The Mae Shi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Mae Shi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Genres | Noise rock |
| Labels | Kill Rock Stars |
| Members | Tim Byron Jeff Byron Brad Breeck Jonathan Gray |
The Mae Shi are an experimental punk band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. They were one of the last bands to be championed by John Peel before his death in 2004.
Contents |
[edit] History
The band was initially formed by Tim Byron and Ezra Buchla who had known each other for years, having spent time growing up in the Los Angeles suburb of Claremont together -- Jeff Byron and Buchla were classmates at Claremont High School and close friends. Originally, Tim played guitar, Buchla played a collection of 30-year-old Buchla modules and sang, and a short list of drummers accompanied them. When Jeff graduated from college, he joined the band on guitar and Tim moved to bass. After a few months of practicing together, the three met Brad Breeck, who was studying at the California Institute of Arts with Buchla and had performed unauthorized versions of John Zorn's game piece Cobra in an ensemble led by Buchla (the ensemble also featured future Mae Shi drummer Corey Fogel).
The band began performing live in 2003. More shows throughout Los Angeles followed, and the band gained a reputation for their high-energy performances. Soon after, they released their first EP, To Hit Armor Class Zero, on the label Tim Byron runs, Join or Die. They embarked on a tour in the summer of 2003, playing shows up and down the west coast. In Olympia, WA, they met Kill Rock Stars/5RC founder Slim Moon, and Moon and the band kept in touch after the show.
Through the fall of 2003 and winter of 2004 they worked on their debut LP, recording songs in their living rooms and bedrooms using borrowed gear. The four wrote songs together, with each member collaborating on song structure, lyrics and melody. They sent a CD-R of the record to Moon in April 2004, and one week later in an Instant Messenger conversation, he offered to release it on Kill Rock Stars' sister label 5 Rue Christine. Terrorbird was released July 27, 2004, and the band embarked on a 31-day, 32-show tour to promote it. With no booking agent, they relied on contacts from friends and enticed people who didn't regularly book bands to "book" the Mae Shi to perform at their special function. The band offered to play any birthday party, wedding, or bar mitzvah for $100. The tour was a success, and the band got the chance to play with bands they had long adored, such as Fat Day and Rapider Than Horsepower. To promote their first LP Terrorbird and as a way to say thanks to their mostly-Los Angeles-based fanbase, they released The Mae Shi 2004 Mixtape. The tape is 70 minutes long and collects their favorite parts from their favorite 2000 songs, and was written about by Sasha Frere Jones and The Onion.
In 2005, they released an EP (titled Heartbeeps for the U.S. version released by 5RC and Go Zbra by Swedish label Deleted Art) and a split LP called Do Not Ignore the Potential on Narshardaa in Europe (released in January 2006 on Strictly Amateur Films in the U.S). They embarked on a five-week tour of Europe in May 2005. Upon returning to the US in June 2005, they were named "best punk/hardcore band" in the LA Weekly's 2005 Music Awards.
In October 2005, they embarked on another US tour. Corey Fogel, who joined the band in the middle of their European tour as a mid-tour replacement for Brad Breeck when he suffered a family emergency, joined the band full-time as drummer. Breeck now plays guitar, keyboards and drums. The band was extremely short on money when the tour started, and to help fund the tour they released two limited edition CD-Rs, I and II.
Their debut DVD Lock the Skull, Load the Gun was released on April 11 2006, on 5RC. It combined 32 music videos made by friends and fans with an hour-long tour documentary chronicling their Celebration Tour.
On the 7th of July 2006, it was announced that Buchla left the band approximately two months before. Fogel has also since left the band. Both departing members are now members of Gowns. Breeck has returned to playing the drums. It was announcd in September/October 2006 that Jonathan Gray had joined the band as singer/guitarist.
[edit] Previous Members
- Ezra Buchla
- Corey Fogel
[edit] Discography
Albums
- Terrorbird (2004)
Compilations
Singles and EPs
- To Hit Armor Class Zero (2003)
- Heartbeeps/Go Zbra (2005)
- Do Not Ignore The Potential (split EP with Rapider Than Horsepower) (2006)
DVDs
- Lock The Skull, Load The Gun (2006)
