Center Stage: An Abandoned Albums Podcast

Keith and Geoff welcome Spotlights mastermind Mario Quintero into Thunderlove Studio to chat about the band, their career, and their upcoming album, Alchemy For The Dead (drops April 28 via Ipecac Records). Spotlights is Mario Quintero (guitar, vocals, keys), Sarah Quintero (bass, vocals) and Chris Enriquez (drums). The band has released three albums to date: Tidals (2016) Seismic (2018) Love & Decay (2019) Consequence praised their “unique amalgam of sounds that is both heavy and heavenly.” Brooklyn Vegan said Spotlights “balances the pretty with metallic sludge” Invisible Oranges said they thrive “on the ambient and krautrock inspired edges of post-metal.” Geoff Calhoun of Abandoned Albums said "Spotlights are mind blowingly good." In the wake of their 2020 EP We Are All Atomic, Kerrang! observed, “That a band as heavy and romantic as Spotlights have become a fixture in the rock scene Is impressive; that they’ve done it in such a short period of time is tremendous.” The band is on tour NOW - check them out!! LINKS Spotlights Tour Spotlights on Spotify Spotlights on Bandcamp Ipecac Recordings Spotlights on FB Spotlights on IG

We close our fourth season with an incredible interview with the remarkable Jeremy Chatelain.  Originally from Utah’s hardcore scene, fronting the band's Insight and Iceburn, he made his way to New York City and found himself fronting a “supergroup” that became Handsome. Handsome, included ex-Helmet guitarist Peter Mengede and ex-Quicksand guitarist Tom Capone recorded a self-titled debut for Epic Records. The album is known for its aggressive music and incredible lyrics and continues influencing musicians.  Kerrang! listed Handsome as one of the "12 most underrated albums of the '90s," while Louder Sound included them on a list of the "top 50 cult metal bands". After he left Handsome, Chatelain formed Jets to Brazil with singer Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbox. The band recorded three well-received albums from 1998 - 2002 In 2005 Jeremy joined the band Helmet to play bass, replacing Frank Bello on the Size Matters tour, but left in September 2006.  Since 2000 he has written and performed with his alt-country leaning band Cub Country. Oh, he's also and entrepreuneur and children's book author. No, you read that correctly. We're going out BIG - this is an interview that is going in the vault.  Many, many thanks to Jeremy!! LINKS Jeremy Chatelain Handsome Jets to Brazil Cub Country Cub Country on Bandcamp Timber Music Supply (Jeremy's Business) 6131 Records Jade Tree Records Texas is the Reason (band) Handsome Band Interview circa first tour Cro-Mags Murphy’s Law Helmet Quicksand Gorilla Bisquits We’ll be dark for the next two weeks but will return with Season Five on April 26.

BONUS EPISODE Geoff & Keith dig deep to tackle the mystery around Jake Thomspon and The Slim Whitcomb Band. This is almost an Unsolved Mystery Abandoned Albums episode because they try to find out WTF happened to Jake Thompson.  The Slim Whitcomb Band was well on its way to success when Jake disappeared in August 1997. Their debut album, Trailer Park Trash, has a near-legendary reputation among many music fans. The guys welcome SWB guitar player Drew Fischer and bass player Emma Dalton into Thunderlove Studio to chat about the band. They also got to speak to Trailer Park Trash producer Lyle "Skunk" Gallagher.  This is the story of The Slim Whitcomb Band.

