Emerging from Birmingham, Alabama, the Shame Idols delivered a rocking, somewhat punky brand of power pop that aligned more closely with Cheap Trick or the Buzzcocks than with the Raspberries or the Knack. After his earlier band Carnival Season disbanded, singer/songwriter and guitarist Tim Boykin launched the Shame Idols in Birmingham during 1991. Guitarist Bryan Price, bassist Buddy Banks, and drummer Jesse-Diego Suttle rounded out the quartet, each having previously performed together in the punk band Working Mothers.
Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows, an early admirer, secured the group a deal with Frontier Records and introduced Boykin to Seattle-based indie producer Conrad Uno. Uno handled production duties on both I Got Time, released in 1995, and its 1996 successor Rocket Cat. Jaime Hernandez, one of the most talented and distinctive comic artists of the 1980s and 1990s, created the cover art for each album. The Shame Idols disbanded shortly after Rocket Cat appeared, after which Boykin formed the Lolas.
Not in the WayI Got Time · 1995I Got Time4:57
If I Fell (In Love With You)Rocket Cat · 1998Rocket Cat2:45