She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era Olympia, Seattle and Washington, D.C. music scenes.
[2][3][4][5] Maffeo was raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated in 1981 from Xavier College Preparatory, an all-female private Catholic high school.
[6] In 1989, Maffeo and drummer Pat Maley founded the band Courtney Love, the name of which is coincidentally identical to the musician of the same name.
[5][4] Maffeo wrote for The Stranger, an alternative newspaper in Seattle, in addition to Out, Salon, Time Out New York, and CMJ New Music Monthly.
[4] In 2000, Maffeo released the album The Union Themes, a collaboration with Brendan Canty of Fugazi that was two years in the making.