Seattle will lose another fixture of its music scene tonight when the members of Ms Led perform their final show at the High Dive. But to clear things up, Ms Led is not breaking up.
“We’re not breaking up. It’s more like we’re retiring,” said Lesli Wood, the band’s fiery vocalist.
“We’ve been together for nine years, and we have set out to do all the things we wanted to do,” Wood said. “All of our albums charted on KEXP. We’ve toured a ton. We’ve played major festivals. We got the recognition, had all the accomplishments we wanted. … It just seemed there wasn’t a lot left to do, and we wanted to go out on a high note instead of running things into the ground.”
Wood said she is proud of Ms Led and its near decade-long run.
“We maintained being in an indie band and stayed true to doing what we really wanted to do. … Really we are just a bunch of friends who wanted to play music together,” Wood said.
Ms Led sent political messages with its music by using the tried-and-true rock ‘n’ roll arsenal of guitars and amplifiers. Wood used the band’s aggressive punk-rock style as a vehicle to tackle topics such as the war in Iraq, feminism and other political hot potatoes.
“Being in a band you get to speak to a broad and diverse audience,” Wood said. “You get to meet people in towns where you would normally only stop to get gas. We wanted to use the ability to reach so many different types of people to send a positive political message. Once I realized how powerful the medium of being in a band is I had to get my voice out.”
Wood discovering her voice is what set the tone for the band and helped lay the groundwork for Ms Led’s career — lasting from its first show with Peter Parker at the Catwalk in 2000 to tonight’s farewell gig with openers Wallpaper and The Camellias. The band has had the same lineup — Wood, Matt Menovick (bass), Peg Wood (guitar) and Steph Hasselman (drums) — for nine years, and after tonight’s show (9 p.m.; $8) the friendships forged between bandmates will endure through life after Ms Led.
“I know after the final show we’re all going to be really close,” Wood said. “We’re all best friends.”
So does that mean the members of Ms Led might play together again in the future?
“It’s not out of the question,” she said after a long, ponderous pause. She clarified that although the foursome could get back together to play a show or two, it likely won’t be something that happens anytime soon.
“But I’m sure one day it might happen,” Wood said.
