By Lily Tindle-Hardy
Melanie Radford (BA, music business, 2017) spent her childhood with a bass guitar in her lap, hunched over sheet music for songs by Nirvana and Led Zeppelin. As a student at Columbia High School in Nampa, Idaho, she was “full tilt” into all things bass, both classical and electric.
“Music really shaped who I was, with the kind of music I listened to and how different it felt,” Radford said. “I wanted to learn more about it — and I was totally obsessed with the bass.”
What started as a passion became a degree at Boise State, then a career. Radford plays bass for Built to Spill, the internationally known band with Boise roots. She has also played with and founded other bands, including Boise group Blood Lemon.
While at Boise State, the Gene Harris, Thelma Brown, and John Best Orchestral String and Music scholarships helped Radford maintain a 17-credit course schedule. She performed with ensembles on campus including the Symphonic Winds, for which she was first chair.
At the same time, in Boise venues, she was rocking out with Nampa, Idaho-based band Marshall Poole, performing gigs around the Northwest and building connections in the music world, including at Treefort Music Fest.
“Pursuing classical music is demanding, and more so when you’re part of a band that’s gaining visibility,” said Brian Hodges, a professor of cello and one of Radford’s instructors. “In Melanie’s case, she handled it with grace and skill.”
Radford met Built to Spill frontman Doug Martsch at a Marshall Poole show. Martsch said that Radford had a “special way of moving with the music, like she was embodying it.” In 2018, he invited her to join the band. In 2023, she performed more thanover 120 Built to Spill shows in the U.S., Europe, Australia and Brazil.
When in Boise, Radford still plays with Blood Lemon, honing her distinct sound, one that listeners know as sharp and raw. The band is set to release its newest EP in winter, 2024. Radford is also working on her first solo record, anticipating a 2025 release. In the midst of her accomplishments and performances on stages around the world, she’s never forgotten her college days.
“I wouldn’t change a thing about going to Boise State,” Radford said. “Studying music in college helped me find my place. I know what I’m meant to do.”