Biography
In the early 1990s Christopher Brady and Steven Birch stood out among Sub Pop’s favored acts, as Brady’s band Pond and Birch’s band Sprinkler became the first two groups from Portland, OR, to join the celebrated Seattle roster. The musicians spent much of the decade leading and crisscrossing the country with those established outfits until their creative impulses intersected in 1998. After Pond dissolved and Birch finished his touring commitments with Everclear, the pair began working together musically. Operating under the name Mandarin, they independently put out the limited-edition EP Home Recordings in 1999. Rich Egan of Vagrant Records obtained a copy, and by spring 2000 Birch and Brady had renamed themselves Audio Learning Center. Joined by drummer Paul Johnson, the trio developed a raw emo/indie rock sound on the 2002 album Friendships Often Fade Away. Cope Park, recorded at home and co-produced by Joe Chiccarelli (Frank Zappa, Beck), appeared in April 2004.
Albums
