Michelle Mae
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Michelle Mae is an American
musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
from the state of
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
, who is known for playing in
rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
groups such as The Make-Up and
Weird War Weird War, briefly known as Scene Creamers, is an indie rock band based out of Washington, D.C. The current lineup consists of Ian Svenonius on vocals, Michelle Mae on bass guitar, Alex Minoff on guitar, and Sebastian Thomson on drums. Weird ...
.


Biography

Mae began playing with underground bands in
Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...
in the mid-1990s, including a single recording with Witchy Poo, and a period with
Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but it was orig ...
artists
The Frumpies The Frumpies were an American lo-fi punk rock band formed in 1992 in Olympia, Washington. The original line-up consisted of singers/guitarists Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Billy Karren (all of whom were also a part of the riot grrrl band Bikin ...
before moving to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
to help form The Make-Up in 1995. After The Make-Up dissolved in 2000, Mae joined
Weird War Weird War, briefly known as Scene Creamers, is an indie rock band based out of Washington, D.C. The current lineup consists of Ian Svenonius on vocals, Michelle Mae on bass guitar, Alex Minoff on guitar, and Sebastian Thomson on drums. Weird ...
with some of her former Make-Up band mates. Her style is heavily funk inflected, influenced by
Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...
's Billy "Bass" Nelson,
Larry Graham Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bass guitar, bassist and baritone singer, with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station. In 1980, he released the si ...
, and
The Slits The Slits were a punk/post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma Rom ...
, as well as
Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
stalwarts
Dead Moon Dead Moon was an American rock band formed in 1987 in Portland, Oregon. The band consisted of singer/guitarist Fred Cole, singer/bassist Toody Cole and drummer Andrew Loomis. Dead Moon initially disbanded in 2006, before reuniting in 2014 and ...
. Typically focusing on the bass guitar, in
Weird War Weird War, briefly known as Scene Creamers, is an indie rock band based out of Washington, D.C. The current lineup consists of Ian Svenonius on vocals, Michelle Mae on bass guitar, Alex Minoff on guitar, and Sebastian Thomson on drums. Weird ...
she plays a
Fender Jazz Bass The Fender Jazz Bass (often shortened to "J-Bass") is the second model of Bass guitar, electric bass guitar created by Leo Fender. It is distinct from the Fender Precision Bass, Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midra ...
through a
Sunn Sunn (stylized in all lowercase as sunn) is a brand of musical instrument amplifiers based in Tualatin, Oregon, United States. History In early 1963, the Kingsmen, a band based in Portland, Oregon, became known for their hit version of th ...
cabinet, though in The Make-Up she often played
Hagström Hagström () is a musical instrument manufacturer in Älvdalen, Dalecarlia, Sweden. Their original products were accordions that they initially imported from Germany and then Italy before opening their own facility in 1932. During the late 19 ...
and
Epiphone Epiphone () is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in İzmir, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over ...
guitars through Kustom amplifiers. Mae is based in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, where she continues to work as a musician and practitioner of
mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...
.


Discography


Witchy Poo


7 inch singles

*''Mixed Metaphor'' (Kill Rock Stars/5RC) (released 1995, recorded 1992–1994)


The Frumpies


Albums

*''Frumpie One Piece'' (Kill Rock Stars/5RC) (1998)


7 inch singles

*''Babies & Bunnies'' (Kill Rock Stars/5RC) (1993) *''Safety First'' (Wiiija) (1993)


The Make-Up


Studio albums

*'' Destination: Love - Live! At Cold Rice'' (Dischord) (1996) *'' Sound Verite'' (K Records) (1997) *'' In Mass Mind'' (Dischord) (1998) *'' Save Yourself'' (K Records) (1999) *'' I Want Some'' (singles compilation) (K Records) (1999)


Live albums

*'' After Dark'' (Dischord) (1997) *''
Untouchable Sound - Live! ''Untouchable Sound'' is the sixth album by The Make-Up. Released in 2006, six years after the band became inactive and six years before they would reunite for the first time, it is their second live album (although "live" sounds were added to ...
'' (Drag City/Sea Note) (2006)


DVD / video

*''Blue is Beautiful'' (included on '' In Film/On Video'') (Dischord) (1998) *'' In Film/On Video'' (Dischord) (2006)


Weird War


Studio albums

*''
Weird War Weird War, briefly known as Scene Creamers, is an indie rock band based out of Washington, D.C. The current lineup consists of Ian Svenonius on vocals, Michelle Mae on bass guitar, Alex Minoff on guitar, and Sebastian Thomson on drums. Weird ...
'' (Drag City) (2002) *'' I Suck on that Emotion'' (as Scene Creamers) (Drag City) (2003) *'' If You Can't Beat 'Em, Bite 'Em'' (Drag City) (2004) *''
Illuminated by the Light ''Illuminated by the Light'' is the fourth album by Weird War, said to be their best. When asked about the album's title, Svenonius has responded "Illuminated By The Light just means lit by the light. It’s like being fed by the food." Trac ...
'' (Drag City) (2005)


DVD / video

*appears on '' Burn to Shine 01: Washington DC 01.14.2004'' (Trixie) (2005)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mae, Michelle American rock bass guitarists American women guitarists American women bass guitarists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Guitarists from Washington (state) The Frumpies members Make-Up (American band) members Weird War members 21st-century American women