CARMEN PARADISE

Carmen Electra Paradise was raised in rhythm—literally. With a drummer dad and a childhood spent tagging along to band practice, backbeats were her bedtime stories. She came up as a singer-songwriter, but at 23 her path took a sharp, electric turn when Detroit shoegaze favorites Calliope (Thick Records) tapped her to step in as their bassist—despite the tiny detail that she’d never played bass before. She picked one up, trusted the pulse, and never looked back. The magic’s been unfolding ever since.

After relocating to Portland in 2014, Carmen quickly became a sought-after force in the local scene. She joined Lowlight, co-founded the firebrand Americana outfit The Riveters with Ashleigh Flynn (think Tom Petty swagger with fierce femme energy), and helped spark the groove-forward alchemy of Mama Sam & The Jam. Her Detroit roots glow brightest when she’s laying down Motown-soaked lines with Mitch and The Melody Makers, and she occasionally jumps into 90s girl-band throwback bliss with Sideboob—because range is a beautiful thing.

Bass is her heartbeat… the through line in every project, shared with her musical soulmates across stages and studios. Offstage, Carmen works as a social media manager for Travel Portland and can be found cooking, songwriting, mushroom hunting, and gathering friends and family to make joyful noise wherever she lands.