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.
For more info on The Rock*A*Teens, visit therockateens.bandcamp.com and mergerecords.com
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.
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.
For more info on Cyrus Gengras, visit cyrusgenras.bandcamp.com and wastemgmtmusic.com
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 front man 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.
For more info on Clay Harper, visit clayharper.bandcamp.com
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.
For more info on Blitzen Trapper, visit Blitzentrapper.net
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 with bringing the album to fruition.
After a chance encounter with a mysterious instrument called an optigan at a thrift store in Oakland, musician Pea Hicks brings it to his home in San Diego and quickly begins making music with his roommate Rob Crow (Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, Thingy). In Episode 25 of In Loving Recollection, the members of Optiganally Yours tell the story of their 1997 debut album Spotlight on Optiganally Yours touching on how the concept for the band was developed and the steps that were taken to avoid being viewed as a novelty act.
For more info on Optiganally Yours, visit optiganallyyours.bandcamp.com and optigan.com
When childhood friends Ben Crum, Dan Donahue, and Jamey Huggins all eventually move to Athens, Georgia in the 1990s, they begin making music under the name Great Lakes. Episode 21 of In Loving Recollection explores the making of their 2000 self-titled debut. Self-recorded at home with the assistance and support of a strong musical community, the album’s core trio discusses the trial by error process of the record’s production as well as the inspirations behind its sights and sounds.
For more info on Great Lakes, visit greatlakesbencrum.bandcamp.com
For Episode 10, Los Angeles-based songwriter Chris Cohen tells the story of his 2012 solo debut Overgrown Path. The multi-instrumentalist discusses the circumstances that shaped the album’s creation touching on the joys and stresses of DIY recording and the influence that his move to Vermont had on the record’s overall sound.
For more on Chris Cohen, visit chriscohen.bandcamp.com or capturedtracks.com
Austin-based songwriter Caroline Sallee makes wistful and dreamy indie rock under the moniker Caroline Says. In Episode 5 of In Loving Recollection, the Alabama native delves into the making of her 2018 record No Fool Like an Old Fool speaking on her method of writing and recording songs simultaneously and her penchant for re-conceptualizing pieces of culture.
For more info on Caroline Says, visit carolinesays.bandcamp.com or westernvinyl.com
