Biography
Park Ave. disbanded in 1998 after issuing just one split 7" alongside the Wrens and two contributions to a Saddle Creek Records sampler CD—more output than the members had ever envisioned. What distinguishes their brief history is the absence of any drive to document their music, perform regularly, or chase lasting renown, traits that set them apart from most teenage groups rehearsing in basements; instead, the quintet produced an unpolished, unassuming form of folk expression at a moment when even rudimentary indie recordings could generate enough income to spare participants conventional employment. Documentation of the group remains scarce, and it is difficult to determine how much of the existing record reflects actual events rather than later embellishment. Attention to Park Ave. persists largely because two of its originators, Conor Oberst (later known as Bright Eyes) and Clark Baechle of the Faint, achieved substantial recognition afterward.
The band began in January 1996 when Oberst and Baechle, both still attending high school, reversed their usual instruments so that Oberst played drums while Baechle handled guitar. They completed the lineup by recruiting what they termed “cute girls”: keyboardist Jenn Bernard, bassist Neely Jenkins, and guitarist Jamie Williams, none of whom owned gear or possessed developed technique. Throughout the two and a half years the group existed, no equipment was purchased for the three newcomers; instead, instruments and amplifiers were borrowed from other local acts. The project functioned chiefly as a pretext for the five friends to spend time together under the label of a band—an elevated version of make-believe—yet they did appear onstage a few times, occasionally attempting to decline bookings, such as when a promoter offered a slot at Chicago’s Fireside Bowl. Only when Williams declared her intention to relocate to England did the members finally commit their material to tape, using a 4-track recorder. Those recordings became the sole album, When Jamie Went to London...We Broke Up, issued after the band’s dissolution by Urinine Records. Oberst subsequently gained critical acclaim through Bright Eyes, Baechle through the Faint, and Williams, upon returning to the United States, rejoined Neely Jenkins to establish Tilly and the Wall.
The band began in January 1996 when Oberst and Baechle, both still attending high school, reversed their usual instruments so that Oberst played drums while Baechle handled guitar. They completed the lineup by recruiting what they termed “cute girls”: keyboardist Jenn Bernard, bassist Neely Jenkins, and guitarist Jamie Williams, none of whom owned gear or possessed developed technique. Throughout the two and a half years the group existed, no equipment was purchased for the three newcomers; instead, instruments and amplifiers were borrowed from other local acts. The project functioned chiefly as a pretext for the five friends to spend time together under the label of a band—an elevated version of make-believe—yet they did appear onstage a few times, occasionally attempting to decline bookings, such as when a promoter offered a slot at Chicago’s Fireside Bowl. Only when Williams declared her intention to relocate to England did the members finally commit their material to tape, using a 4-track recorder. Those recordings became the sole album, When Jamie Went to London...We Broke Up, issued after the band’s dissolution by Urinine Records. Oberst subsequently gained critical acclaim through Bright Eyes, Baechle through the Faint, and Williams, upon returning to the United States, rejoined Neely Jenkins to establish Tilly and the Wall.
Albums