The Album Leaf

The Album Leaf is an American musical project founded in San Diego, California, in 1998 by Jimmy LaValle. He is known for his use of electronics, synthesizer, and Rhodes piano. His performances often feature projected visual art.

The Album Leaf officially began in 1998 as the solo project of Jimmy LaValle, guitarist for San Diego, California-based post-rock instrumental band Tristeza. LaValle has also performed in several other San Diego-area bands, including the Crimson Curse, the Locust, Swing Kids, and GoGoGo Airheart.

During downtime in the fall of 1998, LaValle began playing drums for San Diego band GoGoGo Airheart. Their singer and guitarist, Mike Vermillion (who later inspired the song name "Vermillion" on One Day I'll Be on Time), recorded LaValle doing improvised material on a Rhodes piano to a vintage Roland drum machine. This would become his first full-length album, the 10-track An Orchestrated Rise to Fall. Benjamin White of GoGoGo Airheart and Vermillion supplied synthesizers and vocals to these recordings.

Before Tristeza released Spine and Sensory on Makoto records in 1998, the band was talking with a handful of different indie record labels. One of the record labels was "The Music Fellowship" out of Salt Lake City, Utah. LaValle asked them if they would be interested in releasing his solo material. They accepted, and An Orchestrated Rise to Fall saw release in 1999 on CD. Later in the year, Tristeza and the Album Leaf both signed with newly started Tigerstyle Records out of New York City. A&R rep for the Tigerstyle, Mike Treff, had previously operated his own record label named Linkwork Records. Tigerstyle wanted to release the vinyl version of An Orchestrated Rise to Fall. Since it would be one of the first Tigerstyle releases, but limited to vinyl, Treff opted to make it Linkwork Record's last release instead.

LaValle played his first official The Album Leaf show at the Ché Café in the winter of 1999. Band members for this show consisted of Rafter Roberts, Jimmy Lehner (of Tristeza), Leilani Clark (of local San Diego band "the Straight A's", also with LaValle), Benjamin White (of GoGoGo Airheart), and John Pham.

Soon after signing with Tigerstyle Records, LaValle received his first recording advance. He used this money to buy his first computer, and purchase equipment for a home recording studio. He completed his first recordings, and those songs were released as a 4-song EP entitled In an Off White Room on Troubleman Records Unlimited. The title for the EP was named after the color of his home studio, which was in his living room. During time off from Tristeza's tour promoting Dream Signals in Full Circles in 2000, he began writing One Day I'll Be on Time.

The Album Leaf performed their second show during Tristeza's 2000 spring tour, at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. The show was at Club Deville, at a day party for online distributor Insound.com. The lineup consisted of Lavalle, Leilani Clark on guitar and keyboards, Tana Helean on keyboards, Susanna Waiche on bass, and Jay Hough (of GoGoGoAirheart) on drums. They shared the stage with Tristeza and The American Analog Set. This lineup also did a 4-week U.S. tour in the summer of 2000, with Andy Robillard (also of GoGoGo Airheart) replacing Hough on drums.

After the summer tour, LaValle took a full-time job in San Diego at the newly launched music house "Singing Serpent", producing jingles for television commercials. This also gave him access to a full-service recording studio. LaValle used this studio to re-record the material he had written for One Day I'll Be on Time. Rafter Roberts recorded the track "Storyboard", and can be heard in the beginning of the song discussing Lavalle's guitar tone. Jason Soares of San Diego band Aspects of Physics provided drum programming for "Vermillion". Tristeza bandmate Christopher Sprague played guitar on "In Between Lines" and designed the album art. After completing this record, LaValle left Singing Serpent, saying, "Making jingles was killing my creativity!"