When the Mae Shi disbanded after 2008’s HLLYH, Brad Breeck pursued a career in composing, writing music for Apple MacBook Air commercials, and the soundtracks to Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny and the Nickelodeon TV series Fanboy & Chum Chum. Breeck, however, continued making music on his own. Fascinated by the late-2000s/early-2010s debates about health care, the economy, and other issues, he wrote and recorded a set of songs setting his thoughts to eclectic, punk-tinged pop that picked up where the Mae Shi left off. Dubbing his project Skull Tape, he recruited bandmates and recorded The Invisible Hand and the Descent of Man, which was released in 2011. ~ Heather Phares