Caralee McElroy (born December 27, 1983) is a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based American multi-instrumentalist who has played in the bands

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name co ...

, XXL, and

Cold Cave Cold Cave is the moniker for the music of Wesley Eisold, described as a "collage of darkwave, noise, and synthpop." A number of reviewers note the affinity with early 1980s post-punk and early synthpop, in particular Joy Division and New Orde ...

Biography

McElroy was born in

Olympia, WA Olympia is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County, Washington, Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a c ...

and was raised in

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

and

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. She grew up immersed in both music and the visual arts.Caralee McElroy Bio at CaraleeMcElroy.com
/ref> Her father, Brent, is a

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

and builds acoustic guitars.

Music

At seven, McElroy started to study the flute, and throughout her school years, she picked up the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, and

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Xiu Xiu

In 2003, McElroy met her long-lost cousin, Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu. He needed a multi-instrumentalist, so she auditioned and joined Xiu Xiu during their ''

Fabulous Muscles ''Fabulous Muscles'' is the third album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on February 17, 2004 on 5 Rue Christine. The album marked a change in the band's sound, described as a depressive mix between experimental rock and synth-pop. ...

'' tour in 2004. McElroy left Xiu Xiu in May 2009.

Cold Cave

In February 2009, Caralee joined the band

. She left in early 2010.

Other activities and collaborations

McElroy appeared on recordings for

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (CFTPA) was the musical solo-project of musician Owen Ashworth (born April 22, 1977) of Redwood City, California. CFTPA was active from 1997 to 2010, and released five studio albums, alongside numerous other re ...

in 2006. As of 2009, she has been collaborating on a yet-to-be-named musical project with

Chris Garneau Chris Garneau (born November 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Since releasing his debut album, '' Music for Tourists'', Garneau has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Europe, and Asia. Garneau cites Jeff ...

.Chris Garneau: The New Gay Interview
May 27, 2009.

Discography

;with

*2004 – "Fleshettes" CD single *2005 – '' La Forêt'' *2006 – '' The Air Force'' *2007 – ''

Remixed & Covered ''Remixed & Covered'' is a 2007 double album by Xiu Xiu. One disc contains cover versions of the band's songs, whilst the other contains remixes of their originals. Track listing Disc One (''Covered'') #Larsen - "Mousey Toy" (originally from ' ...

'' *2008 - ''

Women as Lovers ''Women as Lovers'' is the sixth studio album by American avant-garde band Xiu Xiu. It was released on January 29, 2008, by Kill Rock Stars, and shares its title with the Martin Chalmers translation of Elfriede Jelinek's 1975 novel '' Die Li ...

'' ;with XXL (Xiu Xiu Larsen) *2005 – '' Ciautistico!'' *2007 – ''

¿Spicchiology? ''¿Spicchiology?'' is the second album from XXL, the collaborative effort of experimental rock bands Larsen and Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, Californ ...

'' ;with

*2009 - ''Electronic Dreams'' cassette *2009 - ''Cremations'' CD *2009 - ''Stars Explode'' split cassette with Prurient *2009 - ''Easel and Ruby'' 12" single *2009 - ''Love Comes Close'' CD/LP ;with

*2006 - ''Graceland'' *2006 - ''Young Shields''

References

External links

* *
Caralee McElroy Discography at CD Universe
{{DEFAULTSORT:McElroy, Caralee American multi-instrumentalists Musicians from Seattle Musicians from Modesto, California Musicians from Olympia, Washington 1983 births Living people American women in electronic music Guitarists from California Guitarists from Washington (state) 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists