“Pretending Chrissie” A tribute to Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders is an ensemble of professional musicians dedicated to classic representation of The Pretenders music catalogue written and performed by Chrissie Hynde over a span of five decades.
Videos and Gallery
Rose Gill AKA “Wild Rose” (Vocals & Guitar)
Rose Gill has been a performer, musician, rhythm guitarist and singer all her adult life. Her vocal styles include Rock, Motown, Country, Blues and Funk. She has performed on many stages as a lead vocalist, solo singer/guitar artist as well as in various bands including show bands.
For the last 9 years Rose was lead vocalist for the Greg Douglass Band, a classic rock group featuring the former guitarist for the Steve Miller Band, Greg Douglass. She also was back up vocalist for The Pompetous of Love Band, A Tribute to the Steve Miller Band.
Her latest project, “Pretending Chrissie,” A Tribute to Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders, is a great fit for her uncanny natural look alike stature and her “rocker” vocal styling reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde.
Bob Rupple (Lead Guitar & Harmonica)
Bob Rupple grew up in Los Angeles, CA. He began playing piano at the age of 6, which led to trumpet in school and then guitar by the time he was 15 years old. Inspired by the music of the British Invasion, he ultimately became a self-taught guitarist and quickly formed his first Rock & Roll band. The great bands of the Sunset Strip just a few miles away from his home further inspired Bob, who was soon playing guitar in numerous bands throughout SoCal, including on the Strip. Bob also taught guitar while in LA. Bob moved to San Diego, CA in 1983 to raise a family and quickly became part of the local music scene, playing in various bands at the local venues. You may have seen him playing with one of his bands around town!
He lists his influences as the great guitarists of the age, such as Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Keith Richards, Gary Moore, Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh, Carlos Santana, Peter Green and so many more. You get the idea!
Hector Toro (Drums and Backup Vocals)
Hector Toro has been a musician for over 35 years touring, recording, and performing. Starting out in the Bay Area with multiple bands including CBS recording artist The Beat, as well various other recording projects and live shows.
Moving to San Diego he began performing with Greg Douglass of The Steve Miller Band, and recording artist Mark Stuart with the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash. Other artists (over 30 in all) include tribute bands: Fleetwood Max and Country band Lightning Train, James Allen Band, Reggae band “Uplift”, and Jessie Ray and The Haymakers.
Hector is also involved with teaching drums and guitar and worked as a recording engineer and producer as well.
Johnny Rhinestone (Bass & Backup Vocals)
Eric Koch AKA Johnny Rhinestone is a professional musician and has been involved in many bands and music projects playing and recording a variety of music styles from Zydeco to Zeppelin! During the 80’s he was the lead singer and bassist for the band ERTH which was very influenced by music of the time including David Bowie and Simple Minds. Eric plays the exact bass lines note for note, phrase by phrase, as heard on the Pretenders studio recordings. His meter, groove and feel for the Pretenders tribute is exceptional and will make you feel you are listening to the real deal!
Geoff Shell (Keyboards & Backup Vocals)
Geoff Shell is a composer, producer, performer, multi-instrumentalist and educator who graduated from Berklee College of Music Magna Cum Laude in 2005 with a Bachelors of Music in Film Scoring. He got his start scoring independent feature films, composing wind ensemble concert music and was selected from a group of international candidates to work as a composer/sound designer for the Groovy Music series–– a trilogy of music education products published by Sibelius Software (Avid).
Over the next fifteen years, Geoff worked in Chicago as a composer/producer, a piano/guitar teacher and made a name for himself playing in bands as a bass player. He has performed and/or recorded with Kæyra (Caroline Baran), Paderewski Symphony Orchestra, Polarcode, Chicago Afrobeat Project, Tony Allen, Josh Nelson Project, Handler, Liquid Beat Allstars, The Hue and many others. In 2020, Geoff and his family moved to the San Diego area where he is now making a name for himself as a keyboard player. He can regularly be found playing piano at Congregation Beth Israel in La Jolla and is now playing synth/keyboards in Pretending Chrissie.
