First up is Less Than Jake’s guitar player and lead singer Chris DeMakes. That’s right — Eric managed to convince Chris to chat with him about how the band wrote and recorded Hello Rockview, how he and the band felt about the album after they made it (hint: it passed the Dad Test), and what it feels like to meet people at every show who still connect with the band’s music.

To round out the episode, Eric invited his sister Becca Jorgensen onto the show to talk about their favorite songs on the album.

Jump into the car and don’t be the last one out of Liberty City — it’s time to dig into Hello Rockview!

Tidbits from Wikipedia

Hello Rockview is the third studio album by ska punk band Less Than Jake, released on October 6, 1998. Produced by Howard Benson, it is the band’s second and final album on Capitol Records, and recorded at Mirror Image Studios in Gainesville, Florida. The album is the first to feature trombonist Pete Anna, who joined the band during its recording. The album is dedicated in memory of Niki Wood.

The album yielded two singles, “History of a Boring Town” and “All My Best Friends Are Metalheads“, with “History of a Boring Town” reaching #39 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart.

The CD booklet had the unorthodox format of a comic book. It was illustrated by Steve Vance, who would later illustrate the song artwork for “The Ghosts of Me and You” on Anthem. Stylistically, it is similar to Dick Tracy. Each page is a separate song, with all dialog, thoughts, and captions being the lyrics to each song. The lyrics themselves all appear in proper order, but the order of the individual songs is different from that of the track list.

Album Details

Band: Less Than Jake
Year Released: 1998
Label: Capitol
Producer: Howard Benson

Episode Links

• Chris DeMakes a Podcast
• Auto-Tune on Wikipedia
• Article on the 2008 fire that destroyed masters owned by Universal
• Less Than Jake

Throughout this two-hour ride (no kidding!), you’ll learn about the genesis of Patrick Carrie’s slinky (or maybe surfy?) guitar leads, where the songs on the record were written (a crawlspace might be involved), the Chrysler Sebring that almost made it into the “Julia” music video, and how the Limbeck Band and friends saved a catfish from certain death in St. Paul, MN.

Everyone let’s buckle up — we are going to drive side by side on a highway in the beehive state, reminisce about those friends who used to be goth kids, and maybe even sit in Ohio on some steps as we talk about Limbeck’s Hi, Everything’s Great!

Tidbits from Wikipedia

Hi, Everything’s Great. is the second album by Doghouse Records recording artist Limbeck. Limited Editions of the album came with the companion disc, Hey, Everything’s Fine., which included the whole album done live, acoustic with many of their close friends. The vinyl edition of the record features two bonus tracks “Yeah Totally” and “The State“.

Album Details

Band: Limbeck
Year Released: 2003
Label: Doghouse Records
Producer: Ed Rose

Episode Links

• “Julia” music video
• Ed Rose, producer of Hi, Everything’s Great
• Flowers Studio, the Minneapolis studio where Limbeck recorded their follow up record, Let Me Come Home
• Utah, the Beehive State
• Limbeck playing “Silver Things” live from the Rock Room

In this episode, special guest Kyle Lindsay, formerly of the band Camera Can’t Lie, joins Eric to talk about Save the Day’s 2001 career-defining masterpiece Stay What You Are.

Listen to hear Eric gradually realize how emo this record truly is but also how okay he is with it as well as to find out how eerily similar Kyle and Eric’s lists of favorite tracks on the album are.

This podcast will definitely become the anthem of your underground.

Tidbits from Wikipedia

Recording began on March 17, 2001 and continued into April with producer Rob Schnapf. Vocalist and songwriter Chris Conley described Schnapf as “a really mellow, laid back guy. Him being relaxed just made for a nice, creative environment in the studio.” Recording was spread over three studios: Sunset Sound and Sound Factory in Hollywood, California, and Sonora Sound in Los Feliz, California. Doug Boehm recorded the proceedings with assistance from Steven Rhodes and Seth Mclain. Josh Turner acted as the Pro Tools engineer during the sessions. Productivity was initially slow due to, as the band explains, “some difficulty we’re having with tuning guitars”. Schnapf and Boehm mixed the recordings, while Don C. Tyler mastered them at Precision Mastering. 13 tracks were recorded in total, including two outtakes “Ups and Downs” and “For Erminie”.

