Melora Creager

Melora Creager (born March 25, 1966) is an American cellist, singer-songwriter, performing artist and founder of the rock band Rasputina.[1]

Melora Creager
Creager in 2007
Creager in 2007
Background information
Born (1966-03-25) March 25, 1966
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, musician, cellist
Instrument(s)
Years active1989–present
Labels
Member ofRasputina

Early life, beginnings and Rasputina

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, and adopted[2] by a graphic designer and physicist,[3] Creager was raised in Emporia, Kansas.[4][5] She started studying music at the age of 5, and at age 9 began playing the cello. As a child she was also a member of the Wichita Youth Symphony.[6] Though she briefly quit playing in her teen years, after Creager moved to the east coast to attend Philadelphia College of Art and Parsons School of Design, she was convinced by friends to take it up again.[7][8][9] In the late 1980s she played with the New York indie rock band Ultra Vivid Scene.[10] In 1991, Creager founded alternative cello ensemble Rasputina by writing a manifesto and placing a want-ad in the Village Voice stating "electric cellists wanted".[11] Cellist/composer Julia Kent was the first respondent. Rasputina performed regularly at NYC venues such as CBGB's Gallery, Brownie's and Fez before being signed to Columbia Records in 1996, for whom they subsequently made two albums. Since 2005, Rasputina and Creager have released their music under her own label, Filthy Bonnet Recording Co.

Creager makes unique use of historical events and figures in her lyrics and themes. Inspirations include the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, Howard Hughes, Rose Kennedy, victims of Josef Mengele, Emily Dickinson, Pitcairn Island, and Columbia County, New York. Combining history and humor in song-form and spoken-word pieces, Creager is also unique in exploring women's history through pop music.[12]

Through more than eight albums and frequent touring, Creager through Rasputina, with varying members, has been an originator of and influence on such movements as freak folk[13][14] and steampunk.[15]

Creager has created all of Rasputina's album covers, except for The Lost & Found which was designed by artist Ryan Obermeyer.[16]

Other work and collaborations

Creager played cello with Nirvana on the European leg of their In Utero world tour in 1994, including the band's final show in Munich.[9][17][3] According to Creager, Kurt Cobain personally called to offer her the job.[18] She has said that touring with the band, as well as Cobain's suicide, made her realize that she found the idea of large-scale fame unappealing, stating, "Fame is just so unnatural. Fame kills and it was valuable to learn that early on,"[9] and "It was an amazing experience but I couldn't be happier being where I am now."[18] In 2014, in honor of the 20th anniversary of Cobain's death, Creager launched Dedication Compilation, what she referred to as "a collective free arts release". The Compilation, a webpage containing poems, songs and art in memory of "those we've lost to suicide or overdose", included contributions from Melissa Auf der Maur and John Cafiero.[9][19][20]

Creager's debut solo album Perplexions, was released in 2006.

Creager has been a frequent collaborator of Voltaire, playing cello on his albums Riding a Black Unicorn... (2011), Raised by Bats (2014) and Heart Shaped Wound (2017).[21][22] Creager was a featured artist on the song "Into The Black" by English band Birdeatsbaby on their 2014 album The Bullet Within.[23][24] She was also credited as "additional cello" on the soundtracks to Darren Lynn Bousman and Terrance Zdunich's films Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) and The Devil's Carnival (2012).[25][26]

From 1988 to 1996, Creager was employed as a jewelry designer for Erickson Beamon, creating costume jewelry for Anna Sui, Donna Karan, Barney's New York, and Vogue magazine. She continues her relationship with Anna Sui, occasionally designing fashion show invitations and T-shirts.[27][28]

Creager also has a short list of acting and film credits. In 1989 she briefly appeared as a member of the fictional Finger Lakes Trio in the film Longtime Companion.[29][30] In 2003, Creager starred in the short film "On My Knees", by filmmaker Kim Wood, as Hannah Cullwick, whose diaries the film is based upon.[31][32] Creager also wrote the music for the film, which appears on the Rasputina compilation album Great American Gingerbread.[33] In 2010, Creager and Rasputina were the subject of a documentary entitled Under the Corset, created by podcaster and then-future Rasputina drummer Dawn Miceli.[34] Creager also contributed additional voices to the 2018 pilot of the Adult Swim animated series Tigtone.[35]

Personal life

Creager has two daughters, Hollis and Ivy.[36] She lives in Hudson, New York.[37]