Dan Renwick (Drums, Percussion)
Born in Ohio, Dan grew up with music as a constant in life, with a mother who played piano and guitar, and a father in radio. He began playing drums and percussion at age ten. A move to New Jersey for junior high brought easy access to the legendary music venues of NYC, just a short train ride away, where he was privileged to witness many of the great rock bands of the late 70’s with his friends. Dan’s dad made sure to balance the experience by taking him to the symphony, the opera (once) and the coolest jazz clubs in town, where Dan once met drumming great Buddy Rich.
Inspired by the likes of Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Who and Pink Floyd, he started playing in high school rock bands and never looked back. Dan has been a familiar face around the San Diego music scene since the early 2000’s, playing with numerous bands ranging from rock to blues to country, and appearing on two albums that received San Diego Music Award nominations. By day, Dan works for a real estate investment firm and is also a happily recovered attorney!
“Pretending Chrissie”
Song List (The Hits)
Back on the Chain Gang 1982
Birds of Paradise
Boots of Chinese Plastic 2008
Brass in Pocket 1979
Cuban Slide 1979
Didn’t Want to Be This Lonely 2020
Day After Day 1987
Don’t Get Me Wrong 1987
Hymn to Her 1980
I Go to Sleep 1981
I’ll Stand by You 1994
Kid 1979
Message of Love 1981
Middle of The Road 1983
Mystery Achievement 1979
My City Was Gone 1984
Never Do That 1990
Night in My Veins 1994
Precious 1979
Stop Your Sobbing 1979
Talk of the Town 1980
Tattooed Love Boys 1979
Thumbelina 1984
The Wait 1981
And many more!
***PLEASE VISIT GALLERY AND VIDEOS PAGE ***
PRETENDING CHRISSIE INTERVIEW ON KUSI JULY 3RD 2021
‘Pretending Chrissie’ performs at KUSI Studios
The Buzz:
“PRETENDING CHRISSIE” is my new favorite thing!! Front row seats to this excellent rock show was exactly what I needed to break the evil spell of the quarantine! The band features AKA “Wild Rose”, on vocals and guitar; Bob Rupple, lead guitar and harmonica; Hector Toro, drums and back-up vocals; Eric Koch AKA “Johnny Rhinestone” on bass and backup vocals; and Mark Knoll on keyboards and backup vocals. This band is tight and well-rehearsed with an outstanding playlist!
If I could give PRETENDING CHRISSIE, the Pretenders cover band TEN THUMBS UP I would! They sound like the real thing and didn’t miss a beat! Every member is a seasoned professional and I will do my best to see this band as often as possible! Considering this show was only the second show they’ve played together as a band; they blew it out of the park! They are arena ready, Vegas ready, or ready for whatever doors fly open for them!
Totally danceable and unbridled Bliss for anyone who loves to dance and sing along with “Chrissie!” The only thing I have left to say is: GET YOURSELF THERE!!!!”
M Lynn
“Former vocalist of The Greg Douglass Band, Rose Gill ventures out into her own band…a tribute to Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders in “PRETENDING CHRISSIE.” She looks the part and sounds great, giving the crowd that FEELING that they are watching the real thing…even if they are JUST PRETENDING!”
Rock N R Olivia, Rag Magazine
“Had an awesome time last night shooting “PRETENDING CHRISSIE” at Fusion downtown Escondido. This tribute band just blew me away- they performed two back to back 90 minute shows with such energy that they had some of the dinner guests up and dancing by their chairs! I didn’t know I was a Pretenders fan until I saw you!”
Jon Naugle Photography
Fabulous night out listening to music with Wild Rose’s new band “Pretending Chrissie.” This band was in the pocket, creating a groove that carried us away to remembering when we could listen to The Pretenders!
P Noeske