Born into a family of artists in Venice, CA, Alina took to performance early on, particularly music and movement. She picked up the guitar at age 6, received a formal modern dance education, and later joined an all-female circus sideshow troupe (breathing fire, walking on broken glass, eating worms) while playing in countless bands. Most notably, this included a four-year stint co-fronting cerebral L.A. pop outfit Body Parts (Father/Daughter Records) as singer and guitarist.