Van Kleef’s groove rock, features Michele's classically trained, soulful voice, ranging from the reminiscent sounds
of Janis Joplin to the compelling melodies and pure tones of Joni Mitchell. Michele delivers a lively, yet touching
musical performance with songs written from her heart that move the listener to feel what inspired her to write.
Her music is based in storytelling with memorable melodies and sung with haunting vocals.
Van Kleef's 2nd solo record, Your Own Way, with a release date of June 6, 2014, is an eclectic mix of musical
styles and was recorded at Portland's Kung Fu Bakery Recording Studios. Led by the incomparable
Producer/Guitarist Tim Ellis, featuring Hall & Oates drummer Michael Braun, Troy Welstad (Pink, A Fine
Frenzy, Hilary Duff) on keyboards, and Jamin Swenson on bass. Rock Violinist, Aaron Meyer added his talents
to a couple tracks as well as Calobo bandmate, Caleb Klauder, on mandolin and Carl Smith on percussion throughout.
Michele's solo album, "After All" features her soulful voice, memorable melodies and storytelling lyrics.
The record was mixed by Tchad Blake (2x Grammy Award Winner for Sheryl Crow and Suzanne Vega)
and includes legendary bass player Tony Levin plus Nate Query from The Decemberists. Three tracks from this
record were played overhead in all Starbucks coffee houses worldwide, as well
as on three episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Michele got her start in the music industry as a singer in the very successful, NW-based Indie band Calobo.
They toured the country for over 6 years and shared the stage with Sara McLachlan, Train, Indigo Girls, Ani
DiFranco and Jethro Tull. In Portland they played Portland Meadows, The Roseland Theater, La Luna and became
regular sell-outs at The Crystal Ballroom. Across the country they played Wetlands in NYC, House of Blues in Chicago,
the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, The Showbox and the Moore Theater in Seattle, and the epic music festival,
Bumbershoot on the Stadium Stage in Seattle. When all was said and done, Calobo released 5 full-length records, the
final being recorded Live at the Crystal Ballroom in hometown Portland, OR. After Calobo disbanded, 2 of the members
helped found the Decemberists. Calobo's recent 2012 reunion mini tour was met with thousands of nostalgic fans and great
success.
After Calobo, Michele joined Lazy Bones Recordings as Mackabella in Seattle. They released the self-titled album Mackabella
and many of these songs were placed in the TV/Film industry. "Willing" has had the most placements:
a movie trailer for the Johnny Cash story "Walk the Line", and spoof of the same film, "Walk Hard", among many others.
Other Mackabella song placements include VH1, Fox, NBC, T-Mobile, 90210, Lifetime, MTV, South of Nowhere, and Roswell.
