Mae is an American rock band that formed in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience", based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...
.
History
Early years with Tooth and Nail (2001–2006)
Jacob Marshall and
Dave Elkins
Dave Elkins (born Dave Gimenez) is an American musician from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the band Mae. His other notable musical projects include Sky's The Limit and Schematic.
Career Sky's t ...
began what would become Mae by writing their first song, "Embers and Envelopes", in Marshall's living room. The band signed with
Tooth and Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today. It is home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoat ...
and released their first album, ''
Destination: Beautiful'', in 2003. They released their second full-length album, ''
The Everglow
''The Everglow'' is the second studio album released by the American rock band Mae. The album is designed as a Picture book, storybook, including illustrations for each song inside the booklet. With its story-like nature, ''The Everglow'' is cons ...
'', in 2005. The band toured extensively to promote it, and also performed on the
Vans Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
. Mae re-released ''The Everglow'' in 2006, adding three new songs and a two-hour DVD.
Move to Capitol, ''Singularity'', and ''(m)(a)(e)'' EPs (2006–2012)
Later in 2006, the band signed to
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
for their third full-length album. Mae began recording the album in the fall of 2006, working with producer
Howard Benson
Howard Benson is an American music producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy Award in 2007 and 2008.
Early life and education
Benson was born and raised in a middle-class family in greater Philadel ...
(who has produced albums for
Saosin
Saosin is an American rock band formed in Orange County, California in 2003 by Beau Burchell, Justin Shekoski, Zach Kennedy, and Anthony Green. The band released their first EP, ''Translating the Name'', in 2003. That year, vocalist Anthony Gre ...
,
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...
,
Blindside, and
Relient K
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman Board Message during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after ...
). The album, titled ''
Singularity'', was released on August 14, 2007. On June 19, 2007, the band released the first single from ''Singularity'', "Sometimes I Can't Make It Alone".
On September 24, 2007 Padgett and Sweitzer parted ways with Mae.
The following year, Mae announced that they had split ways with Capitol Records. They also stated that they would embark on a new, experimental project, releasing one new song for each month of 2009. Each song would be available to download on their website for a minimum donation of $1, with proceeds going to humanitarian projects of Mae's choosing. Additionally, they would be compiling the monthly songs into three separate EPs entitled ''
(m)orning'', ''
(a)fternoon'' and ''
(e)vening'', respectively.
In July 2009, Mae announced they were starting their own label called "Cell Records" through which they would release their three-EP set. In order to get in-store distribution Mae returned to their original label Tooth and Nail Records and signed a distribution agreement with the label. The ''(m)orning'' EP was released in stores and online on September 22, 2009. There was a limited edition
scratch-and-sniff
Scratch and sniff technology generally refers to stickers or paperboard items that have been treated with a fragrant coating. When scratched, the coating releases an odor that is normally related to the image displayed under the coating. The techn ...
disk that was only available on their spring US tour and which was scented like the ocean (the band encouraged members in the crowd of their live shows to smell the disc during their song "The Ocean"). Mae released the ''(a)fternoon'' EP in stores and online March 30, 2010. The final EP, ''(e)vening'', was initially available in a limited edition on the band's "Goodbye, Goodnight" tour. The EP was then released in stores and online on March 8, 2011 bundled with a
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
of their hometown farewell show filmed at
The NorVa
The NorVa is a performing venue located in Norfolk, Virginia, the name being a syllabic abbreviation of the city and state of its location.
About
The theatre was the brainchild of local music venue entrepreneurs Bill Reid and Rick Mersel, who ...
in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
. The farewell show features 20 songs, with songs from each of their full-length records and their three most recent EPs.
On May 7, 2010 word began spreading of Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer rejoining Mae for their upcoming fall tour. On June 19, 2010, Mae played a show in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, the first show since 2007 that included both Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer. On June 22, 2010, Mae's Dave Elkins confirmed on the band's
forums that Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer had reunited with Mae.
On June 28, 2010 Mae announced that their upcoming "Goodbye, Goodnight" Tour would be their last for the foreseeable future, marking their indefinite hiatus. On August 23, 2010, the newly reunited Mae including Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer played their first show back home in the US at
Eureka College
Eureka College is a private liberal arts college in Eureka, Illinois, that is related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Enrollment in 2018 was approximately 567 students.
Eureka College was the third college in the Unite ...
in
Eureka, Illinois
Eureka is a city in Olio Township, Woodford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,295 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Woodford County. Eureka is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Eureka is ...
