In Loving Recollection

Episode 65: Squalls by Squalls

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.

Episode 64: Is It...Man or Astroman? by Man or Astro-man?

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.

Episode 63: So Rebellious a Lover by Gene Clark and Carla Olson

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.

Episode 62: Sylvie by Sylvie

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.

Episode 61: 2 by Coco

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.