Photo by Chris Sikich
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of their seminal album Aurora Gory Alice, Boston's Alt. Rock pioneers Letters to Cleo will head out on the road this fall for a short run of intimate shows on the East Coast, playing the album in its entirety. The band will be doing their annual set of shows at the Paradise with both single and two-day tickets available, along with a show at Brooklyn Made in New York. All tickets are on sale Friday.
Letters to Cleo formed in 1990 in Boston, led by guitarist Greg Mckenna and singer Kay Hanley. This upcoming tour will feature original members Kay Hanley (vocals), Michael Eisenstein (guitar), Greg McKenna (guitar), Stacy Jones (drums) along with longtime collaborator Joe Klompus on bass. Aurora Gory Alice, the band’s debut album, was originally released on CherryDisc Records in 1993. The albums received loads of press attention and local radio play around New England which led to the band signing to Giant Records, and the re-release Aurora Gory Alice in 1994. The album’s song “Here and Now'' became an instant hit after appearing on the soundtrack for the wildly popular 90s TV show Melrose Place. The song reached #10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Singles chart, was in the top 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album debuted at #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. To this day “Here & Now” continues to be a fan favorite and one of their most popular songs.
The band’s music could be heard on many of the top TV shows and films throughout the 1990s, including the cult classic 10 Things I Hate About You, where the band contributed 4 songs to the soundtrack and were featured in the film. The band played their last show in 2000 and each of the members went on to have successful careers working in different areas of music from production, writing, performance, musical directing etc. The band was thrust back into the pop culture spotlight via a cameo Parks and Recreation, playing themselves, the obsession of the show's state auditor Ben Wyatt played by Adam Scott. The band achieved the pinnacle of pop culture validation as a subject in a Sunday version New York Times crossword puzzle. Letters to Cleo reunited in 2016 for the release of Back to Nebraska EP, their first release in 17 years. The accompanying tour and incredible feedback from the elated hometown crowd at the Paradise Rock Club fans is what inspired their annual fall homecoming shows, which is now in its sixth year.
The band is thrilled to be celebrating the album that gave them their start, especially returning to their hometown of Boston. “It’s unbelievable it’s been 30 years since the release of AGA. We expected that album to be our swan song but we ended up finding ourselves creatively and it really changed our lives. We can’t wait to celebrate its 30th birthday!” says guitarist Michael Eisenstein. Aurora Gory Alice, along with Go!, Wholesale Meats and Fish, and their most recent EP releases Back to Nebraska and OK Christmas are available on vinyl at LettersToCleo.net.
TOUR DATES (on Sale Friday)
November 15 Brooklyn Made New York, NY
November 17 & 18 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
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