alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
band originating from
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, best known for the 1994 single, "Here & Now", from their full-length debut album, '' Aurora Gory Alice''. The band's members are Kay Hanley, Greg McKenna, Michael Eisenstein, Stacy Jones, Scott Riebling, and later, Tom Polce and Joe Klompus.
The group disbanded in 2000 but reunited for a small tour in 2008. In 2016, the band reunited, and on October 14, 2016, released an EP, titled ''Back to Nebraska''.
Band history
Guitarist Greg McKenna and singer Kay Hanley formed the band Letters to Cleo in 1990. The band was initially called Rebecca Lula with Tad Bouve on guitar and Ted Garland on drums with several musicians filling in on bass. In its early phase, the band enlisted various guest players, including a brief period with Abe Laboriel, Jr. as drummer in 1993. The band released a 45 single of Here & Now w/Rimshak featuring Abe Laboriel on drums with Brian Karp on bass. The band's
definitive
Definitive may refer to:
* ''Definitive'' (TV series), an American music television series
* Definitive stamp, a postage stamp that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps available for sale by the postal service
See also
* Definiten ...
lineup of Hanley, McKenna, Michael Eisenstein on guitar, Stacy Jones on drums and Scott Riebling on bass, was established in 1994. The name "Letters to Cleo" is a reference to Hanley's childhood
pen pal
Pen pals (or penpals, pen-pals, penfriends or pen friends) are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail. Pen pals are usually strangers whose relationship is based primarily, or even solely, on their exchange of let ...
. Hanley recounts that her "letters to Cleo" were often returned. She rediscovered a box of these letters during the band-naming process, and the band adopted the name.
Letters to Cleo played gigs in several Boston clubs, including T.T. the Bear's Place and The Rathskellar. They released their first full-length album, '' Aurora Gory Alice'', on CherryDisc Records in 1993. The album received extensive airplay around the New England region and after a much hyped show at South by Southwest in Austin, Letters to Cleo signed a major label record deal with Giant Records, a Warner Brothers subsidiary, and ''Aurora Gory Alice'' was re-released worldwide.
The band had their first big hit single with "Here & Now" which gained greater exposure as part of the '' Melrose Place'' soundtrack. The song reached No. 10 on the '' Billboard'' Modern Rock Singles chart.
In 1995, Letters to Cleo released a follow-up album, '' Wholesale Meats and Fish''. Its release was followed by extensive tours with
Our Lady Peace
Our Lady Peace (sometimes shortened to OLP) is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and ...
,
Sponge
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throug ...
,
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Ned's Atomic Dustbin are an English rock band formed in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in November 1987. The band took their name from an episode of radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show''. The band is unusual for using two bass-players in their ...
and others. The single "Awake" achieved moderate rotation on alternative radio. The band also recorded a cover of
The Cars
The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboard ...
song " Dangerous Type" for the major motion picture '' The Craft''.
In 1997, Stacy Jones left the band to join
Veruca Salt
Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post, drummer Jim Shapiro and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, " Seether", th ...
and was replaced by Tom Polce. That same year, the band released their third album '' Go!''. After a short tour, Polce left the band and was replaced by drummer
Jason Sutter
Jason Sutter is an American musician and drummer based in Los Angeles, California. He is currently the drummer for Cher.
A well versed drummer, having studied and performed extensively across multiple genres, Sutter is most widely recognized wit ...
. In late 1997, Letters to Cleo parted ways with their record label Giant/Revolution.
1998 saw the release of some early demos and B-sides in the form of the ''
Sister
A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...
'' album released originally by Wicked Disc.
Letters to Cleo appeared in the 1999 film ''
10 Things I Hate about You
''10 Things I Hate About You'' is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Gil Junger and starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Larisa Oleynik. The screenplay, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirs ...
'' as a favorite band of the character portrayed by
Julia Stiles
Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...
. They contributed four songs to the soundtrack for the film, which included a
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen ...
cover ("
I Want You to Want Me
"I Want You to Want Me" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick. It is originally from their second album '' In Color'', released in September 1977. It was the first single released from that album, but it did not chart in the United S ...
