Michelle Shocked is a singer, songwriter, and activist. She was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently resides in Brooklyn. Shocked was born in 1968 in Fullerton, California. At age 11 she began taking classical piano lessons to help her with her shyness. Although she loved playing the piano, she also played trombone since it was easy for her to hide behind the instrument
Afterward, she switched to trumpet. She graduated from Fullerton High School in 1986. Upon graduation, she took a year off to work as an office assistant at the local radio station KDAY, where she had been a disc jockey two years prior. There she wrote songs for KDAY's "personality of the week" feature, which aired every week on the station's morning show.
When she got back into school at Cal State Fullerton that fall, she was accepted into the school's ensembles program, where she sang with two other groups: The Fullerton College Jazz Ensemble and The Fullerton College Chorale. Despite her lack of experience singing live, she joined the jazz band at CSUF for one semester before dropping out to pursue music full-time. While working as a delivery man for Pizza Hut, Shocked attended open mic nights at the bar where she first performed under the stage name "Michelle Shocked." She was fired from Pizza Hut after getting drunk during one of her shifts and leaving her car running outside the restaurant while trying to meet up with friends after an open mic night. She has said that after being fired by her employer, "my life started getting better." She became interested in punk rock after seeing The Clash play at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in 1987. She soon picked up guitar and began writing songs about growing up in Orange County and fighting Southern California's conservative values.
One of her first songs was about fighting with her boyfriend so much that he ended up leaving her for another woman; Shocked later rerecorded it as "Another Man Done Gone." After writing this song, Shocked decided to take control of her life by performing at open mics around Los Angeles herself instead of relying on friends or talent agents to introduce her to managers or record labels. It was around this time that one of these open mics put out a demo tape featuring several early tracks written by Shocked; these tracks would eventually be re-recorded (with different vocalists) as "No More Mr.
When I grow up I want to be an old woman.Michelle Shocked
Writing and singing does give me some kind of release from the demons of my past, it is a therapy of sorts, but to be honest, my marriage played a more important role in the acceptance of myself than performance has ever done.Michelle Shocked
I accepted a change in my life. I didn't choose that change and those are the best changes to make.Michelle Shocked
