| Letters to Cleo | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Genres | Alternative rock Powerpop Post-grunge Punk revival |
| Years active | 1990–2000 2008–hiatus |
| Labels | CherryDisc Records, Warner, Wicked Disc |
| Associated acts | American Hi-Fi, Veruca Salt |
| Website | http://www.letterstocleo.net/ |
| Members | |
| Kay Hanley Michael Eisenstein Scott Riebling Greg McKenna Tom Polce |
|
| Past members | |
| Stacy Jones | |
Letters to Cleo were an alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts perhaps best known for the 1993 single "Here & Now" from their full-length debut album Aurora Gory Alice. The band was made up of members Michael Eisenstein, Kay Hanley, Stacy Jones, Greg McKenna, Scott Riebling, and later, Tom Polce.
The band arose from Boston on the popularity of their 1993 album Aurora Gory Alice, which featured the single "Here & Now". The group disbanded in 2000, with Hanley moving onto a solo career and such projects as the Disney Channel's My Friends Tigger and Pooh and voicing Josie in the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats. Following their disbandment in 2000, they reunited for a small tour in 2008.[1]
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Letters to Cleo was formed in 1990 by Dorchester, Massachuetts natives guitarist Greg McKenna and singer Kay Hanley, when they changed from their former band name, Rebbecca Lula. The band had a rotating list of guest players filling various positions including Abe Laboriel, Jr. who did a short stint on the drums in 1993. Its definitive lineup of Hanley, McKenna, "USA" Mike Eisenstein on guitar, Stacy Jones on drums and Scott Riebling on bass, was established in 1994. Their name came from the fact that Hanley had a pen pal named Cleo when she was younger, although the letters she wrote would often be returned. Hanley kept them in a box under her bed marked "Letters to Cleo", and came across the box as the band was attempting to think of a name for itself.
After years on the Boston club circuit, including T.T. The Bear's Place and The Rathskellar, LtC released their first full length record, 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 received wide exposure from its appearance on the Melrose Place soundtrack. The song reached #10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Singles chart. Appearances on Conan O'Brien and Jon Stewart followed.
In 1995, Letters to Cleo released a followup album, Wholesale Meats and Fish. Its release was followed by extensive tours with Our Lady Peace, Sponge, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and others. The single "Awake" achieved moderate rotation on alternative radio. The band also recorded a cover of The Cars song "Dangerous Type" for the major motion picture The Craft.
In 1997, Stacy Jones left the band to join Veruca Salt and was replaced by Tom Polce. That same year, LTC's third album "Go" was released. After a short tour, Polce left the band and was replaced by drummer Jason Sutter. 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" EP on Wicked Disc.
Letters to Cleo appeared in the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate about You as a favorite band of the character portrayed by Julia Stiles. They contributed four songs to the soundtrack for the film, which included a Cheap Trick cover ("I Want You to Want Me"), and a Nick Lowe & Ian Gomm cover ("Cruel to Be Kind"). 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" did not but was released as an MP3 download on the Band's website. "Co-Pilot" was also not on the film's soundtrack, but it does appear on Letters To Cleo's album Go.
During that same year, LTC opened for Cheap Trick at The Paradise club in Boston. The band then recorded 13 new original songs for the Kids' WB cartoon, Generation O!, which aired from 2000 to 2001.
The band played its last show on May 4, 2000, a benefit for their friend and longtime local supporter, Mikey D. They announced their disbandment in the Boston Globe the following month.
In December 2007, an impromptu reunion occurred when 4 of the original band members got on stage at a benefit for longtime supporter, Jeanne Connolly at TT the Bears Place in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event spurred the members to re-unite officially for a series of shows a year later in Los Angeles, Boston and NYC. 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 band friend, Joe Klompus replaced Reibling.
As of July 2009, the band members have returned to their own projects. Possible future LTC reunion shows have been hinted at but nothing is planned for the foreseeable future.
Most of the band members are now involved in 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. In 2010, she formed the band Palmdale (http://wearepalmdale.com) with producer Linus of Hollywood (Kevin Dotson). Kay has also been involved with Disney on several children's projects including the new Strawberry Shortcake.
"USA" Michael Eisenstein has been performing session and touring work for many artists including Our Lady Peace and Lisa Loeb. He is currently producing and engineering.
Kay and Michael married in the late '90s and have 2 children. They reside in Los Angeles, CA.
Drummer Stacy Jones went on to form American Hi-Fi with fellow Boston musicians Drew Parsons, Jamie Arentzen and Brian Nolan. Stacy has also been producing work for up and coming artists including Plain White Ts and The Modern Society. He is currently the music director for the Miley Cyrus touring band. Stacy also resides in Los Angeles.
Scott Riebling went into the production side of music and is now a well regarded producer and engineer and has produced work for The Von Bondies, Cobra Starship and Fall Out Boy. Scott resides in Massachusetts
Co-founding member Greg McKenna is currently playing live with his solo project, Murder Capitol of the World. The debut album, "Saint Judes Revenge" was released in the summer of 2007. Greg resides in Dorchester, MA.
Tom Polce played with several prominent Boston based bands and is now a producer and engineer. He lives in California.
| Year | Title | Billboard 200[2] | Heatseekers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Sister E.P.1 | - | - |
| 1993 | Aurora Gory Alice | 123 | 3 |
| 1995 | Wholesale Meats and Fish | 188 | 11 |
| 1997 | Go! | - | 45 |
| 1998 | Sister1 | - | - |
| 2008 | When Did We Do That?1 | - | - |
| Year | Song | Chart positions[3] | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modern Rock Tracks | Hot 100 | Hot 100 Airplay | Hot 100 Singles Sales | Top 40 Mainstream | |||
| 1992 | Here & Now/Rim Shack | - | - | - | - | - | Aurora Gory Alice |
| 1995 | Here & Now/Big Star | 10 | 56 | 72 | 69 | 40 | |
| Awake/Acid Jed | 17 | 88 | - | - | - | Wholesale Meats and Fish | |
| 1996 | Dangerous Type | - | - | - | - | - | The Craft OST |
| 1997 | Anchor/Never Tell | - | - | - | - | - | Go! |
| 1999 | I Want You To Want Me/Cruel To Be Kind | - | - | - | - | - | 10 Things I Hate About You OST |