Self | |
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 Self performing at theEl Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Works | Self discography |
| Years active | 1993–present (hiatus: 2006–2012; 2018–2022) |
| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | Wired All Wrong |
| Spinoff of | Ella Minopy |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | self |
| Logo | |
_logo.svg){kind=logo} | |
Self (often stylized assElf) is an Americanpop rock band formed in 1993 inMurfreesboro, Tennessee. The band is led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalistMatt Mahaffey, additionally consisting of keyboardistChris James, bassistMac Burrus, and drummer Jason Rawlings. Former members include guitaristMike Mahaffey and touring bassist Tim Nobles. The group began as a duo onSpongebath Records with the Mahaffey brothers, immediately picked up byZoo Entertainment to release their debut album,Subliminal Plastic Motives (1995). It sold over 40,000 copies in its first two years with support from the singles "Cannon" and "So Low". After expanding the lineup for live performances, the band embraced an experimental approach withThe Half-Baked Serenade (1997), followed by a compilation of demos,Feels Like Breakin' Shit (1998).
The band signed withDreamWorks Records for their third album, releasingBreakfast with Girls (1999), which included lead single "Paint by Numbers". Originally receiving mixed reviews, it has retrospectively achieved critical acclaim despite its numerous production challenges and delays. Their fourth album,Gizmodgery (2000), was created entirely withtoy instruments. It featured the single "Trunk Fulla Amps", as well as thesleeper hit "Dead Man". Self also contributed songs to film soundtracks, including "Stay Home" forShrek (2001), and "Out with a Bang" forEvolution (2001). The band's fifth album,Ornament & Crime (2017), was planned for release in 2003 but was delayed until 2004 and eventually shelved due to DreamWorks' dissolution.
Following the death of Mike Mahaffey in 2005, the band went on hiatus. Matt Mahaffey pursued solo projects, includingWired All Wrong, and continued producing music for and touring with other artists such asBeck andHellogoodbye. While James worked withPrince, Rawlings played drums in Suburban Tragedy, and Burrus joined theJimmy Kimmel Live! crew. Self reunited for the EPSuper Fake Nice (2014), highlighted by the single "Runaway", and celebrated the twentieth anniversary ofSubliminal Plastic Motives with a vinyl reissue and live performances. The EP was distributed byEl Camino Media, whom in 2017 gaveOrnament & Crime an official release. After years of stagnation, the band returned in 2024 with the single "Love You Less" and the holiday track "Merry Christmas, Santa".
Self was formed in 1993 inMurfreesboro, Tennessee byMatt Mahaffey. Simultaneously, his band Ella Minopy withSeth Timbs disbanded, andSpongebath Records was founded by the two and talent manager Richard Williams.[3] Mahaffey began writing his debut album after encouragement from Williams,[4] recruiting his brotherMike Mahaffey as a guitarist into Self for recording assistance.[5] After a public performance inNashville, Tennessee, he received and accepted arecording contract fromZoo Entertainment in March 1995.[4] The label partnered with Spongebath to co-release albums for a year, distributing them throughBMG.[3]
Mahaffey finished the project in May 1995,[4] releasingSubliminal Plastic Motives on October 24. The band's debut single "Cannon" supported it,[6] followed by "So Low" in 1996.Jesse Peretz directed music videos for both songs,[7] airing them onMTV.[8] The album was commercially successful, with sales exceeding 40,000 units by 1997,[3] and its singles receiving radio play.[8] After release, Self recruited three more members for live performances: keyboardistChris James, a college friend of Mahaffey; drummer Jason Rawlings, from the local band Brian Cuzies; and bassist Tim Nobles.[9]
After touring, Tim Nobles was removed from the band. In an interview withSilent Uproar, Mahaffey stated that "it just wasn't working out". He additionally felt that his first album gave the band an inaccurate public image, reinforced by Mahaffey's discomfort with his extravagant new lifestyle.[9] He declared Self to be "anti-rock",[10] significantly reducing guitar usage and leaning intoelectropop instrumentation.[8] He then began writing and recording a new album in his living room, releasing it asThe Half-Baked Serenade on April 24, 1997.[3] To further repel fame, it was distributed without any promotion,[11] and sold exclusively through mail order via Spongebath.[3]