"), and a
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,Ian Gomm cover ("
Cruel to Be Kind
"Cruel to Be Kind" is a song by Nick Lowe, co-written by Lowe and his former Brinsley Schwarz bandmate Ian Gomm. Written by Lowe and Gomm while the pair were in Brinsley Schwarz, the song was saved on a demo until Columbia Records convince ...
"). Also included were two original tracks, "Come On", and the beginning of "Co-Pilot" (which can be heard at the end of the scene of their performance at a local club). Whereas the covers appeared on the film's soundtrack, "Come On" was released as an MP3 download on the band's website. "Co-Pilot" was also not on the film's soundtrack, but it appeared on Letters To Cleo's album ''Go!''. In the closing credits, they were mistakenly credited as Letter to Cleo.
During that same year, the band opened for
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen ...
at
The Paradise Club
''The Paradise Club'' is a BBC television crime drama series, broadcast between 19 September 1989 and 27 November 1990. The series starred Don Henderson and Leslie Grantham as Frank and Danny Kane, siblings who inherit a nightclub from their m ...
in Boston. The band then recorded 13 new original songs for the
Kids' WB
Kids' WB (stylized as Kids' WB!) was an American children's programming service and brand of The WB that aired on the network from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006. The block moved to The CW (a result of the merger of Time Warner's The W ...
cartoon, ''
Generation O!
''Generation O!'' is an American animated musical comedy children's television series made by Sunbow Entertainment, with co-production associated by Wang Film Productions in Taiwan and Ravensberger in Germany. The show was originally titled ''Moll ...
'', which aired from 2000 to 2001.
The band played its last show for the next seven years on May 4, 2000, a benefit for their friend and longtime local supporter, Mikey D. They announced their disbandment the following month.
Reunion
In December 2007, an impromptu reunion occurred when four of the original band members appeared at a benefit for longtime supporter Jeanne Connolly, at
TT the Bear's Place
T.T. the Bear's Place (often referred to as T.T. the Bear's or, simply, TT's) was a live music venue in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts that operated from 1984 until July 25, 2015.
History
T.T. the Bear's began in 1973, opened by ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
. The members reunited officially for a series of shows a year later in Los Angeles, Boston and New York City. More dates followed in 2009 with shows in New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Bassist Scott Reibling did not participate in these shows but gave his blessing. Longtime friend of the band Joe Klompus replaced Reibling.
As of July 2009, the band members returned to their own projects.
In the '' Parks and Recreation''
Season 4 Season 4 may refer to:
* "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock''
See also
*
* Season One (disambiguation)
* Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to:
* ''Season 2'' (Infinite album)
* '' 2econd Season''
See also
*
...
episode entitled "The Comeback Kid", the character Ben Wyatt is seen wearing a Letters to Cleo shirt (show star
Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy tro ...
attended Boston College during the band's early years). This resulted in Letters to Cleo being a trending topic on Twitter. The band reunited to play a fictional concert on the sixth season finale of '' Parks and Recreation''.
Letters to Cleo was reported to be back together and recording new music in February, 2016. The band's Facebook and Twitter feeds have been active with status updates, pictures and videos of ongoing recording.
Letters to Cleo appeared as the musical guest at Geek Bowl XII, the twelfth annual event of its kind put on by Geeks Who Drink Pub Quizzes. The event took place in the band's hometown of Boston on Saturday, February 17, 2018.
The band released their holiday EP ''Ok Christmas'' November 2019.
As of 2022 LTC have been playing reunion shows periodically in the Northeast and California. The lineup includes both Stacy Jones and Tom Polce alternating playing drums show to show along with Kay Hanley, Michael Eisenstein, Greg McKenna, and Joe Klompus.
Solo careers
Most of the band members also have solo careers. Most notable is Kay Hanley's career, which produced the albums '' Cherry Marmalade'' in 2002, ''The Babydoll EP'' in 2004, and ''Weaponize'' in 2008. She provided singing vocals for
Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook (born October 4, 1979) is an American actress and model. She has starred in the films '' The Baby-Sitters Club'' (1995), '' She's All That'' (1999), and '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), and in the television series '' Into ...
in the 2001 film ''
Josie and the Pussycats
Josie and the Pussycats (sometimes simply known as The Pussycats) are a fictional girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense i ...
