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Magnapop
Magnapop is an American rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1989, the band has consistently included songwriting duo Linda Hopper as vocalist and Ruthie Morris on guitar. Magnapop first achieved recognition in the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg through the festival circuit and have remained popular in Europe throughout their career. After modest success in the United States in the mid-1990s with the singles "Slowly, Slowly" and "Open the Door" and a series of albums produced by Michael Stipe, Bob Mould, and Geza X, the band went on an extended hiatus due to the dissolution of their record label. They returned with a new rhythm section in 2005 on the Daemon Records release Mouthfeel. The band has continued to perform and record since this reunion and have self-released two more albums. Magnapop's musical style is noted for blending the pop vocals and melodies of Hopper with the aggressive, punk-influenced guitar-playing of Morris and her back-up vocal harmonies.
Linda Hopper—a native of Marietta, Georgia—was a member of the late 1970s/early 1980s music scene in Athens, Georgia, where she befriended fellow University of Georgia student Michael Stipe in an art design class. Stipe went on to form R.E.M. and Hopper joined him in the experimental music group Tanzplagen along with Stipe's sister, Lynda, and other local musicians. After the group folded, Lynda Stipe and Hopper formed Oh-OK, whose line-up later included Matthew Sweet and David McNair. That project ended in 1984 and Hopper briefly belonged to a Washington, D.C. band named Holiday, who released their only EP in 1987.
In 1989, Ruthie Morris had recently moved to Atlanta from West Palm Beach, Florida—where she played a few shows as the guitarist for The Pockets. She attempted to play with local male musicians, but did not feel comfortable with any of them. Hopper and Morris were introduced by a mutual acquaintance and became fast friends; they wrote their first song together at Hopper's apartment the day they met. The duo had a difficult time finding collaborators to form a complete band (as Hopper described it, "We had to beg people to come and play with us.") The duo eventually recruited bassist Tim Lee and McNair on drums in March 1990. Lee left the band after a brief tenure and was replaced by Shannon Mulvaney, whom Morris met at a record store. The musicians named themselves Homemade Sister after a line from the film Baby Doll and released their first single—"Rip the Wreck"/"Merry"—on Safety Net Records in 1990. Displeased with their name, the band was briefly renamed Swell, before they found out a San Francisco band had the same name and then billed themselves as Swell Dopa.
In 1990—while named Swell—they made their public debut at a show in Athens that Michael Stipe attended. He approached the band afterward and offered to produce some demos for them in John Keane's Athens studio in December. Their first high-profile show was at the July 1991 New York New Music Seminar along with three other bands that were introduced by Stipe. At that event, Morris gave out two demo tapes—one to American rock journalist James Sullivan and the other to Tom Engelshoven and John van Luyn of the Dutch music magazine Muziekkrant OOR. The band proceeded to pass the tape to a promoter in The Netherlands who gave the band some club dates as well as a spot at the side stage of the 1991 Rotterdam festival Ein Abend in Wien. After the positive response they received, they were promoted to the main stage the next day. In The Netherlands, Magnapop was signed to Play It Again Sam Records, who released the Sugarland EP and Magnapop demo album in 1992. Their self-titled first album included four of the 1990 Stipe demos, and was released on Caroline Records in the United States. A music video for the single "Merry" was shot and aired in Europe.
Magnapop was featured on a variety of various artist compilations. Their first commercial recording other than their independent single was their 1992 cover version of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" for Here No Evil – A Tribute to The Monkees. The band was also featured on other various artist tribute albums, including "Ear" (a different recording from the one on Magnapop) for Delicacy & Nourishment – Lyrics by Ernest Noyes Brookings Vol. 3 in 1992 and 1993's recording of "Every Grain of Sand" for Outlaws Blues Volume Two – A Tribute to Bob Dylan with violinist Mamie Fike. The band also recorded the Kiss My Mouth EP with Ted Niceley and released it in Europe. Around this time, the band was so fraught from booking recording sessions, that they briefly considered breaking up.
Magnapop established their fan base in the early 1990s through touring and the festival circuit—particularly in central Europe, where they first broke through to the mainstream. It was only after they had established a fan base in Europe and received positive press in the United Kingdom that the band first became recognized in the United States, including their native Atlanta. By the end of 1992, they were getting positive write-ups in American press such as The New York Times and supported Juliana Hatfield on tour. The group made appearances at Rocking Kolonia Festival in Maastricht in 1992, Pukkelpop in 1992, Transmusicales in 1992, A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise in 1993, and the Reading Festival in 1993. They also recorded a John Peel session on September 2, 1993 and a Black Session on February 25, 1994.
Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü had seen the band at a show in New York City's CBGB as well as in Rotterdam—he called the latter show their "turning point"—and invited the band to tour with his new group Sugar in Europe and the United States in 1992–1993. The band asked Sugar bassist and fellow Athens musician David Barbe to produce their major label debut album. When he refused, Mould offered to record with the band, taking them to Pedernales Recording Studio, in Austin, Texas in August 1993. The sessions would result in the album Hot Boxing, which was released by Play It Again Sam in Europe and Priority Records domestically on July 5, 1994. Releasing an album by Magnapop was a radical departure for Priority who had previously focused on rap music.
The album produced two singles: "Slowly, Slowly", which spent seven weeks on the charts, peaking on September 10, 1994, at 25 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks, and "Lay It Down", which topped the 1993 De Afrekening poll. The band toured the United States supporting The Lemonheads in 1993 and played at the 1994 Phoenix Festival and Marktrock to promote the album and created music videos for "Lay It Down", "Slowly, Slowly", and "Texas". The promotional EP Big Bright Cherry was released in 1994 and included three tracks from the Hot Boxing recording sessions as well as three self-produced songs.
