Michelle DaRosa (née Nolan) is an American musician, formerly of the band

Straylight Run Straylight Run is an emo band based in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. The band released two albums, ''Straylight Run'' and '' The Needles the Space'', as well as three EPs, ''Prepare to Be Wrong'', ''About Time'', and ''Un Mas Dos''. In 2010, ...

, for whom she was a vocalist, guitarist, and pianist.

Biography

Michelle DaRosa was born Michelle Nolan on September 13, 1980, in

Rockville Centre Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,023 at the 2010 census. Histor ...

, Nassau County, New York to Tom and Linda Nolan. Like her brother and former bandmate, John Nolan, she grew up in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. She attended South Shore Christian School in

Levittown, New York Levittown is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. It is located halfway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a tota ...

for her freshman and second years of high school. She then attended Baldwin High School in Baldwin, New York for her junior and senior years. During her junior and senior years of high school, Michelle also attended Nassau Tech in

Westbury, New York The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a Village (New York), village in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is located a ...

to study

cosmetology Cosmetology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''kosmētikos'', "beautifying"; and , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'') is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyle, hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/p ...

. She provided background vocals for two of the songs off of

Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in 1999. The band's members currently are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keybo ...

's debut album, ''

Tell All Your Friends ''Tell All Your Friends'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Taking Back Sunday, released on March 26, 2002, through Victory Records. Established in 1999, the group underwent several line-up changes before settling on vocalist A ...

'' ("Bike Scene" and "Ghost Man on Third"). Also, Michelle was formerly a nanny, hairdresser, and a ballet dancer. She married fellow musician

Jeff DaRosa Jeffrey DaRosa (born July 31, 1982) is an American musician who is a multi-instrumentalist and a member of the Boston-based Dropkick Murphys. Early life and career Growing up in Watertown, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) and Somerville, Mas ...

(of the

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (199 ...

) on October 6, 2006, and has since taken his last name. They live together in Boston. She has been confused with another Michelle Nolan, a queer Seattle musician who has played bass for the bands Telepathic Liberation Army, Chromatics and

Shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

. In January 2006, Michelle made an appearance on MTV's ''Total Request Live'', singing back-up vocals for

Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), an ...

's song "The Suffering". Michelle also contributed vocals on the song "Lightning Strikes Twice in New York" by the band Men, Women and Children. On June 3, 2008, Michelle left Straylight Run on friendly terms to pursue a solo career. Her new band, Destry, featured Shaun Cooper, bassist of

, and Sam Means, guitarist of

The Format The Format is an American indie rock band formed by Nate Ruess and Sam Means. Their style can be considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music. Though Means and Ruess are the foremost ...

. Shaun Cooper and Sam Means have since left Destry. Tyler Odom (ex-Northstar) has taken the place of Means, and Jeff DaRosa (Dropkick Murphys) can be seen on bass in place of Shaun Cooper.

Discography

* ''

'' (2002 as

Michelle Nolan Michelle DaRosa (née Nolan) is an American musician, formerly of the band Straylight Run, for whom she was a vocalist, guitarist, and pianist. Biography Michelle DaRosa was born Michelle Nolan on September 13, 1980, in Rockville Centre, ...

) *''Demo'' – (2003 as

) * ''

'' (2004 as

) * ''

Prepare To Be Wrong EP ''Prepare to Be Wrong'' is an EP by Straylight Run, released on October 4, 2005 by Victory Records. The song "It Never Gets Easier" was originally titled "Costello". Release "Hands in the Sky (Big Shot)" was released to radio on October 25, 2005. ...

'' (2005 as

) * ''

The Needles the Space ''The Needles the Space'' is the second studio album by American indie rock band Straylight Run. With the release of the ''Prepare to Be Wrong'' EP in late 2004, the group completed their contract with independent label Victory Records. Recording ...

'' (2007 as

) – Credited as ''Michelle DaRosa''. * ''TNTS Digital - EP'' (2007 as

) exclusively on the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

* ''

It Goes On Destry is an indie folk band centered on Michelle DaRosa. History Michelle DaRosa announced her departure from Straylight in June 2008 in order to work on a solo album. The Destry project was made public in October 2008, when Sam Means (musician) ...

'' (2009 as Destry)

References

External links

Official Straylight Run Website

Straylight Run's profile
at

PureVolume PureVolume (formerly Unborn Media) was a website for uploading and streaming of music files, the first independently run of its type. PureVolume was created by Unborn Media, Inc; Mitchell Pavao; Brett Woitunski; and Nate Hudson, all from the Univer ...

Straylight Run's profile
on MySpace
Destry's profile
at MySpace
Info on New Michelle DeRosa Band
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darosa, Michelle 1980 births Living people American rock guitarists American rock pianists American women pianists American women rock singers Songwriters from New York (state) Singers from New York (state) People from Rockville Centre, New York People from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York People from Westbury, New York People from Levittown, New York Guitarists from New York (state) 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American singers