''Down in the Shacks Where the Satellite Dishes Grow'' is the second album by the American band

the Judybats The Judybats (sometimes stylized as merely Judybats or JudyBats) were an American alternative rock band from Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, active primarily in the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. The band released three successful single ...

, released in 1992 by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

. The single "Saturday" peaked at No. 21 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart.

Production and promotion

Recorded in the summer of 1991, the album was produced by

Richard Gottehrer Richard Gottehrer (born 1940) is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive. In 1997, he co-founded the Orchard with longtime business partner Scott Cohen, an independent music distribution company. His career began as ...

and

Jeffrey Lesser Jeffrey Lesser is a U.S.-based historian of Latin America who is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor at Emory University. Prior to that he was the Winship Distinguished Professor of the Humanities. After two terms as the chair of the History Dep ...

. Frontman Jeff Heiskell considered most of the songs to be autobiographical. The album also includes a cover of

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

' "Animal Farm". The band had attempted to recruit

Kate Pierson Catherine Elizabeth Pierson (born April 27, 1948) is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52's. She plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the B-52s, she has performed alongside Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneid ...

the B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

to sing on "Poor Bruised World" but were rejected by her agent, who felt she was "overexposed" at the time. A music video was made for "Is Anything". The band opened for

the Original Sins The Original Sins were a garage rock band that formed in 1987 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The group were known for combining the musical stylings of punk rock, psychedelic rock, and even pop music with their songs. The band released a total of ni ...

on several tour dates.

Critical reception

The Indianapolis Star ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the ''Indianap ...

'' stated: "The JudyBats' breezy, guitar-driven music is a 75-degree, sunny April day; its lyrics a lonely November in singer Jeff Heiskell's soul." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote that "what really offsets Heiskell's dolorous, if often original and intriguing, lyrics are the band's abundant energy, shimmering harmonies and contagious choruses." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' considered the album to be "filled with vaguely arty but ultimately rather meaningless jangly guitar pop." The ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

'' opined that it "has a harder edge that the debut, though there is still plenty of guitar jangle."

Track listing

All music by the Judybats, lyrics by Jeff Heiskell, except where otherwise indicated. # "Our Story" – 4:34 # "She's Sad She Said" – 3:18 # "How It Is" – 4:27 # "Down in the Shacks Where the Satellite Dishes Grow" – 4:06 # "Margot Known as Missy" – 3:24 # "Witches' Night" – 6:26 # "Is Anything" – 2:55 # "Poor Bruised World" – 3:04 # "Animal Farm" (

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

) – 3:34 # "Saturday" – 3:31 # "Lullaby~Weren't We Wild" – 4:26 # "When Things Get Slow Around Here" – 3:42

Personnel

The Judybats *Jeff Heiskell – lead vocals *Ed Winters – electric guitars *Peg Hambright – keyboards, violin, vocals *Timothy Stutz – bass guitar *Johnny Sughrue – acoustic guitar, vocals *Kevin Jarvis – drums & percussion Technical *

– co-producer *

– co-producer, engineer *Chris Laidlaw – assistant engineer *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bisho ...

– mastering *Peg Hambright – design

References

{{Authority control Judybats albums 1992 albums Sire Records albums