The album was a shift from the band’s previous power chord-based sound and featured more intricate guitar work and arrangements.

Album Details

Band: Saves the Day
Year Released: 2001
Label: Vagrant Records
Producer: Rob Schnapf

Episode Links

• Sputnik Music’s review of Stay What You Are
• Saves the Day performing “At Your Funeral” on the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
• Blamo Podcast interview with bassist Eben D’amico
• Acoustic performance of “This is not an Exit”

Album Details

Band: Bear’s Den
Year Released: 2014
Label: Communion Records
Producer: Ian Grimble

Episode Links

• Clash magazine’s preview of Islands
• Solo version of “Elysium” by Andrew Davie
• 2015 Ivors – nomination for best song of the year, lyrically and musically

Album Details

Band: Bleachers
Year Released: 2014
Label: RCA
Producer: Jack Antonoff, John Hill, Vince Clarke, and Greg Kurstin
Wikipedia Description: Strange Desire is the debut album released by American indie pop act Bleachers, led by guitarist Jack Antonoff. The album was released on July 10, 2014, through RCA Records, and produced the singles “I Wanna Get Better”, “Shadow” and “Rollercoaster”.

Episode Links

• A live version of “You’re Still a Mystery”

Album Details

Album: A Dotted Line
Band: Nickel Creek
Year Released: 2014
Label: Nonesuch Records
Producer: Eric Valentine
Wikipedia Description:

A Dotted Line is the fourth major album release and sixth studio album overall by progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek. Produced by Eric Valentine, the album was released on Nonesuch Records on April 1, 2014 in the United States.

A Dotted Line is the first Nickel Creek album since the band’s hiatus following their 2007 Farewell (For Now) Tour. The release coincided with the trio’s 25th anniversary. A subsequent tour will also begin in April.

Tracks include initial singles “Destination” and “Love of Mine,” as well as two covers: Sam Phillips’ “Where Is Love Now” and Mother Mother’s “Hayloft.”

At Paste, Holly Gleason rated the album and eight point two out of ten, writing that the release is “Not merely a product of maturity, Nickel Creek has grown without losing its palpable joy or wondrous ability to make musicianship as accessible as the engaging way their voices draw listeners to them.”

Brice Ezell rated the album eight out of ten discs, stating that the release “is a work of supreme songcraft; one might call it a ‘return to form’, but from the sound of it, the form was never gone in the first place.”

Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe gave a positive review of the album, remarking how the release “is a vibrant reminder of Nickel Creek’s youthful promise and proof that it has plenty left to say.”

Episode Links

• Nickel Creek performing as young children
• Little Cowpoke
• Leading Off, Chris Thile’s first solo album

Album Details

Album: Why Should The Fire Die?
Band: Nickel Creek
Year Released: 2005
Label: Sugar Hill Records
Producer: Eric Valentine
Wikipedia Description:

Why Should The Fire Die? is the third major album release and fifth album overall by progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek. The album was released on Sugar Hill on August 9, 2005 in the United States, and on August 8 in the United Kingdom. Why Should the Fire Die? is the first Nickel Creek album to feature string bassist Mark Schatz.

The album peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200, Nickel Creek’s highest position on the chart to date. Why Should the Fire Die? also topped both the magazine’s Top Internet Albums and Top Bluegrass Albums charts. By November 2006, the album had sold 258,784 copies. The album earned Nickel Creek two Grammy Award nominations: the award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, an award which they previously won for This Side, and the award for Best Country Instrumental Performance (“Scotch & Chocolate”).

Why Should the Fire Die? was praised by contemporary music critics primarily for its creativity, and for its instrumental quality, with one critic complimenting the album’s “sheer musical brilliance”

Album Details

Album: Sticks and Stones
Band: New Found Glory
Year Released: 2002
Label: MCA/Drive-Thru Records
Producer: Neal Avron
Wikipedia Description: Sticks and Stones is the third studio album by American rock band New Found Glory. It was released on June 11, 2002, through MCA Records. Because of the relationship Drive-Thru Records held with MCA, Drive-Thru’s more successful acts, including New Found Glory, were “upstreamed” to the major label. Between late June and mid-August, the group went on the 2002 edition of Warped Tour. In October and November, the band went tour across the U.S. alongside Something Corporate, Finch and Further Seems Forever.

