Lois Maffeo

Lois Maffeo started out in the curiously named band Courtney Love alongside drummer Pat Maley. They released three singles and were then no more. Lois (as she is better known) has released a considerable number of records under her own moniker, including "Infinity Plus", "Strumpet" and the luvverly "Butterfly Kiss". She's also been known to collaborate with other minor (and medium) celebrities such as Alan Sparhawk from Low, Stuart Moxham from Young Marble Giants, and Elliott Smith.

In addition to collaborating with Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty on her most recent album (Lois and Brendan: The Union Themes -- KRS 356), Lois has also appeared on a number of compilation records, including a recorded-live document of Yoyo a gogo '94; and as a vocalist with Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Sound System on Lois with Dub Narcotic Sound System (KLP 60).

What people in the rest of the world may not realize is:
Lois is much much more than just a pretty singer with an amazing lisp.

Lois has also done some excellent journalism for Seattle's The Stranger:

• a goofy interview with party metal heroes Tight Bros from Way Back When
       ROCK AND ROLL ETIQUETTE: Tight Bros From Way Back When, The Stranger, 03/04/99
• a nuanced and sometimes cringe-inducing rodeo travelogue
       A DUDE AT THE RODEO The Stranger, 11/11/99
• a pleasant review of Bust magazine's The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order
       'BUST'-ING OUT ALL OVER: The Tits & Twat Revolution The Stranger, 09/23/99
• an interview with Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields
       WHY 69?: Stephen Merritt Opens His Hopeful Heart The Stranger, 09/16/99
• an incisive discussion of the use of schtick in rock music
       WE ARE SO SHTICK: Shticking It to Northwest Bands The Stranger, 08/26/99
• an interview with D.C. punk rock photographer Cynthia Connolly
       SHOOTING ROCK: Cynthia Connolly's Punk Photography The Stranger, 05/06/99
• and quite a few more... cf. www.thestranger.com/authors/LOISMAFFEO.HTML

Sadly, it seems Lois isn't doing journalism anymore. The period represented by The Stranger's author archive represents only the period from around March to September of 1999. And, the one piece she wrote that truly stood out isn't to be found online anywhere: a hermeneutics, or semiotics, (depending on your viewpoint), of the art of making mix tapes to express, expose, and disguise the many phases of modern romantic relationships (though Lois would never be so pretentious as to call it that).

Important trivia note: the band is called Lois; the singer/songwriter is Lois Maffeo. Compare Courtney Love and Courtney Love (icicle)