With Geoff out after a bizarre curling incident (long story), Keith flies solo this week as he welcomes Paul Heck into Thunderlove Studio for a chat. Paul Heck created the AIDS Music Project to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and normalize discussing safe sex. In this endeavor, Heck pursued the idea of an AIDS-benefit alternative rock compilation. He partnered with fellow Brown alumni Chris Mundy (a Rolling Stone senior writer) and Jessica Kowal (a freelance writer for Newsday) to produce the album No Alternative, the third album in the Red Hot Organization's (RHO) AIDS Benefit Music series. No Alternative, released on Arista Records in October 1993. The album received an A+ review in Entertainment Weekly and was described by Rolling Stone as "a jaw-dropping compilation of musical gems." A No Alternative MTV special featured a mix of live performances by Smashing Pumpkins and Goo Goo Dolls, music videos, short films by directors Hal Hartley, Tamra Davis, Michael Stipe, Jim McKay, and Matt Mahurin. No Alternative raised over $1.5 million, and the proceeds were donated to AIDS relief organizations across the US. Following No Alternative's commercial and critical success, Heck has produced other HIV/AIDS awareness-raising albums and a series of concerts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Heck's subsequent productions include: Red Hot + Bothered Offbeat Red Hot + RIO Red Hot + Rhapsody Red Hot + Indigo Red Hot + RIOT Red Hot + RIO2 Red Hot + FELA Master Mix: Red Hot + Arthur Russell In 2004, Heck was honored by Brown University as the recipient of the John Hope Award for Career Public Service. Paul co-produced Dark Was The Night (2009), an AIDS benefit album that raised over $1 million and featured artists like The National, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, My Morning Jacket, and Jose Gonzalez. In 2013 Heck produced a 20th Anniversary reissue of No Alternative on vinyl (Sony Legacy) for Record Store Day. In 2019 Heck produced Love is the Drug, a campaign in N. Carolina featuring live music pop-up events with video storytelling focused on raising awareness around Harm Reduction and Opioid Addiction.  In 2020 Heck invited another Brown alum, fine artist Keith Mayerson, to create a portrait of Dr. Anthony Fauci as a part of a limited art edition fundraiser for Treatment Action Group (TAG). Heck worked as an A&R for Arista Records and Warner Bros. Records in the mid-1990s. Paul has produced the compilation albums: Shuggie Otis Inspiration Information (Luaka Bop, 2002) Fela Kuti The Underground Spiritual Game Mix (with Chief Xcel of Blackalicous - Quannum Projects, 2004) Tim Maia Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential soul of Tim Maia (Luaka Bop, 2011) In The Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2 a project featuring African artists reinterpreting the songs of U2 (Shout! Factory Records, 2007) With his company Cobeep, Heck has produced video projects and live events for Steve Martin, Yo-Yo Ma[32] and Joe Walsh's annual VetsAid benefit concerts and livestreams.  LINKS Paul Heck Jujulele - Short Songs About The Universe Paul Heck on Substack No Alternative Red Hot Organization Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell - documentary Joe Walsh’s Vet Aid Farm Aid Shuggie Otis Tim Maia Nirvana - Sappy Everything But The Girl - Corcovado Go-Go Music

This is the type of episode Abandoned Albums was created for! In this episode, Keith & Geoff sit down with singer/songwriter John Strohm to discuss his album Vestavia, his experiences in the music industry, and some of his creative challenges.  John shares insights into the creative process, his journey in the industry, and the inspiration behind some of his most notable songs.  If you're a fan of John's music, 90s music, or music in general, this is not an episode you will want to miss! LINKS John Strohm Blake Babies Antenna The Lemonheads Juliana Hatfield Ed Ackerson Polera

Chad Fischer's early work was being a drummer for the band School of Fish ("Three Strange Days"), founded by his college friend Josh Clayton-Felt. Fischer replaced the original their original drummer in 1991; however, he did not play on the band's second album due to a fallout with a producer and was replaced by Josh Freese. Mr. Freese pops up repeatedly in this episode. Nevertheless, Fischer still stayed with the band to perform live. The only official commercial School of Fish release that included his drumming was the single "Take Me Anywhere," which you can hear in this episode.  After School of Fish disbanded in 1994, Chad Fischer built his own recording studio and started writing new material. He signed to Almo Sounds label and formed the band Lazlo Bane, whose debut album, 11 Transistor, was released in January 1997. During the early years, Chad Fischer met Colin Hay, with whom he became a close friend. Fisher played drums on Hay's 1994 album Topanga, while Hay contributed guitar and vocals to Lazlo Bane's cover of "Overkill" from their debut album.  Since then, Chad Fischer took part in the recording of Hay's subsequent studio albums up to Next Year People in 2015. Chad wore many hats, from session musician and songwriter to mixing engineer and co-producer. Chad Fischer's early work on TV scores includes shows My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star and The Class. In 2007 Chad Fischer and Lazlo Bane guitarist Tim Bright started scoring the American medical drama series Private Practice. During its run Fischer and Bright won BMI TV Music Award four times: in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012. The show concluded after six seasons in 2013. After Private Practice, Chad Fischer started providing music for another ABC show, Scandal. For his work, he won the BMI TV Music Award six times from 2013 to 2018. Oh, yea, and Chad wrote "I'm No Superman" - the theme song to the show Scrubs.  The highly acclaimed Garden State soundtrack, released in 2004, subsequently winning a Grammy Award in 2005 and receiving platinum certification, featured two songs produced by Chad Fischer: "Blue Eyes" performed by Cary Brothers and "Winding Road" performed by actress Bonnie Somerville. Other musicians and bands Fischer produced include Everlast, Lisa Loeb, Colin Hay, and The Good Luck Joes. Are you still reading this?  You should really be listening. LINKS Chad Fischer Lazlo Bane (new song out now) Colin Hay Josh Freese on IG Mike Ward on IG  The Wallflowers Pat Mastelato Ben Harper Crowded House Paul Westerberg Dennis Herring Matt Wallace Butch Vig on IG Scrubs TV Show Zach Braff

Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, who stopped touring in 2017 and left the band in 2020. Guss was replaced by drummer Josh Daubin, who had been supporting them as their drummer on recent tours. They had chart success in the 1990s with singles that included "Walk on the Ocean," "All I Want," "Something's Always Wrong," "Fall Down," and "Good Intentions."  The band broke up in 1998 to pursue other projects. Although re-united periodically for short tours. In December 2010, the band announced their official reunion as a full-time working band and started writing songs for their first studio album of new material. That album would become New Constellation, followed by The Architect of the Ruin.   Toad the Wet Sprocket's most recent full-length album, Starting Now, was released on August 27, 2021. As a solo artist, Glen Phillips released Abulum in 2000.  In 2004, he released a long-awaited collaboration with Nickel Creek under the Mutual Admiration Society. The self-titled album was recorded in 2000 and featured songs written by Phillips alone and collaborative efforts with Sean and Sara Watkins, released on Sugar Hill Records. In 2005, Phillips released the critically acclaimed Winter Pays For Summer. The album included the radio single "Duck and Cover," but Phillips and the label would part ways due to creative differences.  A compilation of six outtakes from that album was published as an EP titled Unlucky 7, the first track ("The Hole") featured in the second episode of the AMC television series Breaking Bad. Phillips released his third proper solo album, Mr. Lemons, in the spring of 2006.  In January 2008, it was reported by Billboard that a new supergroup had formed. The ensemble gathered in Jim Scott's recording studio, and by September 2008, the collective settled upon the name Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). In its octet configuration, WPA features Phillips, Sean Watkins (guitar), his sister Sara Watkins (fiddle), Benmont Tench (piano), Luke Bulla (fiddle), Greg Leisz (various), Pete Thomas (drums), and Davey Faragher (bass). The group also performs as a quintet featuring Phillips, Watkins, Bulla, and bassist Sebastian Steinberg. The results of the 2008 recording sessions were released as an album on September 15, 2009. Phillips has also completed an album with Neilson Hubbard and Garrison Starr under the band name, Plover, released on October 23, 2008. In 2009, Phillips was involved in the soundtrack of the film Imagine That. He covers The Beatles' song "I'll Follow the Sun." On April 5, 2018, Glen Phillips signed with Compass Records Group. His 2016 album, Swallowed by the New, was followed by There Is So Much Here in 2021. Keith & Geoff welcomed Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips to Thunderlove Studio and had a delightful conversation about, but not limited to, disco, hippies, and mental health.  Go figure.   Toad the Wet Sprocket is hitting the road this summer. LINKS Toad the Wet Sprocket Glen Phillips Toad the Wet Sprocket Tour Dates W.P.A. on Spotify Mutual Admiration Society on Spotify  Compass Records Remote Tree Children - one of Glen’s side projects Dystopia Tonight Podcast Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle Reinhold Niebuhr Serentity Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives The Langley Schools Music Project - “Space Oddity” Snot (band) Angus Cooke  4AD Records Envelope 23 Design Gabrile the Traveler - Santa Barbara Antic Disco Melee Largo - LA Club 99% Invisible Podcast - The Day the Music Stopped

