"The honesty of their music is striking, revealing itself through thought-provoking lyrics and the raw qualities of the guitar fretwork." The Clarion, April, 2005
"Singer-guitarist Kari sets the tone with a weathered, raspy trill focused in the same way as Chan Marshall's is in Cat Power. But bleak images cry out for hope through Shane's fluid guitar melodies, and it all turns out to be quite wonderfully heart-wrenching and beautifully melancholy." The Onion, January 2006
"The recording is noteworthy for the rich sound the duo achieve by weaving together two beautifully played acoustic guitars." The Isthmus, January 2006
Makeshift Ego is an acoustic rock duo. Kari and Shane both began as solo artists playing completely different styles of music. In the fall of 2004, they met and decided to become an official band.
Kari is the lyric-ist, vocal-ist, rhythm guitar-ist, and sometimes the percussion-ist. Her first appearance was at an open mic in Madison at age sixteen. She started playing out with makeshift bands and booked a few shows in local coffeehouses over the course of two years.
Enter Shane. He moved to Madison from Upper Michigan three years ago to follow his dream of becoming a musician. Shane layers technical picking patterns and harmony guitar parts over Kari's rhythm guitar. Check out his solo stuff.