Extra Virgin

Following the 1995 dissolution of Blind Melon, the group’s remaining musicians pursued separate endeavors. Two of them launched the Seattle outfit Luma, whereas guitarist Rogers Stevens teamed with New York City vocalist Rene Lopez to create Extra Virgin. A shared acquaintance brought the two together late in 1997, and they quickly formed a strong creative rapport. Lopez had fronted the regionally popular funk-rock ensemble The Authority, and Extra Virgin’s style emerged as a blend of that group’s grooves with Stevens’s own history, yielding relaxed funk passages alongside shifts between aggressive and introspective rock passages. Recruiting additional players, the band self-released its twelve-song debut, Twelve Stories High, in 1999. Producer Mike Napolitano, known for prior work with Squirrel Nut Zippers and Blind Melon, oversaw the sessions and preserved the group’s dynamic interplay throughout the recording.