Legend has it that Stereo Fuse might have followed an entirely different path had an unnamed vocalist not intervened. Jeff Quay on guitars, Chad Jenkins on drums, and Rob Clark first operated as Sandwich while building a following around Dallas. During their showcase at the Atlantis Music Conference in Georgia, a pause between numbers prompted the singer to deliver a joke so offensive that the set ended on the spot and the band felt compelled to adopt a new identity out of sheer mortification. The trio still declines to reveal the joke’s exact wording, yet the incident proved severe enough to bring singer/guitarist Colin Hill into the fold and rebrand the project as Lee Harvey Osmond. The group then assembled thirteen songs at breakneck speed and began performing live. Local radio embraced their rendition of Material Issue’s “Everything,” prompting the band to cut their debut album alongside a local radio programmer. Rechristened Stereo Fuse, they moved a striking quantity of the independently issued discs within the first weeks of availability. As “Everything” gained traction in additional states, the musicians expanded their live work well beyond Dallas. Once the album circulated nationwide, the band crisscrossed the country to support the self-titled release while preparing for further opportunities.
