10 Questions with All Made Up

Allee Futterer (known as All Made Up) is as eclectic as it gets when it comes to her intake and output of music. The Southern California low-ender came up on punk rock before cutting her teeth playing in hardcore and metal bands up the coast, eventually finding a bass mentor in the legendary Carol Kaye, who helped hone her craft. She then trekked off to Berklee College of Music to study upright and electric bass, which led her to find and develop her individual style and inspired her to pursue production and songwriting. She hit the road with artists like Mayer Hawthorne, Conan Gray, Weyes Blood, and a slew of others, but she continued to write for her own project, All Made Up, and for film and television shows like This Is Us and Life in Pieces.

For the past year she’s been anchoring the music of superstar Chappell Roan while appearing in arenas and on the biggest stages showcasing her playing. With her electric stage presence and precision playing, Allee became a standout of the shows and a fan favorite. She also just released All Made Up’s first full-length album, Tell Me What It’s Like Up There, a beautifully moody pop-centric record that puts her abilities as a bassist, vocalist, arranger, and producer on full display (we highly recommend it). We checked in with Allee in between her working on musical projects and taking surf breaks to ask her our 10 Questions.

1. What music have you been listening to lately? 

Kendrick Lamar, Show Me The Body, Cynic, Hiatus Kaiyote, Lauryn Hill, Resistance Revival Chorus, James Blake, Medium Build, Wallice, and Jerry Byrd. 

2. What’s something readers would be surprised that you listen to? 

I pretty regularly listen to the London Symphony Orchestra or orchestral recordings in general. It’s how I decompress. 
 

3. What’s one element of your playing that you most want to improve?

Trying to get the shred back! I feel like I’ve been so focused for a long time on not playing too much that I don’t get a lot of opportunities to shred.

4. What was the first concert you ever attended?

I think Backstreet Boys. But the first concert [I went to] of my own volition was Reggie & the Full Effect.
 

5. What’s the best concert you’ve ever attended?

It would have to be either Bon Iver at the Hollywood Bowl, Queens Of The Stone Age at Glastonbury, Molly Miller anytime I see her, Kendrick Lamar on his Mr. Morale Tour, or Jon Brion at The Largo.

6. If you could have lunch with any bass player today, alive or dead, who would it be? 

I would love to get Sir Paul [McCartney] and John Paul Jones in the same room. 

7. What was your first bass? 

My dad is a guitar player, and the first bass I played was his Fender Jazz Bass. My first bass was a Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass.

8. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given about playing bass? 

“That was great — now try doing that again, but play half as many notes.” Not an exact quote, but Carol Kaye used to tell me something along those lines. 
 

9. What is the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you during a performance? 

I’m not sure how much time you have, but the list is long. . . .The last song of a friend’s show, the bass comes in on the last 16 bars. I didn’t have strap locks on that bass, and I was gearing up for the big dramatic entrance, and my bass just fell onto the floor. I caught it and still played the part, but I had to hold it with my leg up. Another time, I was wearing chaps during a set, and they fell off. And this one didn’t happen to me, but it resonated deeply: I was playing at Park West in Chicago, and our keyboardist’s Moog just like spontaneously flew off the stand. We thought it was a ghost, but it somehow latched a sound and completely took over the show for like 30 seconds [laughs].

10. What are four items that you absolutely need to have on the road with you? 

My Fellow Stagg coffee rig is super-important. I make a point of going to local roasters and getting fresh-ground beans so that I can make pour-overs on the bus. After that, it’s noise-cancelling headphones, a comfy pillow and pillowcase, and a practice headphone amp.

For more on All Made Up: Click Here

Follow All Made Up: HERE