In Loving Recollection

By the 1990s, the Atlanta mill village known as Cabbagetown had become a haven for artistic types due to its location and cheap rent. It is in this rich environment that The Rock*A*Teens would form and become the pride of the neighborhood’s musical community. In Episode 50 of In Loving Recollection, The Rock*A*Teens’ Chris Lopez tells the story of how the band’s 1999 album Golden Time came to be.

Formed during the halcyon days of the late 90s/ early 2000s Athens, GA music scene, Masters of the Hemisphere would become the quintessential indie pop act of beloved local label Kindercore Records. In Episode 49, Adrian Finch, Jeff Griggs, Bren Mead, and Sean Rawls tell the story of their 2002 album Protest a Dark Anniversary. Recounting the events that led to the record’s creation, the members of the Masters touch on their experience recording at World as Myth Studio and the sense of an impending transition that permeated the whole proceeding.

In the summer of 1995, the Oxford, Mississippi based band Blue Mountain would release their sophomore effort Dog Days. The album would contain a tribute to our nation’s 39th president and all-around good human being, Jimmy Carter. In celebration of this great man’s 99th birthday, In Loving Recollection alumna Laurie Stirratt and her Blue Mountain bandmate Cary Hudson tell the story of their song “Jimmy Carter.”

In the fall of 1975, the children’s educational program Schoolhouse Rock! would debut a song about the history of the Thirteen American Colonies titled “No More Kings.” Two decades later, quintessential American indie rock band Pavement would record a version of the song that would eventually appear on the 1996 tribute album Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks. In Episode 47, Pavement’s Bob Nastanovich returns to In Loving Recollection to tell the story of how their recording of “No More Kings” came to be.

After several years of non-stop touring, Los Angeles based musician Cyrus Gengras would find himself stuck at home in the spring of 2020. Making the most of the situation, Gengras would order a digital 8 track recorder, break out the wah-wah pedal, and make a record. In Episode 46, Gengras tells the story of his 2022 album Good God, detailing the DIY nature of the album’s production and touching on the various characters he has known throughout his life that inspired much of its lyrical content.

In the spring of 2021, singer-songwriter Joan Shelley would visit Earthwave Studio, a recording facility situated in the pastoral landscapes of Shelbyville, Kentucky. In this ideal environment, Shelley and her collaborators would record the collection of songs that would make up her next record. In Episode 45, the native Kentuckian tells the story of her 2022 album The Spur, discussing the lyrical themes and inspirations within the tracks as well as her experience recording them while 7 months pregnant.

Following the release of Teenage Head in 1971, San Francisco’s Flamin’ Groovies would experience a significant amount of setbacks and change. Eventually, they would persevere and create a classic. In Episode 44, the Flamin’ Groovies’ Cyril Jordan tells the story of the band’s arduous journey in bringing their seminal 1976 record Shake Some Action to fruition.

In the summer of 1967, the Youngstown, Ohio band known as the Human Beingz would enter a Cleveland recording studio and make a hit record. A few months later, they would return to record a full length album. In Episode 43 of In Loving Recollection, guitarist Ting Markulin tells the story of The Human Beinz and their 1968 debut full-length Nobody But Me. Detailing the events that led to the album’s creation, Markulin touches on how the recording of the “Nobody But Me” single first came to be and how its eventual success would cause the band to permanently lose the “g” in their name.

Having relocated as a teenager from the suburbs of Philadelphia to a small town in Georgia, singer-songwriter Clay Harper would eventually draw inspiration from the experience, and in the end, make a record. In Episode 42, the former Coolies frontman and restaurateur tells the story of his 2020 album Dirt Yard Street. Recorded at his home studio in Atlanta with help from the city’s music community, Harper recounts the events that led to the album’s creation and details the methods used during the writing and recording process.

