The project of actress and singer/songwriter
Jena Malone and pianist/producer
Lem Jay Ignacio,
the Shoe gets its name from a musical instrument
Malone built out of a steamer trunk containing a range of electronic instruments. Prior to working with
Ignacio,
Malone also released music with her group the Bloodstains, who released a 7" via The Social Registry in 2007. The pair began performing the first night they met at a 2008 Christmas carol party in Los Angeles; from there, they collaborated constantly, with their late-night jam sessions resulting in 2009's At Lem Jay's Garage EP (which
Malone released via her There Was an Old Woman label). The group took a break while
Malone concentrated on her film career, which included her role in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as Johanna Mason, a rebellious tribute selected to fight in a dystopian world's kill-or-be-killed reality show. In 2013,
the Shoe began recording songs for a full-length album; the results,
I'm Okay, were more stripped-down and confessional than the duo's previous work. The album was released by Edward Sharpe's Community Music label and There Was an Old Woman in June 2014. ~ Heather Phares