Fondly was originally an America,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based trio, that produced two albums of

indie punk Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

in the mid to late 1990s. Brian Burkhard, Andy Grzenia, and Dick Simpson were the three original members. They released a self-titled CD (1995) - recorded in

Brian Deck Brian Deck is an American music producer and member of band Red Red Meat. He co-founded Idful Studios in 1988. Since becoming a full-time producer, Deck has worked with bands and artists including Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, Califone, All Smiles, ...

's basement. At the time, Brian Deck was a member of the Chicago band, Red Red Meat who later went on to work with bands and artists including

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, and

Califone Califone is an experimental rock band from Chicago. The band is named after Califone International, an audio equipment manufacturer. Their work has been critically acclaimed. Roots & Crowns review AllMusic Califone has released an album and fea ...

. The album got great reviews and was named album of the year by James VanOsdal - Host of Q101's local show. The album’s acclaim earned Fondly a recording contract with local label, Scratchie Records, which was founded by

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and

D'arcy Wretzky D'arcy Elizabeth Wretzky-Brown (born May 1, 1968) is an American musician. She is the original bass player of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins and is credited on their first six studio albums. She left the band in 1999. Biograph ...

(ex-

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) and

Adam Schlesinger Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, and was a key songwriting contribu ...

(

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Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

). Dick Simpson left the band after the release of the first album and was replaced by Tom Shover. They released "F is For" ( Scratchie/

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

) in 1997 - also recorded by Brian Deck. Some tracks were recorded in the Idful Studios. Fondly toured the Midwest and East Coast in support of the album but, by the following year, had stopped playing. Brian Burkhard and Andy Grzenia, who remained close friends, went on to play in other bands. After moving to Los Angeles, Grzenia joined Artichoke as their bassist for some time. In 2002, Burkhard released an electronica album called ''Solid State Alone'', under the name Echolalia. Burkhard went on to play as a keyboardist in a few Chicago bands. In 2006, Burkhard won a songwriting contest for studio time in Engine Studios and recorded an album called ''I Thought You Were Driving'' (2007) under the name Lollygag. After moving to the Bay Area, Burkhard built a small backyard studio and started developing new songs in collaboration with Grzenia in early 2012. While Grzenia was still living in Los Angeles, they used an Internet file sharing site to exchange recordings, sketches and ideas. Turning out nearly a song a month, by the end of 2012, they had enough material to create a digital-only, self-released reunion album called ''Fondly III'', which was released on Christmas Day. This time around Grzenia played all live drum tracks with Burkhard doing all of the singing and playing of Moog and Rhodes. Aside from some guest appearances from Paul Vakselis (bass, guitar) and Jason Vizza (bass), Grzenia and Burkhard took turns adding guitars or bass throughout the album.

References

{{Reflist Indie rock musical groups from Illinois Punk rock groups from Illinois Musical groups from Chicago