, evidently gearing up for the Goodbye, Goodnight tour. On Saturday November 27, 2010, the band played what was billed as its last show at The NorVa. The show was filmed to be released on DVD. What were believed at the time to be Mae's actual final performances consisted of two shows played on February 23 and 24, 2011 at the
Shibuya
Shibuya ( 渋谷 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station.
As of April 1 ...
and
Shinsaibashi
is a district in the Chūō-ku ward of Osaka, Japan and the city's main shopping area. At its center is , a covered shopping street, that is north of Dōtonbori and Sōemonchō, and parallel and east of Mido-suji street. Associated with Shins ...
locations of Club Quattro in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. However, in late December 2011, the band announced on its website that it would play eight shows in the
UK and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
as part of the Goodbye, Goodnight tour from January 3–10, 2012.
Continued touring, return to Tooth & Nail, and ''Multisensory Aesthetic Experience'' (2012–present)
On February 21–23, 2013, Mae played a three show tour to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the band's album ''
Destination: Beautiful''.
Two shows took place in
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
and one in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. The shows consisted of the band playing their first album in its entirety. At the second Virginia Beach show, current
E Street Band
The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...
saxophonist and early Mae member Jacob Clemons made a guest appearance on the band's song "Tisbury Lane" during encore.
On June 7, 2014 Mae played an online show via
stageit
Stageit is a web-based performance venue headquartered in Hollywood, California. It hosts paid performances by musical artists who perform live via webcam. Artists choose when they want to perform, for how long, and how much they want to charge. T ...
. During the concert it was announced that Mae would be reuniting in 2015 to complete a reunion tour in commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of ''The Everglow''. They also confirmed that they were re-recording several songs for a pressing of ''
Destination: B-Sides'' on
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
rumored to be released via
Spartan Records
Spartan Records was founded by John T. Frazier in Seattle, Washington in January 2007. It is currently home to the bands Schematic, Barren Womb, Ourlives, Shy, Low, and several others. Prior to founding Spartan, Frazier was the director of mar ...
late in the summer of 2014.
''Multisensory Aesthetic Experience'', and was released on November 30, 2018 through the band's original record company,
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today. It is home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoat ...
. The inspiration for this album came after the band had created a large-scale
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
experience at the
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
Under30 Summit in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. The event took place at the historic
Tower of David
The Tower of David ( he, מגדל דוד, Migdál Davíd), also known as the Citadel ( ar, القلعة, al-Qala'a), is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.
The citadel that stands today dates t ...
. Dave Elkins recalled,“We performed in front of 650/700 people who all took their smartphones, put them in these cardboard
viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and, in many cases, to focus the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main ...
s and all the visuals that they were seeing were in
virtual reality 360 hich
Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
were accommodating the music that we had written and recorded just to accommodate this experience.”
On June 26, 2018 Mae announced a fall 2018 tour which included "MAE Day" in select cities. The "MAE Day" event consisted of a short video, discussion with the band, listening party, shared meal, VR experience, and additional multi-sensory experiences. On November 27, 2018 Mae announced via a
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
post an early 2019 tour on the
west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
, with the final dates in Japan. In November 2019, the band announced on a Facebook post the "Multisensory Aesthetic (360) Experience", a partnership with
TriBeCa Film Institute
The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) is a year-round non-profit arts organization founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff, based in New York.
The Tribeca Film Institute was created in 2003 in the wake of September 11, 2001. TFI ta ...
. On August 24, 2021, Jacob Marshall announced his departure from the band via Mae's Facebook page.
Members
Current
*
Dave Elkins
Dave Elkins (born Dave Gimenez) is an American musician from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the band Mae. His other notable musical projects include Sky's The Limit and Schematic.
Career Sky's t ...
(born Dave Gimenez) – lead vocals, guitar (2001–present)
* Zach Gehring – guitar (2003–present)
Touring musicians
* Josiah Schlater – bass (from the bands Tokyo and Color)
* Robert Smith – keyboard (from the bands Tokyo and Musicplayer)
* David Pogge – bass (for the (a)fternoon tour)
* Tyler Strickland – guitar (for the (a)fternoon tour)
* Matt Beck – guitar (initial tour, replaced by member Zach Gehring)
* Drew Smyser – bass (winter 2017 shows, from the band
Code Machine)
* Geoffrey Mutchnik - keyboard (2018-2021)
* Kipp Wilde - keyboard (2017-2018, 2021–present, from the band Windsor Drive)
* Patrick Ryan – bass and guitar (mid 2017–2021)
* Josh Grigsby - drums (2021–present, from the band
Houston Calls
Houston Calls was an American rock band, based in Rockaway, New Jersey, United States. They formed in 2003 and were signed to Rushmore Records (a subsidiary of Drive-Thru Records). On June 9, 2009, they announced their official breakup.http: ...
