Steven Shane McDonald (born May 24, 1967) is an American rock musician, best known as the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

guitarist in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

band

Redd Kross Redd Kross is an American Rock music, rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steven Shane McDonald, Steve McDonald while Steve was still i ...

. He is a founding member of the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band OFF! – serving as a member from 2009 to 2021 – as well as bassist for

Melvins Melvins (sometimes the Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Primarily a trio, they have also performed as a quartet, with eith ...

since 2015. McDonald has appeared in numerous film projects with his older brother Jeff McDonald, including the 1984 film '' Desperate Teenage Lovedolls'' and its sequel '' Lovedolls Superstar''; and the 1990 film '' Spirit of '76''.

Career

Steven McDonald began his career in 1978, when he and his brother Jeff were 11 and 14 respectively. During those times, they lived in

Hawthorne, California Hawthorne is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city subregion of the Los Angeles metropolitan area commonly known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay. As of the 2020 United States cens ...

and were discovering underground music through ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American rock music magazine and entertainment company, founded in Detroit, whose initial print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor ...

'' and ''Rock Scene'' magazines. Their real inspiration for the punk rock music began with Black Flag. Despite their age, The Flag added them to their member list. Soon after, they formed a band

and performed their first show titled "Red Cross" at the eighth-grade graduation of one of their classmates. McDonald produced an album by

The Format The Format was an American indie rock band, formed by vocalist Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means (musician), Sam Means. Their style can be considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1 ...

, '' Dog Problems'', on which he played bass and sang backup vocals on a few tracks. He later produced, engineered, and mixed fun.'s debut album, '' Aim and Ignite'', as well as performing as a bassist and backup vocalist on some of the songs. He was also one of the various band members on the original ''Tenacious D'' album, along with

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

; keyboardist Page McConnell of

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

; guitarist Warren Fitzgerald with band frontmen

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

and Kyle Gass. He appeared with Tenacious D on ''

MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

'' playing "Lee" and "Tribute". McDonald also featured briefly on bass in Kyle Gass' side-project Trainwreck in 2002 and 2003, under the pseudonym "Slim Watkins", before being succeeded by John Spiker. In the summer of 2002 he became so excited about

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...

' new album, ''

White Blood Cells White blood cells (scientific name leukocytes), also called immune cells or immunocytes, are cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign entities. White blood cells are genera ...

'', that he recorded bass lines to two songs of the typically bass-less duo's work. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' and other outlets reported on it and due to overwhelming demand he added bass to all of the songs, posted the new creation online, and allowed people to download the tracks for free. He called it an art project named Redd Blood Cells which reached a peak of 60,000 downloads in a single day, causing the server to crash from the traffic. In 2006, MacDonald joined Sparks on tour in support of their album '' Hello Young Lovers''. His first collaboration with Sparks was during the 2004 Meltdown Festival in London, curated by Morrissey, where Sparks were invited to play the complete albums "Kimono My House" (1974) and "Lil' Beethoven" (2002). Wilson also played on the 2006 album "Hello Young Lovers". In 2015, it was announced that McDonald would be joining the

. He recorded four songs with the band, which were first released on the limited edition EP ''War Pussy'' and later included on the album '' Basses Loaded''. Their first full release with McDonald, a double album titled '' A Walk with Love & Death'', was released on July 7, 2017. McDonald co-wrote "Embrace the Rub" with his wife Anna Waronker of that dog. and

Josh Klinghoffer Josh Adam Klinghoffer (born October 3, 1979) is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, '' I'm with You'' (2011) and '' The Geta ...

of the

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

Personal life

Steven is married to that dog. vocalist Anna Waronker.

Partial discography

Redd Kross

* ''Red Cross'' (1980; EP) *'' Born Innocent'' (1982) *'' Teen Babes from Monsanto'' (1984; EP) *'' Neurotica'' (1987) *''

Third Eye The third eye (also called the mind's eye or inner eye) is an invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, supposed to provide perception beyond ordinary sight. In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna (or brow) chakra. In bot ...

'' (1990) *'' Phaseshifter'' (1993) *'' Show World'' (1997) *'' Researching the Blues'' (2012) *'' Beyond the Door'' (2019) *''

'' AKA ''The Redd Album'' (2024)

Off!

*''

First Four EPs ''First Four EPs'' is a compilation album by the band Off! which features former Black Flag and Circle Jerks Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The ...

'' (2010) *'' Off!'' (2012) *'' Wasted Years'' (2014)

Melvins

*'' Basses Loaded'' (2016; select songs) *'' A Walk with Love & Death'' (2017) *''Steven McDonald'' (2017; solo EP) *'' Pinkus Abortion Technician'' (2018) *'' Five Legged Dog'' (2021) *''Bad Mood Rising'' (2022) *''Tarantula Heart'' (2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Steven Shane 1967 births American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Living people Redd Kross members Tenacious D members American punk rock bass guitarists Alternative rock bass guitarists Musicians from Hawthorne, California Melvins members Off! members 20th-century American guitarists Trainwreck with Kyle Gass members Waronker family