Michael Darren Mahaffey (January 21, 1967 – May 25, 2005) was a founding member of the power pop band

Self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhood ...

. Founded with his brother, Matt Mahaffey, in the early 1990s, Self-released two major-label albums and various independent and Internet-only albums. He played lead guitar, keyboards, and bass for the band on various occasions. Before joining Self, he played in several bands, the most successful of which was the Southern Rock band Blackfish. He played lead guitar in the band, but contributed little to the songwriting. Blackfish released one major-label album in 1992 before disbanding. The other members of Blackfish were Steve Ballard (guitar & vocals), Chris Reublin (bass guitar) and Andy Howard (drums). His last recorded work was on Self's '' Ornament & Crime.''

Death and legacy

He died in his sleep on May 25, 2005. Several tribute shows in his honor were held at the

Exit/In Exit/In is a music venue in Nashville, Tennessee. Exit/In is located on Elliston Place near Centennial Park and Vanderbilt University, west of downtown. It opened in 1971 under the management of Owsley Manier and Brugh Reynolds. As a small ven ...

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 ...

, with proceeds going towards a college education fund for his children. The first show featured Spongebath alumni The Katies,

Fluid Ounces A fluid ounce (abbreviated fl oz, fl. oz. or oz. fl., old forms ℥, fl ℥, f℥, ƒ ℥) is a unit of volume (also called ''capacity'') typically used for measuring liquids. The British Imperial, the United States customary, and the United St ...

, and

The Features The Features are an American indie rock band from Sparta, Tennessee, United States of America. The original lineup consisted of Matt Pelham, Roger Dabbs, and Don Sergio. The most recent iteration consists of Pelham, Dabbs, Rollum Haas, and Mark ...

, and took place on August 19, 2005. A second show on September 10, 2005, was headlined by a reunited version of Self and also featured The Privates and SJ and the Props. A third show on December 3, 2005, featured

John Cowan John Cowan (born August 24, 1953) is an American soul music and progressive bluegrass vocalist and bass guitar player. He was the lead vocalist and bass player for the New Grass Revival. Cowan became the band's bassist in 1972 after the departure ...

and various musicians close to Mahaffey. In addition, wristbands were made available for purchase and bore one of his favorite phrases, "It's all good." Annual Mike Mahaffey Tribute Show A group of his friends have continued the tradition started with the December 3, 2005 fundraiser. The Annual Mike Mahaffey Tribute Show is held every first Saturday after Thanksgiving in

Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. John ...

, at Capone's (formerly known as Gatsby's). All proceeds from these shows go to an education fund for his children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahaffey, Mike American rock musicians 1967 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American musicians