Various scrapped songs anddemos ofSubliminal Plastic Motives andThe Half-Baked Serenade were saved by Mahaffey,[8] later compiled into a disc titledFeels Like Breakin' Shit. After sharing multiple copies with Spongebath personnel, it leaked online and became popular among fans.[11] Self officially released it as acompilation album in 1998.[8] During this time, the band was auditioning in search of ahorn section and new bassist for concerts. They settled onMac Burrus for the role, who visited Mahaffey's home after Self's second album was released.[9]
After their second album, Self received an offer for and accepted a recording contract fromDreamWorks Records. Their significantly higher budget led the band to collaborate with acclaimed musicians, includingKen Andrews ofFailure,Richard Dodd, andHugh Padgham. Recording occurred in multiple professional studios, and Mahaffey experimented more with production.[11] Multiple issues occurred during this process, such as file corruption,[12] disagreements oversingles for the album,[5] and numerous delays in the release date. First announced to release on August 25, 1998,[13]Breakfast with Girls was finally released via DreamWorks and Spongebath on July 13, 1999.[14]
As consolation for the delays, the EPBrunch was given to customers who pre-ordered the album,[8] featuring scrapped songs.[11] "Paint by Numbers" was released as the first single ofBreakfast with Girls on July 21, 1998,[15] as part of the soundtrack for the 1998 filmDead Man on Campus.[16] It was nominated for Song of the Year at the 1999 Nashville Music Association Awards.[17] Another single for the album, "Meg Ryan", received airplay as the album's radio single.[18] On August 4, 1998, the band released acover version ofDepeche Mode's "Shame" as part of the tribute albumFor the Masses.[19]
While spending weekdays working onBreakfast with Girls, Mahaffey began producing a fourth studio album on his weekends.[20] Originally conceived as an idea in 1995, he was inspired by thePianosaurus albumGroovy Neighborhood (1987) to create an album entirely withtoy instruments.[9] To achieve the desired sound, Mahaffey extensively usedPro Tools toequalize and fix the audio's abundant mid-range frequencies.[21]Gizmodgery released through Spongebath on September 5, 2000,[22] as anHDCD.[23] The album's sole single, "Trunk Fulla Amps", has been commonly cited as a fan favorite.[2][24][25] A music video for it was published in February 2001 as part ofMTV's "Indie Day", but wasn't aired due to Self's DreamWorks connection.[11]
Gizmodgery sold 10,000 units in its first week,[9] garnering praise for its unique production and playful energy.[2][22][26] Retrospectively, Todd Olmstead ofVice described the album as Self's best-known.[20] Its songs "Dead Man" and "What a Fool Believes" have since resurged in popularity onSpotify as Self's most popular songs.[8] The band's second EP,Self Goes Shopping, consists of instrumental remixes of six Self songs. It was planned for DreamWorks distribution, but released through Spongebath on December 16, 2000.[9] The EP was followed by Self's second compilation album,Selfafornia. Spongebath Intermittently released it through mid-2001, with its final set of songs released on July 27, 2001.[27] The compilation features scrapped songs and demos from the writing sessions ofGizmodgery.[28]
The band contributed the song "Stay Home" to the 2001 animatedfantasy comedy filmShrek. Originally composed for its opening sequence, it was moved to the end credits in favor ofSmash Mouth's "All Star", but still opens thesoundtrack album. This was followed by the song "Out with a Bang" appearing in the 2001sci-fi comedy filmEvolution,[29] a track that would later appear on Self's fifth studio album. They began recording it in 2002, planning to return to therock styling of the band's debut.[9] Self released the single "Grow Up" in June 2003, which would end up being the albums sole single. On January 8, 2004,Ornament & Crime was completed.[30] Before the album could be released, DreamWorks Records was bought and dissolved byUniversal Music Group, who left the album indefinitely unreleased.[8]
Whilst working onOrnament & Crime, Self was asked to create the song "Scotty Doesn't Know" for the 2004teensex comedy filmEuroTrip. After being presented with its subject and characters, Mahaffey quickly wrote it and sent it to the film's producers, who generally enjoyed it. However, when they tasked the bandLustra with the same style of song, their result was favored.[31] Additionally, when Mahaffey was offered work for the 2004 filmShrek 2,[32] they wrote "This is Love" and coveredthe Archies' song "Sugar, Sugar", but were not featured. In 2005, Self released their third compilation album,Porno, Mint & Grime. It consists primarily of scrapped songs and demos fromOrnament & Crime, along with songs made for commercial work, including "This is Love".
