A native of Ballwin, Missouri, Bauer began studying the string bass in grade school and was tutored in the Suzuki method; in high school, she was appointed to All-State in both orchestra and choir. Later in life, she played upright bass in the mellow folk-rock group [a6483190] (alongside a pre-Living Things Jason Rothman), and in the early 2000s Bauer performed in [a3069097], one of the late Bob Reuter's many outfits.
