Lois Maffeo (professionally known as Lois) is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. Although never achieving mainstream success, she has been closely involved with and influenced many Seattle-based musicians. In 1981, Maffeo began attending Evergreen State College in Olympia, and soon became a popular DJ on KAOS radio, with the female-oriented show Your Dream Girl, before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Multi-Disciplinary Studies in 1986. Having picked up a second-hand guitar in 1985, and learning from Calvin Johnson, her first band was Lumihoops, with Sharon Berman and Jan Brock. They only played live once, at the Smithfield Cafe, but can be heard on the Yoyo Recordings compilation Throw. Her second band, The Cradle Robbers, was formed with future The Spinanes member Rebecca Gates. They released one track on the compilation Red Hot + Bothered/Indie Rock Guide To Dating before disbanding. She then teamed with drummer (and Yoyo Recordings founder) Pat Maley in a band named Courtney Love. There are multiple explanations for the name, but this was before Love herself became famous. The duo would release three well-regarded 7" singles and a few compilation tracks, but no albums. According to Pitchfork Media, Maffeo was an early acolyte of the indie pop movement, as women musicians traded tapes and created their own pop-oriented music culture, instead of blending in with boys in the punk or cock rock genres. After this, Maffeo began her solo career as Lois (or, as she often says, The Lois). She generally appeared with other musicians playing drums and backup, but her group has changed over the years. Some may consider her an anti-folk musician, combining the ethics and politics of punk with acoustic instrumentation, though she generally disdains such simplistic labels. She has worked with musicians such as Donna Dresch, Molly Neuman, Elliott Smith, Brendan Canty and Heather Dunn. Her recordings have been produced and co-produced by artists such as Calvin Johnson and Ian MacKaye. She has occasionally sung with bands Dub Narcotic Sound System, Red Stars Theory and others. After a brief time in Washington DC, she returned to Olympia, and joined Carrie Brownstein, now of Sleater-Kinney, in two bands. Their duo Tommy released one compilation track, "Go Sonics." The Tentacles included Peter Momtchiloff and released one single, "The Touch" (backed with "Louie Louie Got Married"). Beginning in 1999, Maffeo worked mainly as a freelance writer, submitting primarily music-related pieces to The Stranger, The Boston Phoenix, the Portland Mercury, and Salon.com, among others. She also wrote a 96-page chapbook documenting the band history for Beat Happening's Crashing Through box set. She still lives in Olympia, where she works full-time in public relations for a coffee company. She has served as theater manager of the Olympia Film Society. Her sketch comedy performances on opening nights have become a fixture of the Olympia Film Festival. She has also served on the Olympia Arts Council.
X is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1977. Established among the first wave of American punk, the original members are vocalist Exene Cervenka, vocalist/bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer DJ Bonebrake. They released seven studio albums from 1980 to 1993. After a period of inactivity during the mid to late 1990s, they reunited in the early 2000s, and currently tour.
X achieved limited mainstream success, but are considered one of the most revered punk rock bands and, by some critics, one of the best rock bands. One critic also suggests that X are one of the all-time greatest live rock performers. The band received an Official Certificate of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles in acknowledgment of their contributions to Los Angeles music and culture. They were also influential on various genres of music, including punk and folk rock.
In 2003, X's first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift, were ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as being among the 500 greatest albums of all time. (from Wikipedia 12/8/10)
DISCOGRAPHY 1980 - Los Angeles (Slash Records) 1981 - Wild Gift (Slash Records) 1982 - Under The Big Black Sun (Elektra Records) 1983 - More Fun In The New World (Elektra Records) 1985 - Ain't Love Grand! (Elektra Records) 1987 - See How We Are (Elektra Records) 1988 - Live At The Whisky A Go-Go On The Fabulous Sunset Strip (Elektra Records) 1993 - Hey Zeus! (Big Life/Mercury Records) 1995 - Unclogged (Infidelity Records) 1997 - Beyond & Back: The X Anthology (Elektra Records) 2004 - The Best: Make The Music Go Bang! (Rhino/Elektra) 2005 - Live In Los Angeles (Shout Factory!)
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