Siouxsie Medley | |
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Onstage with Dead Sara | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Susan Mae Elizabeth Medley |
Born | 1986–87 Los Angeles, California |
Origin | Los Angeles, California |
Genres | Hard rock, punk blues, post-hardcore |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | Guitar |
Years active | 2004–present |
Susan Mae Elizabeth Medley, professionally known as Siouxsie Medley, is an American musician, artist, and actress from Los Angeles, California. She is best known as the lead guitarist for Dead Sara, a band she founded with Emily Armstrong in 2005.
Born in Los Angeles to Stan Medley and Sandra Sherman. Medley was raised by her father after her parents separated. Medley's interest in music began at age 9 when she started practicing on a Fender Telecaster owned by her nanny, Dexy Valentine of the band Magic Wands. She then used two years’ worth of saved allowances to purchase her own guitar, a Fender Squier, at age 11. [1]
Medley started acting at age 12 when she won a part in an international commercial. The commercial played mostly in Europe and Medley became a SAG actress as a result. She was pursuing an acting career until she met Emily Armstrong in 2002 and the two began writing songs together. [1]
Medley and Armstrong first performed live in March 2005 at The Mint nightclub in Los Angeles, under the name Epiphany. [2] Later that year they changed their band's name to Dead Sara as a reference to the Fleetwood Mac song "Sara" and its lyric "...said Sara", sometimes heard as "dead Sara". [1] Armstrong and Medley have cited Stevie Nicks, who wrote "Sara", as a primary influence. [3] Around this time, Medley began styling her first name as "Siouxsie", as a nod to the Sioux Indians tribe and the Native American heritage of one of her great-grandparents (rather than a reference to the musical artist Siouxsie Sioux).[ citation needed ]
Dead Sara has since released two full-length albums and several EPs, most recently Temporary Things Taking Up Space in 2018. [4]
In 2012, Medley was the only woman among the 10 finalists for the Loudwire rock guitarist of the year award. [5] As of 2017, Medley is the only female guitarist ever named as a guitarist of the year finalist in the Loudwire annual awards. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Medley composed the artwork for the Dead Sara single "Heart Shaped Box", [11] which Sony Computer Entertainment commissioned for the cover of its Infamous Second Son video game. [12]
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".
John Martin Marr is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous other bands and embarked on a solo career.
Timothy Commerford is an American musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist for rock band Rage Against the Machine, and supergroups Audioslave and Prophets of Rage. Since 2013 and 2015, he has also been the lead singer and bassist of the bands Future User and Wakrat.
Tony Fagenson is a guitarist, producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for his work with rock bands Eve 6 and Dead Posey.
Susan Janet Ballion, known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She came to prominence as the leader and main lyricist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, who were active from 1976 to 1996. They released 11 studio albums, and had several UK Top 20 singles including "Hong Kong Garden", "Happy House" and "Peek-a-Boo", plus a US Top 25 single in the Billboard Hot 100, with "Kiss Them for Me".
Peter Edward Clarke, known professionally as Budgie, is an English drummer best known for his work in Siouxsie and the Banshees. He is also the co-founder of the Creatures.
Hyæna is the sixth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 8 June 1984 by Polydor Records. The opening track, "Dazzle", featured strings played by musicians of the London Symphonic Orchestra (LSO), a 27-piece orchestra called the "Chandos Players"; it was scored from a tune that Siouxsie Sioux had composed on piano. Hyæna is the only studio album that guitarist Robert Smith of the Cure composed and recorded with Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Through the Looking Glass is the eighth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. The album is a collection of cover versions. It was co-produced with Mike Hedges and released in March 1987 on Polydor. Through the Looking Glass was preceded by the single "This Wheel's on Fire". It was the second and final album recorded with guitarist John Valentine Carruthers. Some of their cover songs were praised by the original artists themselves.
Halestorm is an American rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Elizabeth "Lzzy" Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith.
Sara Beth Bareilles is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. Bareilles has earned various accolades, including two Grammy Awards, as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Tony Awards. In 2012, VH1 named her one of the Top 100 Greatest Women in Music.
Maria Brink is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the frontwoman of the metal band In This Moment. The band has gone on to release seven studio albums and receive four nominations, two from Alternative Press Music Awards, one from Grammy Awards, and one from Loudwire Music Awards.
Pam Hogg is a Scottish fashion designer who launched her first fashion collection in 1981. She has created clothes for the likes of Ian Astbury of The Cult, Paula Yates, Marie Helvin, Siouxsie Sioux and Debbie Harry of Blondie.
Stephen Dean Hilton is an English composer, record producer, YouTuber & influencer.
September Mourning is an alternative metal band, which incorporates a transmedia dark culture project created by Emily Lazar and Marc Silvestri. The conceptual project was formed by frontwoman, vocalist, and screamer Emily Lazar in New York in 2009. The concept narrative created by Lazar and incorporated in the band and their performances, centers around the fictional story of a human-grim reaper hybrid named September, as she navigates the worlds of the living and the dead. The character's human-side possesses the empathy to give some human souls a second chance. The story is presented on different media platforms, including music, comic books, and live concerts. The comic books are published by Top Cow Productions Image Comics.
Dead Sara is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, consisting of Emily Armstrong, Siouxsie Medley, and Sean Friday, best known for their single "Weatherman" from their debut eponymous album Dead Sara (2012). Their most recent album Ain't It Tragic was released in September 2021.
Theresa Becker Wayman, also known by the stage name TT, is an American musician, singer-songwriter and occasional actress, best known as guitarist and vocalist of the indie rock band Warpaint.
Vinita Sandhya Strauss is an American rock musician. She is currently a touring guitarist for Demi Lovato and Alice Cooper and has a successful career as a solo artist. Strauss was the first female signature artist with Ibanez guitars and is regularly featured on the covers of worldwide print magazines including Guitar World and Guitar Player. She was ranked No. 1 on Guitar World's list of "10 Female Guitar Players You Should Know".
Jennifer Lee Lindberg is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the bassist of the indie rock band Warpaint. In 2015, Lindberg released her first solo album, Right On!, under the name "Jennylee".
Dead Sara is the self-titled debut album by American rock band Dead Sara. It was released on April 10, 2012, by the band's own Pocket Kid Records and produced by Noah Shain. The album was critically acclaimed and reached number 16 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. Its single "Weatherman" reached number 30 on the Mainstream Rock chart, 31 on Hot Rock Songs and 35 on Alternative Songs.