After meeting through the sale of an obscure keyboard, musicians Brian Kehew and Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. would bond over their shared love of vintage synthesizers. Eventually, the two friends would start a band, make a record, and buy some space helmets. In Episode 41 of In Loving Recollection, Kehew and Manning tell the story of The Moog Cookbook’s 1996 self-titled debut album, touching on the salad days of affordable synth acquisitions and how their love of Moog centric albums, such as Switched on Bach, helped to inspire the project’s conception.

In the spring of 1996, the Georgia based indie rock band Joe Christmas would travel to Chicago to record with engineer and musician Bob Weston. The end result would be a collection of mostly subdued and sparsely arranged material that differed from previous efforts. In Episode 40, Joe Christmas’s Zachary Gresham and Russell Holbrook tell the story of the band’s sophomore album North To The Future, discussing the inspirations behind the record’s lyrics and sounds as well as their experience recording at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio.

Armed with a four track and a vision of a post apocalyptic future, Blitzen Trapper’s Eric Earley would spend much of the mid aughts tolling away inside a leaky practice space in downtown Portland. Eventually, a record would emerge. In Episode 39 of In Loving Recollection, Earley tells the story of the band’s 2007 album Wild Mountain Nation, detailing the processes and equipment used during its creation and the unexpected outcomes that the end result would produce.

Having recorded their first album as a duo, the San Francisco based band Beulah would make their next record with an expanded lineup and an increase in fidelity. In Episode 38, founding member and multi instrumentalist Bill Swan tells the story of the band’s 1999 sophomore effort When You’re Heartstrings Break, touching on the various locations and stresses involved in bringing the album to fruition.

Following the relative success of their sophomore effort Bows + Arrows, New York City’s The Walkmen decide to finish out 2004 with the release of a holiday themed 7”. In Episode 37, The Walkmen’s Walter Martin makes his triumphant return to In Loving Recollection to tell the story of the band’s Christmas Party single.

With Capricorn Studio shut down due to a remodel, the Macon, Georgia by way of Jacksonville, Florida band Cowboy would travel to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama to make a record. In Episode 36, Cowboy’s Tommy Talton tells the story of the band’s 1971 sophomore album 5’ll Getcha Ten, touching on the inspiration drawn from their time living together at an old farmhouse outside of Macon and their experience working in the studio with producer Johnny Sandlin and guitarist Duane Allman.

After moving with his family to upstate New York, singer-songwriter Walter Martin would set up in an old, one room schoolhouse and begin working on the material that would make up his next record. In Episode 35, Martin tells the story of his brand new album The Bear. Recorded at his home with some additional sessions in Los Angeles, the former member of The Walkmen and Jonathan Fire*Eater discusses the process of developing the album’s overall sound as well as the inspirations behind much of its lyrical content.

In Episode 34 of In Loving Recollection, Chicago native Liam Kazar tells the story of his 2021 debut record Due North. Recorded at various locations with help from an encouraging group of collaborators, the Kansas City based musician discusses the experiences that led to the album’s creation, touching on the specific influences that inspired the record's overall sound and the vital piece of songwriting advice he received from Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.

While researching the life of English mathematician John Venn, Nashville based singer-songwriter Lou Turner became inspired after discovering parallels between her life and his. In Episode 33, Turner tells the story of her 2020 album Songs for John Venn. Recounting the events that led up to the record’s creation, the native Texan touches on how her work at a library influenced much of the album’s lyrical direction as well as her experience recording with her Styrofoam Winos bandmates.

After meeting at American University in the late 90s, Roman Kuebler and Dan Black would collaborate on a recording project that would eventually morph into the Baltimore, Maryland based quintet The Oranges Band. In Episode 32, Kuebler and Black tell the story of their band’s 2003 debut full length All Around, touching on their signing with noted independent punk label Lookout Records and their experience of making the album at Key Club Recording Company in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

During their brief time together, the legendary power pop trio The Nerves struggled to gain any sort of recognition. In an effort to remedy the situation, the San Francisco based band would enter a Chinese recording studio and make a record. In Episode 31, The Nerves’ Paul Collins and Jack Lee tell the story of their classic 4 song EP, detailing the band’s formation as well as their various schemes and attempts at achieving rock and roll glory.