Memory Map

In October 2009, seasoned players from Bloomington, Indiana—who had already performed in other local groups before and during this venture—launched Memory Map, an indie-rock unit whose math-rock leanings made it particularly suited to air-drumming and air-guitar enthusiasts. The lineup featured singer-bassist Mike Dixon, guitarists Matt Tobey and Mike Bridavsky, and drummer Josh Morrow; for a short time the band operated under the name Holiday Band. After another group issued legal threats over the shared title, the project reversed its working name from Memory Map by Holiday Band to Holiday Band by Memory Map. The resulting debut album appeared on Joyful Noise in spring 2011.

The next year found Bridavsky deep in debt and fighting to keep his Russian Recording studio afloat. A friend alerted him that a photograph of one of his rescue cats had spread rapidly online, instantly creating the sensation known as Lil BUB. Subsequent television appearances, the 2013 documentary Lil Bub & Friendz, and related merchandise generated enough revenue to rescue the studio. Memory Map’s second album, Sky as Well as Space, arrived in 2014; Bridavsky recorded and mixed it at Russian Recording. In late 2015 Lil BUB issued her own album, Science & Magic, whose songs were written by Tobey and produced by Bridavsky.