In Loving Recollection

In the spring of 1996, two friends would attend a show together and decide to start a label. In celebration of Kindercore Records’ 30th anniversary, co-founders Dan Geller and Ryan Lewis tell the story of how the beloved, Athens-based indie label came to be. Featuring insights from kincaid.’s Greg Harmelink, filmmaker Marc Pilvinsky, and Elf Power’s Andrew Rieger, Episode 66 chronicles the events that would lead to the label’s first official release: The Treble Revolution.

After spending a couple of years playing around their hometown, as well as venturing up the East Coast, the Athens, Georgia quartet Squalls would enter Electro-Acoustic Systems Studio in September of 1984 and make a record. In Episode 65, the band’s frontman and primary songwriter, Bob Hay, tells the story of how Squalls’ 1984 self-titled ep came to be. Recounting the events and inspirations that led to its creation, the native Midwesterner touches on his journey to Athens and the supportive environment there that helped facilitate the band’s formation.

Nearly 35 years ago, a group of extraterrestrials became stranded on Earth. Posing as college students attending Auburn University, they would make the most of the situation by starting a band and making a record. In Episode 64, Brian Teasley aka Birdstuff tells the story of how Man or Astro-man?’s 1993 debut full-length Is It…Man or Astroman? came to be. Recorded in a 100 year old house in rural Alabama, Teasley touches on the band’s experience working there with engineer Jim Marrer as well as the events that led to the album’s creation.

In the fall of 1984, singer-songwriter Carla Olson of the Los Angeles based band The Textones would visit Madame Wong’s West for an evening of live music. It is there, after being pulled on stage to sing with that night’s performer, that she would meet and befriend her future duet partner– the late, great Gene Clark. In Episode 63, Olson tells the story of hers and Clark’s 1987 album So Rebellious a Lover. Considered to be one the first true Americana albums, Olson recounts the events and influences that brought about its creation including her musical journey from Texas to Los Angeles, the living room singalongs that would inspire the album’s specific sound, and the transformative experience of working with the legendary songwriter and founding member of The Byrds.

After spending some years contributing to various projects within the Los Angeles music community, musician Ben Schwab would take advantage of the time afforded to him through the Covid 19 lockdown, as well as a new sense of creative freedom, to focus his energy towards the creation of Sylvie. In Episode 62, the California by way of Ohio songwriter tells the story of how Sylvie's 2022 self-titled debut came to be, touching on the key events and influences that inspired the album’s conception.

Shortly after the release of their debut album in October of 2021,  the band Coco would begin work on its follow-up. In Episode 61, Maia Friedman, Oliver Hill, and Dan Molad discuss the making of their 2024 sophomore effort 2. Written and recorded during significant transitions within their personal lives, the members of Coco touch on the catalysts that would result in the album’s creation including their shared and unshared histories, formation, and experiences recording in both Virginia and Yucca Valley.

In August of 2000, the San Francisco based indie pop band Call and Response would travel to the other side of the country and make a record in the sleepy college town of Athens, Georgia. For Episode 60, Call and Response’s Carrie Clough, Dan Judd, Terri Loewenthal, and Simone Rubi tell the story of how their 2001 self-titled debut came to be. Recounting the events that led to the album’s creation, the bandmates touch on the key influences that would guide its lyrical and sonic directions as well as their experience working with the late, great Bill Doss.

In 2002, the Los Angeles based country psyche band Beachwood Sparks would go on an extended hiatus. Making the most of the opportunity presented, multi-instrumentalist Farmer Dave Scher would begin to construct a record, enlisting the help of his Beachwood bandmate Jimi Hey. In Episode 59, Scher tells the story of Spirit Stereo Frequency, the lone full-length effort by All Night Radio. Sharing insight into the experiences and events that helped shape its creation, Scher touches on the painstaking process of recording the album in his Echo Park apartment as well as the concepts and influences that inspired its overall sound.

After forming in 1978, the New York City based band The dB’s would, by the next year, begin recording material at Blue Rock Studio in Manhattan. The end result would become a seminal classic. In Episode 58, Peter Holsapple and Will Rigby tell the story of their band’s 1981 debut full-length Stands for deciBels. Recounting their formation and the recording of the album, the two bandmates detail their long history of playing music together which first began during their youth in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In the Spring of 2022, singer-songwriter Milan McAlevey would begin to develop the material that would make up his 3rd solo release. Working in his home studio in South Portland, Maine, the songs would start to move in a specific direction while still maintaining the same darkness, humor, and sincerity of his past works. In Episode 57, McAlevey tells the story of his 2024 album Bucksport Motel, discussing its lyrical inspirations, the influence country music had over its musical direction, and the people that would help color the finished product.