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Magnapop
Magnapop is an American rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1989, the band has consistently included songwriting duo Linda Hopper as vocalist and Ruthie Morris on guitar. Magnapop first achieved recognition in the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg through the festival circuit and have remained popular in Europe throughout their career. After modest success in the United States in the mid-1990s with the singles "Slowly, Slowly" and "Open the Door" and a series of albums produced by Michael Stipe, Bob Mould, and Geza X, the band went on an extended hiatus due to the dissolution of their record label. They returned with a new rhythm section in 2005 on the Daemon Records release Mouthfeel. The band has continued to perform and record since this reunion and have self-released two more albums. Magnapop's musical style is noted for blending the pop vocals and melodies of Hopper with the aggressive, punk-influenced guitar-playing of Morris and her back-up vocal harmonies.
Linda Hopper—a native of Marietta, Georgia—was a member of the late 1970s/early 1980s music scene in Athens, Georgia, where she befriended fellow University of Georgia student Michael Stipe in an art design class. Stipe went on to form R.E.M. and Hopper joined him in the experimental music group Tanzplagen along with Stipe's sister, Lynda, and other local musicians. After the group folded, Lynda Stipe and Hopper formed Oh-OK, whose line-up later included Matthew Sweet and David McNair. That project ended in 1984 and Hopper briefly belonged to a Washington, D.C. band named Holiday, who released their only EP in 1987.
In 1989, Ruthie Morris had recently moved to Atlanta from West Palm Beach, Florida—where she played a few shows as the guitarist for The Pockets. She attempted to play with local male musicians, but did not feel comfortable with any of them. Hopper and Morris were introduced by a mutual acquaintance and became fast friends; they wrote their first song together at Hopper's apartment the day they met. The duo had a difficult time finding collaborators to form a complete band (as Hopper described it, "We had to beg people to come and play with us.") The duo eventually recruited bassist Tim Lee and McNair on drums in March 1990. Lee left the band after a brief tenure and was replaced by Shannon Mulvaney, whom Morris met at a record store. The musicians named themselves Homemade Sister after a line from the film Baby Doll and released their first single—"Rip the Wreck"/"Merry"—on Safety Net Records in 1990. Displeased with their name, the band was briefly renamed Swell, before they found out a San Francisco band had the same name and then billed themselves as Swell Dopa.
In 1990—while named Swell—they made their public debut at a show in Athens that Michael Stipe attended. He approached the band afterward and offered to produce some demos for them in John Keane's Athens studio in December. Their first high-profile show was at the July 1991 New York New Music Seminar along with three other bands that were introduced by Stipe. At that event, Morris gave out two demo tapes—one to American rock journalist James Sullivan and the other to Tom Engelshoven and John van Luyn of the Dutch music magazine Muziekkrant OOR. The band proceeded to pass the tape to a promoter in The Netherlands who gave the band some club dates as well as a spot at the side stage of the 1991 Rotterdam festival Ein Abend in Wien. After the positive response they received, they were promoted to the main stage the next day. In The Netherlands, Magnapop was signed to Play It Again Sam Records, who released the Sugarland EP and Magnapop demo album in 1992. Their self-titled first album included four of the 1990 Stipe demos, and was released on Caroline Records in the United States. A music video for the single "Merry" was shot and aired in Europe.
Magnapop was featured on a variety of various artist compilations. Their first commercial recording other than their independent single was their 1992 cover version of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" for Here No Evil – A Tribute to The Monkees. The band was also featured on other various artist tribute albums, including "Ear" (a different recording from the one on Magnapop) for Delicacy & Nourishment – Lyrics by Ernest Noyes Brookings Vol. 3 in 1992 and 1993's recording of "Every Grain of Sand" for Outlaws Blues Volume Two – A Tribute to Bob Dylan with violinist Mamie Fike. The band also recorded the Kiss My Mouth EP with Ted Niceley and released it in Europe. Around this time, the band was so fraught from booking recording sessions, that they briefly considered breaking up.
Magnapop established their fan base in the early 1990s through touring and the festival circuit—particularly in central Europe, where they first broke through to the mainstream. It was only after they had established a fan base in Europe and received positive press in the United Kingdom that the band first became recognized in the United States, including their native Atlanta. By the end of 1992, they were getting positive write-ups in American press such as The New York Times and supported Juliana Hatfield on tour. The group made appearances at Rocking Kolonia Festival in Maastricht in 1992, Pukkelpop in 1992, Transmusicales in 1992, A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise in 1993, and the Reading Festival in 1993. They also recorded a John Peel session on September 2, 1993 and a Black Session on February 25, 1994.
Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü had seen the band at a show in New York City's CBGB as well as in Rotterdam—he called the latter show their "turning point"—and invited the band to tour with his new group Sugar in Europe and the United States in 1992–1993. The band asked Sugar bassist and fellow Athens musician David Barbe to produce their major label debut album. When he refused, Mould offered to record with the band, taking them to Pedernales Recording Studio, in Austin, Texas in August 1993. The sessions would result in the album Hot Boxing, which was released by Play It Again Sam in Europe and Priority Records domestically on July 5, 1994. Releasing an album by Magnapop was a radical departure for Priority who had previously focused on rap music.
The album produced two singles: "Slowly, Slowly", which spent seven weeks on the charts, peaking on September 10, 1994, at 25 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks, and "Lay It Down", which topped the 1993 De Afrekening poll. The band toured the United States supporting The Lemonheads in 1993 and played at the 1994 Phoenix Festival and Marktrock to promote the album and created music videos for "Lay It Down", "Slowly, Slowly", and "Texas". The promotional EP Big Bright Cherry was released in 1994 and included three tracks from the Hot Boxing recording sessions as well as three self-produced songs.
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