''. In 2003, Hanley collaborated with Sega and musician
Jun Senoue
is a Japanese composer and guitarist who works for Sega, known for his various contributions in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series. He is also the songwriter for the band Crush 40, which has also contributed to many ''Sonic'' games.
B ...
for the song "Follow Me" in the video game ''
Sonic Heroes
is a 2003 3D platform game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega as part of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. The player races a team of series characters through levels to amass rings, defeat robots, and collect the seven Cha ...
''. Hanley has also been involved with
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven y ...
's hit series, ''
Doc McStuffins
''Doc McStuffins'' is an American educational computer-animated children's television series created and executive produced by Chris Nee (an Irish-American who was an associate producer for international versions of Sesame Street) and produced ...
''.
Michael Eisenstein has been doing session work and touring work for many artists including
Our Lady Peace
Our Lady Peace (sometimes shortened to OLP) is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and ...
and
Lisa Loeb
Lisa Loeb (; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with the number 1 hit song "Stay (I Missed You)" from the film '' Reality Bites,'' the first number 1 single for an artist ...
. He is a producer and engineer.
Hanley and Eisenstein married in the late '90s and have two children, Zoe Mabel and Henry Aaron (named for legendary baseball Hall Of Famer). They split up in 2010.
Drummer Stacy Jones went on to form American Hi-Fi with fellow Boston musicians Drew Parsons, Jamie Arentzen and Brian Nolan. In addition to being the musical director and drummer for
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip ho ...
, Jones is also the musical director for Life of Dillon. Previous gigs also include playing drums for
Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, ...
Dia Frampton
Dia Frampton (born October 2, 1987) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Frampton is the lead singer of the band Meg & Dia, was the runner-up in the inaugural season of ''The Voice,'' and is perhaps most known for her presence and col ...
,
Veruca Salt
Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post, drummer Jim Shapiro and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, " Seether", th ...
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
The Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in ...
,
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...
,
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings public ...
,
Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...
Aimee Mann
Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...
,
The Cab
The Cab is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Their debut album, ''Whisper War'', was released on April 29, 2008. They have been called "The Band You Need to Know 2008" by '' Alternative Press'' magazine. They were also featured in t ...
,
Hey Monday
Hey Monday was an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, formed in 2008. They released their debut album '' Hold On Tight'' in 2008, which produced the singles "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now". The album was followed up with th ...
,
Butch Walker
Bradley Glenn "Butch" Walker (born November 14, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the glam metal band SouthGang from the late 1980s to early 1990s as well as the lead vocalist ...
, and more.
Scott Riebling went into the production side of music. He has produced work for
The Von Bondies
The Von Bondies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1997.
The original line-up formed at the 1997 Cramps/ Guitar Wolf show by Jason Stollsteimer and Marcie Bolen. They went through a variety of member changes and band names, incl ...
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurle ...
. Riebling resides in Massachusetts. His brother Eric Riebling plays bass in Pittsburgh band The Affordable Floors. He co-owns a pizza chain (Stoked Pizza) located in the Boston area.
Co-founding member Greg McKenna is playing live with his new band, City Rivals. McKenna resides in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Tom Polce played with several prominent Boston-based bands and is a producer and engineer. He lives in California.
Jason Sutter
Jason Sutter is an American musician and drummer based in Los Angeles, California. He is currently the drummer for Cher.
A well versed drummer, having studied and performed extensively across multiple genres, Sutter is most widely recognized wit ...
Ben Wyatt ( Adam Scott) wears a Letters to Cleo shirt on the show '' Parks and Recreation'' on multiple occasions while he is between jobs. Letters To Cleo also makes an appearance on the show, playing during the Pawnee/Eagleton Unity Concert in the last episode of '' Season 6''.
See also
*
List of alternative music artists
This is a list of alternative rock artists. Bands are listed alphabetically by the first letter in their name (not including "The"), and individuals are listed by the first name.
0–9
* +44
* 3 Doors Down
*3OH!3
* 4 Non Blondes
*7 Yea ...