Hailing from the city of angels on America's west cost, The Mae Shi have experienced some seriously fun times over the years, spreading their righteous gospel on the genius of their band – a truly special musical beast.
Taking the DIY tack to a new level, The Mae Shi have been together since 2002 and have self-released various recordings over the years in America only. For those who need a brief catch up, here's what you've missed out on:
"..four records and 250 shows of busted electronics, spazzier-than-fuck drums, crazy-ass boogie guitar, distorted caveman bass and throat-destroying vocals. You missed us playing in 100 different basements and garages to 100s of different kids. You missed our 59-minute-long debut EP and our 5RC debut full-length, Terrorbird, which was a hyper ADD-afflicted hip-hop concept album about monsters and the Old Testament. You missed six different home-screened t-shirt designs and our 2004 mix tape, which collected our favorite 1200 songs in under 80 minutes."
And there's more..
"You missed Heartbeeps, which was the next step in our self-improvement plan, in which we put our best foot forward and tried to state our case powerfully and succinctly in 15 minutes. You missed both our "Celebration 32 Shows in 30 Days Tour" and our "Victory Lap 43 Shows in 42 Days Tour." You missed our 5RC-released DVD, Lock The Skull, Load The Gun, which documented our first tour and unveiled 33 music videos. You missed our split LP with Rapider Than Horsepower, Do Not Ignore The Potential. You missed shows with Deerhoof and The Mountain Goats and Wives and Xiu Xiu and Fat Day and The Ex and Racebannon and Best Fwends and Wrangler Brutes and Mika Miko."
The Mae Shi don't do things by halves.
The Mae Shi are:
jonathan gray [jon-shi]
william gray [bill-shi]
marcus savino [marcus-mae]
jeffrey byron [jeff-shi]
timothy byron [tim-shi]
brad breeck [brad-shi]
"Yeah, Ok, Vampire Weekend, MGMT and White Denim pretty much made my Oxegen weekend, but why the hell were The Mae-shi left off last week's list [the top 25 bands making America cool again, NME August 2nd?]. They are without doubt THE best live band I've EVER seen. They bring a whole new meaning to audience participation, and sarky references to the Old Testament mean their lyrics have enough onimous wit to make you fall to your knees and worship them as the new saviours of music. Sort it out NME, the future of music comes from LA and is called The Mae-shi. They walk all over Vapire Weekend without touching stakes or garlic, but maybe the odd Omnichord" Simon Mcnaee, Belfast - NME letters page
"No snidey comments here, simply a high-five proffered from my bedroom in east London, sir. You're Damn right" [BP]
