Letters to Cleo
When Letters to Cleo burst into mainstream consciousness in 1995, it was on the back of the single “Here and Now,” a song famous for its instantly memorable, infinitely silly, lightning-quick, 28-word chorus. The “Here and Now” template – one consisting of power-pop arrangements, playful hooks, and sugary sweet vocals from Kay Hanley, a flaxen-haired, former Catholic school girl – was used throughout Letter to Cleo’s career to great effect, propelling the band to national popularity.
Formation, Early shows, Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble
Founded in Boston in 1990 by guitarist Greg McKenna and Hanley (joined later by guitarist Michael Eisenstien, bassist Scott Reibling and drummer Stacy Jones), Letters to Cleo cut their teeth at popular area clubs including T.T. the Bear’s Place and The Rathskeller. “There was never any ambition to do anything but play,” Hanley once said regarding the group’s early aspirations. “Opening for O Positive on a Thursday at T.T.’s – to us that was the pinnacle.” In 1991, Hanley and company scored a local hit with “I See” and a year later, the band competed in WBCN’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble.
Aurora Gory Alice, Wholesale Meat and Fish
Letters to Cleo’s debut album, 1993’s Aurora Gory Alice, an album packed with bouncy guitars and infectious rhythms, was issued on CherryDisc Records and later re-released when the group signed with Giant Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The follow-up, 1995’s Wholesale Meats and Fish, was more prickly and frenetic, but no less melodic and high-spirited.
Each release showcased the band’s ability to always find joy in the music-making process, and a 2000 Boston Phoenix profile characterized them as a band that “seemed to be friends with everyone who came to the shows.” This taste for being genuine and approachable was on display during Letters to Cleo’s cameo in the 1999 teen comedy Ten Things I Hate About You; Hanley hopped off the stage to sing to the flick’s co-stars.
TV soundtracks, Go!, Sister, Disbanding, Reunions
The band’s song “Here and Now” shot to prominence after being played during the credits of the popular nighttime soap Melrose Place and was including later featured on the show’s hit soundtrack. Letters to Cleo’s other foray into TV was providing 13 original songs for the Kids WB cartoon Generation O!, which aired from 2000 to 2001. The band recorded their third album, Go!, in 1997, followed one year later by Sister, which packaged the group’s seven-song, cassette-only EP from 1991 with four B-sides.
One month after headlining a May of 2000 benefit show for Mikey Dee at Axis on Lansdowne Street, the group broke up unexpectedly. Since then, Letters to Cleo has reunited on two occasions (though Reibling was absent, replaced by longtime friend of the band Joe Klompus): 2008-09’s brief tour, which included a pair of sold-out shows at the Paradise Rock Club, and a 2010 one-off gig atop the Wit Hotel in Chicago.
(by Ryan Foley)