)
* Aaron Lachman - bass (2022-present)
Former
* Jacob Marshall – drums, percussion, piano (2001–2021)
* Mark Padgett – bass guitar (2002–2007, 2010–2015)
* Rob Sweitzer – keyboards (2002–2007, 2010–2015)
* William Clark – bass (2001–2002)
*
Jake Clemons
Jake Clemons (born February 27, 1980) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Since 2012, he has been the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, after the death of the band's original saxophonist, his uncle Clarence Clemons. ...
– saxophone (now of the
E Street Band
The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...
)
Related projects
* Before forming Mae, Dave Elkins was a co-founder and lead vocalist for the indie band "Sky's the Limit". Two songs that Elkins originally wrote for Sky's the Limit have been recorded and released by Mae – "Skyline Drive", on ''
Destination: Beautiful'', and "Tisbury Lane", on ''
Destination: B-Sides''.
* After Mae finished their final tour, Dave Elkins began a new project called
Schematic
A schematic, or schematic diagram, is a designed representation of the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. A schematic usually omits all details that are not relevant to the key information the sc ...
.
* Jacob Marshall has formed the band River James with members of the band
Army of Me.
* In the fall of 2014, Mae keyboardist Rob Sweitzer announced a crowd-funding project for a solo record of his own, titled "M29", under the act name My God, It's Full of Stars.
Discography
Albums
EPs and B-sides
Singles
DVDs
* ''
From Toledo to Tokyo'' (Astorya Entertainment, 2005)
* ''
The Everglow: Special Edition DVD'' (
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today. It is home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoat ...
, 2006)
* ''Destination: Beautiful Five Year Anniversary'' (Mae Recording Company, 2008)
* ''(M)orning'' (Cell Records, 2009)
* ''(A)fternoon'' (Cell Records, 2010)
* ''(E)vening'' (Cell Records, 2011)
Compilation appearances
* "Take Action! Vol. 4" (2004, contributed "Embers and Envelopes")
* ''
Happy Christmas Vol. 4'' (2005, contributed "
Carol of the Bells
"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, with music by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914 and lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on the Ukrainian folk chant " Shchedryk". The music is in the public domain; Wil ...
")
* ''
Punk Goes 90's
''Punk Goes 90's'' is the fifth album in the ''Punk Goes...'' series and the first installment in the ''Punk Goes 90's'' series created by Fearless Records. It contains popular songs from the 1990s covered by various alternative rock bands. The co ...
'' (2006, contributed "
March of the Pigs
"March of the Pigs" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from their second studio album, ''The Downward Spiral'' (1994). It was released on February 25, 1994 as the album's lead single.
Composition
"March of the Pigs" has ...
")
Song of the Month
Throughout 2009, Mae released 'Songs of the Month' (proceeds benefiting
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...
and
Donorschoose.org
DonorsChoose is a United States-based nonprofit organization that allows individuals to donate directly to Public school (government funded)#United States, public school classroom projects. The organization has been given Charity Navigator's highe ...
), with the first four tracks going onto the ''(M)orning'' EP, the second set of four going onto the ''(A)fternoon'' EP, and the final four on the ''(E)vening'' EP:
* January: "The House that Fire Built"
* February: "Boomerang"
* March: "A Melody, The Memory"
* April: "Night/Day"
* May: "Over and Over"
* June: "The Cure"
* July: "The Fight Song"
* August: "In Pieces"
* September: "I Just Needed You To Know"
* October: "Seasons"
*
†November: "Sleep Well"
*
†December: "Bloom"
*† - Release delayed due to the theft of Mae's instruments and gear in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
References
External links
MaeOfficial Website.
Mae on PureVolumeContains MP3s, a biography, show dates and photos.
Mae on VirbVideo interview with Mae for AbsolutePunk.netThis Is SchematicInterview with Mae for FussMagazine.comInterview with Dave Elkins for freshZIVE.com
{{Authority control
2001 establishments in Virginia
American emo musical groups
Capitol Records artists
Musical groups disestablished in 2011
Musical groups established in 2001
Musical groups reestablished in 2013
Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia
Tooth & Nail Records artists
Musical groups from Virginia
Musical quintets