At some point in 2015, Creager became the victim of identity theft when her computer was hacked into and subsequently corrupted to the point of being unusable.[38] Processing this experience, and the "mental breakdown" it caused her, became much of the inspiration for the 2015 Rasputina album Unknown.[39]

Discography
Solo albums
  • Perplexions - Filthy Bonnet Recording Co., 2006
  • Raw Silk (3 Covers) (EP) - Filthy Bonnet Recording Co., 2012
  • Fa La La - Filthy Bonnet Recording Co., 2015
with Ultra Vivid Scene
with Rasputina
Main article: Rasputina Discography

Guest contributions

References
  1. Creager, Melora. "Rasputina history". Rasputina. Archived from the original on 2007-06-29.
  2. Creager, Melora (12 May 2013). "Meloraville". Tumblr. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  3. Buchanan, Brett (29 December 2017). "The Story Behind Nirvana's Most Forgotten Member". Alternative Nation. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  4. Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (22 July 2004). "Rasputina". The Pitch. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  5. "Newsbunny". Rasputina's Official Website. Archived from the original on 3 December 2002. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  6. Stratton, Jeff (30 October 2003). "Cello Darkness". The Pitch. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  7. "Meloraville". Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  8. Miller, Laura (Spring 2017). "Wrought By Rasputina". Enchanted Living. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  9. Alexander, Jeff (27 June 2014). "Rasputina: 21st Century Victorians". The Big Takeover. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  10. Kiffel, Jamie. "Rasputina: An Interview with cellist/singer Melora Creager". Lollipop Magazine. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  11. Valcourt, Keith (19 October 2015). "Rasputina cellist Melora Creager discusses steampunk, goth rock and Nirvana's final shows". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  12. Polacheck, Angeliska. "Melora Creager: Sweet Sister Temperance". Coilhouse. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  13. White, Aria (2 August 2007). "Unexpected rockers". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  14. Fusilli, Jim (14 June 2010). "Melora Creager Pulls the Strings". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  15. Gluckstern, Nicole. "Cello Rock!". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  16. "Design Gallery". The Visual Works of Ryan Obermeyer. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  17. Nirvana Fanpage. Accessed 19-07-2008.
  18. Condran, Ed (27 October 2011). "It's not the fame, it's about music for Rasputina". The Mercury. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  19. "Dedication Compilation". Meloraville. 2014. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  20. "JOHN CAFIERO (OSAKA POPSTAR) TEAMS W/ MELORA CREAGER (RASPUTINA) FOR KURT COBAIN DEDICATION COMP". Misfits Records. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  21. "RAISED BY BATS- the 11th studio album from Aurelio Voltaire". Voltaire.net. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  22. "RAISED BY BATS- the 11th studio album from Aurelio Voltaire". Voltaire.net. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  23. "Into The Black (feat. Melora Creager)". Bandcamp. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  24. Gullotta, Steven (5 August 2015). "BIRDEATSBABY - THE BULLET WITHIN". Brutal Resonance. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  25. "Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) Full Cast & Crew". Imdb. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  26. "The Devil's Carnival (2012) Full Cast & Crew". Imdb. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  27. Turner, Gustavo; Creager, Melora (10 August 2010). "Guest Blogger: Letters From Rasputina, Part 1". LA Weekly. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  28. Blanks, Tim (May 30, 2017). The World of Anna Sui (ebook). ABRAMS. pp. 286, 287. ISBN 9781683350262. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  29. "Longtime Companion (1989)". Imdb. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  30. Levy, Emanuel (16 June 2021). "Longtime Companion (1990): Narrative Structure (Chapters, Events, Characters)–Full Cast and Credits". emanuellevy.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  31. "On My Knees (Short 2003)". Imdb. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  32. "Film". KimWood.org. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  33. "Rasputina- Great American Gingerbread". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  34. "Under the Corset with Rasputina – a documentary by Dawn Miceli". Underthecorset.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  35. "Tigtone and the Pilot". Imdb. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  36. "Newsbunny". Rasputina's Official Website. 18 January 2012. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  37. Rogovoy, Seth (29 October 2014). "Rasputina's Melora Creager in November Residency at Helsinki Hudson". The Rogovoy Report. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  38. Dan, Jen (17 July 2015). "Interview with Rasputina". Rebel Noise. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  39. Mosk, Mitch (21 October 2016). "Rasputina's Spellbinding Cello Rock - Meet Rasputina". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
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