 2007, Ginger joined the band The Smashing Pumpkins after many months of rehearsals. As the bass player for the Smashing Pumpkins, Ginger was part of many world tours including the Zeitgeist tours and the 20th Anniversary Tour. On these tours the band headlined such festivals as Reading, Leeds, Rock Am Ring and Pink Pop, Live Earth Concert and Verizon Festivals. Ginger is featured in the documentary movie, "If All Goes Wrong," about the band's residency in San Francisco in 2007. She also appears in the Smashing Pumpkins music videos, "That's the Way," "Tarantula" and "G.L.O.W." She received a gold record for the sale of the Zeitgeist album. After a solid 2 years on the road with the band, Ginger decided to amicably leave the band.
Performing with the Smashing Pumpkins.
After leaving the Smashing Pumpkins, Ginger played bass on two Glee Live tours that performed in sold out arenas across the US and Europe. She appears in Glee: The 3D Concert Movie and on the soundtrack for the movie. Ginger has also played bass for artists Gwen Stefani and Lea Michele. With Lea Michele she appeared on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Good Morning America, X-Factor and Ellen. She has also performed live with such artists Slash, Tom Morello, Perry Farrell, Wayne Kramer and Flea. She often plays bass on various projects with her husband and composer Kristopher Pooley. She has also written music for the television show The New Normal.
In 2022, Ginger co-wrote two songs with Katy Perry and Kristopher Pooley. One for Katy’s Just Eat campaign and another for Katy’s Las Vegas Residency, Play. In 2023, Ginger co-wrote two songs for the Las Vegas show Awakening, currently playing at the Wynn. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter where she continues to create music for various projects.