After a day spent searching for a place to make a record, members of the Richmond, VA by way of Redlands, CA band Cracker would decide to make a detour and get something to eat at Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace. It was there that everything would seemingly fall into place. In Episode 56, Cracker’s David Lowery tells the story of his band's 1993 sophomore effort Kerosene Hat. Recorded with producer Don Smith in Pioneertown, Lowery touches on the band’s experience making the album in an old barn that once served as a soundstage and the unexpected commercial success that would follow its release.

In the summer of 2000/2001, Melbourne, Australia's The Lucksmiths would enter Audrey Studios in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond to record with producer Craig Pilkington. When the sessions were complete, the band would emerge with an ambitious new album. In Episode 55, The Lucksmiths’ Marty Donald and Mark Monnone tell the story of their 2001 indie pop classic Why That Doesn’t Surprise Me. Detailing the events and experiences that led to its creation, the bandmates discuss the writing and recording process as well as the people that helped shape the album’s direction and sound.

After experiencing some success with the release of his band’s fifth album Nixon and quitting his long standing job with a flooring company, Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner would take advantage of the momentum and extra time by working on the songs that would make up the band’s next album. In Episode 54, Wagner tells the story of Lambchop’s 2002 album Is a Woman. Recorded with frequent collaborator Mark Nevers in their home base of Nashville, Tennessee, the band’s leader recounts the process of shaping the record’s sonic direction and the positive outcomes that occurred as a result of its creation.

Having been based in Upstate New York for a time, Widowspeak’s Molly Hamilton and Robert Earl Thomas would make the decision in 2020 to return to the place where their band had first begun, Brooklyn, New York. Unfortunately, their return to the city would coincide with the entire world being shut down. It is under these abnormal circumstances that Hamilton and Thomas would begin to build the world in which their sixth album would exist. In Episode 53, the members of Widowspeak tell the story of their 2022 album The Jacket. Recounting the events that led to its creation, Hamilton and Thomas touch on the album’s concept and inspirations as well as their experience working with co-producer Homer Steinwiess at The Diamond Mine in Queens, New York. 

While on tour in Japan with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, musician Russell Simins would meet Japanese expatriates Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda of the New York City based band Cibo Matto. Once all three were back in New York, they would form the band Butter 08 with Skeleton Key’s Rick Lee and graphic designer/ filmmaker Mike Mills. In Episode 52, Simins tells the story of how the band’s only record, 1996’s Butter, came to be. Recorded primarily at Greene Street Recordings in Manhattan, Simins delves into the experience of working there and producing the effort alongside Honda as well as the inspirations, both sonically and lyrically, behind the album’s tracks.  

In the fall of 1968, Bell Records would release singer-songwriter Margo Guryan’s debut full-length Take a Picture. Initially, the album would fail to garner much attention due to the Guryan’s reluctance to perform and promote the record. Many years later, Take a Picture would begin to gain a cult following, leading to a reissue in the early 2000s and some long overdue acclaim. In Episode 51, Guryan’s stepson Jon Rosner and Take a Picture’s producer John Hill tell the story of the late songwriter’s lone studio album, touching on her early life in Far Rockaway, Queens, her transition from the world of jazz into pop, and the magical discovery that was made after double tracking her vocals.

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.

Having made a name for himself as an engineer and producer during the burgeoning college rock scene of the early 80s, Mitch Easter would form the band Let’s Active with bassist Faye Hunter and drummer Sara Romweber as a vehicle for his own songwriting. In Episode 30, Easter tells the story of the band’s 1984 debut full length Cypress. Recounting the events surrounding the album’s creation, the native North Carolinian touches on the band's experience working in the studio he built inside his parents' garage and how a bandmate’s really great hair would lead to their signing with I.R.S Records.  

With their matching suits and unabashed love of the classic pop song, the band Holiday would become one of the country’s finest practitioners of indie pop during the alternative rock heyday of the 1990s. In Episode 29, Holiday’s Josh Gennet and Matt Snow tell the story of the band’s sophomore record Ready, Steady, Go. Detailing the events that led to the album’s creation, the two former bandmates discuss their beginnings in the hallowed halls of Yale University as well as their experience working in the studio with producer Dave Trumfio.

