Bleu

Before rising to prominence as one of Boston’s leading power-pop acts, Bleu—born William James McAuley III—first drew local attention through Bing Bang Holidang, a Christmas-themed charity album featuring guest appearances by fellow Bostonians Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo. In 2000 he joined forces with engineer and producer Ducky Carlisle to record his solo debut Headroom, which came out later the same year. Victory in the WBCN Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble, the city’s long-running battle-of-the-bands contest, soon led to opening slots for touring acts and interest from record labels, culminating in a deal with Aware Records. Bleu issued one album on the imprint, Redhead, before turning his attention to L.E.O., the power-pop supergroup assembled with members of Jellyfish, Hanson, and Chicago.

L.E.O.’s debut Alpacas Orgling arrived in late 2006. Bleu kept issuing his own projects in the years that followed, releasing a pair of EPs in 2007, an album recorded with Mike Viola and Ducky Carlisle in 2008, and the full-length A Watched Pot in 2009. No longer affiliated with Aware, he turned to Kickstarter to raise funds directly from supporters for his next effort, which materialized as Four in November 2010.