Linus of Hollywood (Linus Dotson) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. The stage name comes from his early days in Los Angeles, where he frequently wore striped shirts similar to the Peanuts character Linus van Pelt.  At age 21, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. In 1995 Dotson started his professional career with the band Size 14, named after his shoe size. After releasing their self-titled album in 1997, the band broke up in 1998.  After Size 14, Linus began playing with and producing other artists and recording his work. In 1999, Linus released his first solo album, Your Favorite Record, on his label, Franklin Castle Recordings. He performed nearly everything on the album, both instrumentally and vocally. He has since released four more albums: Let Yourself Be Happy (2001), Triangle (2006), Attractive Singles (2008), and Reheat & Serve (2008). The single for "A Girl That I Like" was released in 2011. Dotson released his fourth solo album in 2014, titled Something Good. Linus has toured with guitar hero Paul Gilbert extensively, as well as working with artists like: Allstar Weekend, 5 Seconds of Summer, Mr. Big, Bowling for Soup, Cheap Trick, The Charlatans, Kim Fox, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lil' Kim, Nerf Herder, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. (of Jellyfish), Puff Daddy, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Dotson co-wrote the theme song for Nickelodeon's School of Rock and also wrote music for the show. His solo music has been included in the TV shows Weeds, Californication, and The New Normal. He also appeared as an actor in the season finale episode of The New Normal and performed in an episode of TNT's Rizzoli & Isles. Yea, he’s done a lot. Linus is currently on tour in Japan with Able Machines. LINKS Linus of Hollywood Able Machines on Spotify Size 14 Nerf Herder Bowling for Soup Jarinus “Scarified” - Linus shredding with guitar legend Paul Gilbert Jellyfish Enuff Z’Nuff Old Dirty Bastard Sigrid (singer) Dagny (singer) White Reaper (band)

Santa Barbara Independent July 8, 2021 by S.W. Lauden There’s a parallel universe in which this article is about Popsicko’s triumphant two-night stand at the Santa Barbara Bowl. A world where this high-energy alternative-rock band takes a triumphant victory lap in front of an adoring hometown crowd after nearly three decades at the top of the charts, countless world tours, and piles of platinum records. Given the buzz around Popsicko in the early ’90s, the above scenario seemed entirely possible. “[Popsicko] plays songs stocked with simple chords and catchy refrains that you can shout along to, yet blissfully devoid of overproduction and triteness,” Danny Gellert wrote for a Santa Barbara Independent cover story in 1995. “This is rock and roll that’s informed of every pop music phase since the British Invasion, yet reinvents itself like none of it ever happened.” But you’ve probably already guessed that’s not how this story ends.  So happy to welcome S.W. Lauden back to talk about this album.  Sit down, strap yourself in, there's some stuff here... LINKS Popsicko Big Stir Records S.W. Lauden Marko DeSantis The Santa Barbara Independent The Whiffs Paint Fumes (band) Billy Tibbals The Uni Boys Christian Lee Hutson Lokis Folly (band) Daizy (band) Yard Act (band) Dry Cleaning (band) Ridel High (band) S.W. Lauden Books  

Fig Dish IS a 1990s rock band based in Chicago. The band signed to PolyGram Records in 1995 and released two full-length albums before becoming inactive in 1998. Fig Dish's sound was influenced by 80s college rock and indie bands such as Dinosaur Jr. and The Replacements, and has drawn comparisons to Cheap Trick. They were part of a mid-90s Chicago rock scene that included The Smashing Pumpkins, Veruca Salt, and Local H. They were closely associated and often shared bills with those and other Chicago acts such as Triple Fast Action, Smoking Popes, and Hushdrops. The band's name was said to have been chosen for its resemblance, when pronounced, to the vulgar German phrase fick dich. That's What Love Songs Often Do, Fig Dish's 1995 major label debut album, which had been out of print for years, was re-released in April 2013. Chicago Magazine wrote that the band was a "folkloric Chicago outfit," and quoted Blake Smith's summary of the band's career: "We were too busy being the underdog Midwestern raging partying guys, and it killed us.... We just weren’t very good at playing the game, and we drank a lot back in those days." LINKS Fig Dish Caviar The Prairie Cartel The Donnor Pass The Diablos Interval Veruca Salt Cheap Trick The Webb Brothers Onanism