On May 25, 2005, Mike Mahaffey died in his sleep,[33] driving the band into a hiatus shortly after.[8] They played atribute show on September 10,[34] which was posted as abootleg recording on January 31, 2006.[35] In 2005, alivevideo album was recorded atSpaceland.[36] Its performance of "I Love to Love Your Love My Love" was posted toYouTube in mid-2006, with the DVD itself being stuck indevelopment hell.[37] In 2008, Mahaffey posted a cover ofAC/DC's song "Back in Black" done solely on anomnichord and drums, also from the album.Self - Live at Spaceland Acoustic was made available forpre-order in April 2008, though it was never released due to copyright issues involving the cover.[38]
In January 2005, Self was announced to be part of aThey Might Be Giants tribute album, covering the song "Ana Ng".[39] The song was previewed on MySpace in May,[40] whileHello Radio: The Songs of They Might Be Giants was released on July 11, 2006. Self's cover was praised by Tim O'Neil ofPopMatters for itspower pop approach and interpolation of another They Might Be Giants song, "Thermostat".[41] On March 21, 2006, Self released the song "Sucked out the Center" onMySpace.[42] Multipleremixes of the song were made by fans, with eight being posted on the band's page through April.[43] Matt Mahaffey continued performing as Self while on hiatus but without other band members, who began working on other projects. Rawlings played drums in a group called Suburban Tragedy, and Mahaffey also formed a new band,Wired All Wrong, with formerGod Lives Underwater memberJeff Turzo. Wired All Wrong released their first album,Break out the Battle Tapes on September 12, 2006.[44]
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A project titledSuper Fake Nice was announced in 2007, initially slated to be the band's sixth full-length studio album.[30] Two songs from its recording sessions were published in 2009: "Orchid" and "Monogamy".[44] On May 10, 2010, Self released the single "Could You Love Me Now?" alongside a music video,[45] followed by the track "Looks and Money" on November 28, 2011.[46] In January 2012, Mahaffey finished building a home studio inFranklin, Tennessee, and began writing and recording more songs.[47] Later in the year, Self began working withEl Camino Media, an independent label they would later sign to for the project's distribution.[20]
For his albumLasers,Lupe Fiasco featured Self on the song "State Run Radio",[48] releasing it on March 7, 2011.[49] A sold-out reunion show atExit/In in Nashville was played on December 29, 2012, withFluid Ounces guitarist Brian Rogers filling Mike Mahaffey's position.[citation needed] Self contributed the song "Stranger than Strange" to the compilationSongs for Blake - Embracing Autism on May 13, 2014.[45] On July 11, "Runaway" was released as a single forSuper Fake Nice, now classed as the band's third EP. It additionally received a music video,[50] which placed at number ten onRolling Stone's top 20 music videos of 2014.[51] The EP was released on July 29, followed by Self's TV debut onJimmy Kimmel Live! the next day.[52]
In January 2014,[45]Subliminal Plastic Motives was re-issued throughFat Possum Records, on vinyl for the first time.[30] Celebrating its twentieth anniversary, the band performed the entire album atGramercy Theater inNew York City on January 10.[53] ForRecord Store Day 2015, "Monogamy" and "Could You Love Me Now?" were bundled together and released as a7-inch vinyl on April 18.[54]Later in the year on September 11, El Camino Media re-issued Gizmodgery for its fifteenth anniversary, on vinyl for the first time.[23] The label additionally releasedOrnament & Crime on August 25, 2017, being its first official issue after thirteen years since completion.[8]
Since 2017, music from Self has been stagnant; in 2022, Matt announced via hisInstagram account that he was making new Self music for the first time in nearly 10 years.[55] The band released the single "Love You Less" on November 6, 2024.[56] On November 29, 2024, he contributed the song "Merry Christmas, Santa" under the pseudonym Elfs to the albumChristmas in Space by Cake in Space, a composer collective by Mahaffey. Beginning in the 2020s, Self experienced a resurgence in popularity after theirSpotify account was verified, and suggested amongst music byindie rock artistsTally Hall andLemon Demon. By July 2025, the band had reached 40,000 listeners on Spotify,[57] less than six months later in January 2026, the band had reached over a million listeners on the platform.[58]
Studio albums
Current members
| Former members
Touring musicians
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Timeline
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| International | |
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