The album included the popular singles “My Friends Over You” and “Head on Collision”, both of which performed well on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. This coupled with a headline appearance at the 2002 Warped Tour saw the album certified gold by the RIAA in September.

Episode Links

• FYE
• Drive-Thru Records

Throw on your bell-bottom and put on your giant headphones — it’s time to talk about Rumours!

Album Details

Album: Rumours
Band: Fleetwood Mac
Year Released: 1977
Label: Warner Bros.
Producer: Fleetwood Mac, Ken Caillat, Richard Dashut
Wikipedia Description: Rumours is the 11th studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Largely recorded in California during 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut and was released on 4 February 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The record reached the top of both the United States Billboard chart and the United Kingdom Albums Chart. The songs “Go Your Own Way”, “Dreams”, “Don’t Stop”, and “You Make Loving Fun” were released as singles. Rumours is Fleetwood Mac’s most successful release; along with winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978, the album has sold over 45 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Rumours has received diamond certifications in several countries, including the US, Canada, and Australia.

The band wanted to expand on the commercial success of the 1975 album Fleetwood Mac, but struggled with relationship breakups before recording started. The Rumours studio sessions were marked by hedonistic behaviour and interpersonal strife among Fleetwood Mac members; these experiences shaped the album’s lyrics. Influenced by pop music, the record’s tracks were recorded using a combination of acoustic and electric instruments. The mixing process delayed the completion of Rumours, but was finished by the end of 1976. Following the album’s release in 1977, Fleetwood Mac undertook worldwide promotional tours.

Rumours garnered widespread critical acclaim. Praise centred on its production quality and harmonies, which frequently relied on the interplay among three vocalists. The record has inspired the work of musical acts in different genres. Often considered Fleetwood Mac’s best release, it has featured in several publications’ lists of the best albums of the 1970s and the best albums of all time. In 2004, Rumours was remastered and reissued with the addition of an extra track and a bonus CD of outtakes from the recording sessions. A three-CD reissue of the album was released by Warner Bros. on 29 January 2013. The set included outtakes of songs and concert tracks the band played while on tour in 1977.

Episode Links

• Making Rumours by producer Ken Caillat
• Album credits for Rumours
• Album credits for Taylor Swift’s 1989 album

Album Details

Album: Brand New
Band: Ben Rector
Year Released: 2015
Label: Aptly Named Recordings
Producer: Ben Rector, Ed Cash, Cason Cooley, Chad Copelin, David Hodges
Wikipedia Description: Brand New is the sixth studio album by Ben Rector. It was released on August 28, 2015. It is the second album he has released under his own record label, Aptly Named Recordings. The first single “Brand New” which was produced by Ed Cash & David Hodges, debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 and then peaked at number 82.

Episode Links

• Ben Rector’s cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”

Album Details

Album: Everything in Transit
Band: Jack’s Mannequin
Year Released: 2005
Label: Maverick Records
Producer: Jim Wirt and Andrew McMahon
Wikipedia Description: Everything in Transit is the debut studio album by American rock band Jack’s Mannequin, released on August 23, 2005, by Maverick Records. Andrew McMahon wrote most of the lyrics during his first summer outside of his band Something Corporate. McMahon spent almost all of his savings on recording the album before Maverick Records picked him up. The album was produced by both McMahon and Jim Wirt.

Album Details

Album: The Everglow
Band: Mae
Year Released: 2005
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Producer: Mae and Ken Andrews
Wikipedia Description: The Everglow is the second full-length studio album released by the American band Mae. The album is designed as a storybook, including illustrations for each song inside the booklet. With its story-like nature, The Everglow is considered a concept album. “Prologue” and “Epilogue” have narrations by Charlotte Martin. The album was received positively, with 4 out of 5 stars from Allmusic, and 4½ out of 5 stars from Jesus Freak Hideout.