In the summer of 1994, David Berman along with bandmates Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich, and Steve West entered Easley McCain Recording in Memphis, Tennessee. The end result would be Starlite Walker. In Episode 28, Silver Jews founding member Bob Nastanovich tells the story of the band’s debut full length recounting Berman’s excursion into the woods of Oxford, Mississippi to write the album's lyrics as well as the impetus for and the experience of working in a professional recording studio.

In the winter of 2001, the Los Angeles based psychedelic country band Beachwood Sparks traveled to a snowy New England to make a record at J Mascis’s house. In Episode 27, bassist Brent Rademaker tells the story of the band’s sophomore album Once We Were Trees. Recounting the events that led to the album’s creation, Rademaker touches on the influences that shaped the record’s lyrics and sounds as well as the band’s experience working with producer Thom Monahan.

When her plans to tour in January of 2019 get delayed, Michigan born songwriter Rosali Middleman decides to travel to South Carolina to spend some time alone and focus on new material. In Episode 26, Middleman tells the story of how her 2021 record No Medium came to be. Recorded in a Nebraska basement with David Nance Group as her backing band, the sometimes Philadelphian touches on the events that inspired the album’s lyrics and her experience of releasing music during a pandemic.

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.

Following the release of his band’s 2005 record We’re Already There, Quentin Stoltzfus would lose the right to perform and record under the name Mazarin. Eight years later, he would finally release new music under the name Light Heat. In Episode 24, Stoltzfus tells the story of Light Heat’s long journey to completion, touching on the events that inspired the record's themes of loss and hope as well as the experience of bringing the songs to fruition with the help of his friends in The Walkmen.

In the early 2000s, indie rock stalwarts Superchunk had entered a period of reduced activity. With his long-standing project Portastatic becoming his main musical outlet, Superchunk frontman and Merge Records co-founder Mac McCaughan travels to San Francisco with his Superchunk bandmate Jim Wilbur and brother Matt McCaughan to make a record. In Episode 23, McCaughan delves into the making of 2005’s Bright Ideas touching on how fatherhood and the era’s political climate would inspire the album’s themes.

In January of 2012, singer-songwriter Josephine Foster, who was living abroad at the time, returned to her home state of Colorado to make a record. In Episode 22 of In Loving Recollection, Foster tells the story of her 2012 album Blood Rushing discussing the origins behind the album’s song cycle as well as her experience creating the music with producer Andrija Tokic and a cast of sympathetic musicians. 

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. 

In Episode 20 of In Loving Recollection, Philadelphia native Eric Slick tells the story of his 2020 record Wiseacre. Recorded in his home base of Nashville, Tennessee with producer Jeremy Ferguson (Lambchop, Turbo Fruits), the multi-instrumentalist discusses the circumstances that shaped the album’s creation touching on the inspirations behind record’s sound and the influence that his marriage to singer-songwriter Natalie Prass had on the lyrical content.  

Following the release of her 2nd album in the Fall of 2018, singer-songwriter Molly Burch decides to spend 2019 making a Christmas record. For Episode 19 of In Loving Recollection, the Austin, TX based artist discusses how the The Molly Burch Christmas Album came to be. Telling the story of the album’s creation, Burch touches on the unexpected normalcy of recording holiday music during springtime as well as the lasting effects the project has had on her songwriting.  

In the Winter of 2003, twin siblings Laurie and John Stirratt found themselves living in the same city for the first time in many years. Taking full advantage of the reunion, the Stirratts decide to make a record. For Episode 18 of In Loving Recollection, John Stirratt (Wilco, The Autumn Defense, Uncle Tupelo) and Laurie Stirratt (Blue Mountain, Teardrop City) tell the story of their 2004 album Arabella. Recounting the events that led to the album’s creation, the Stirratts discuss the process of writing and demoing songs while living in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago as well as the inspiration drawn from their childhood spent in close proximity to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Following a hiatus from her work as a touring and recording artist, Mountain Man’s Molly Sarlé decided to once again make music. In Episode 17 of In Loving Recollection, Sarlé tells the story of her debut solo album Karaoke Angel. Touching on the events that led to the album’s creation, the North Carolina based songwriter speaks of her inspiring visits to a Karaoke bar in Big Sur, California and her experience working with producer Sam Evian at Dreamland Studios in Upstate New York.