Today’s guest is ANDY MUELLER — designer, photographer, art director, filmmaker, business owner, record label founder, & longtime visual wizard of HUM-world.

As with Love Cup last time around, Andy’s been mentioned in almost every episode, & for good reason.

In 1993, he founded OHIO GIRL DESIGN CO., a Chicago-based art studio with an amazing portfolio that looks more & more influential with every passing year.

He’s done image & packaging work for artists ranging from HUM & Shiner, to Castor, Braid, Menthol, Jimmy Eat World, Molly McGuire, Trans Am, & many others.

Across the late ‘90s & early 2000s, his Ohio Girl offshoot label Ohio Gold Records released albums by Dianogah, C-Clamp, the Zincs, & Pinebender, for all of whom he also did design & photography.

He started THE QUIET LIFE clothing company in 1997 & has run it full-time ever since. They have an always-updating online store, as well as a flagship location in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

In this episode, we discuss the spooky alchemy of photography, dissect the design of HUM’s 3 most recent records, & explore the surprising monumentality of a less-is-more approach.

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VERY IMPORTANT: We talk about lots & lots of images in detail during this conversation, & a 50-page PDF of those is linked below.

[Some quick factual corrections: the R.E.M. album with Starn Twins photography is actually Out of Time from 1991, & the photographer behind the “Green to Me” single cover is ALISON DYER.]

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IMAGES WE DISCUSS

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THE QUIET LIFE

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TIMESTAMPS:

03:12 // Pinebender, "California" (Ohio Gold Records)

04:42 // Ohio Girl Origins & Early Influences

13:27 // Steakdaddy Six, the U. of I., & Honcho Overload

27:40 // Y.P.A.A. Design

45:46 // Ohio Girl Credits

50:38 // Y.P.A.A. Design, Part 2

01:07:54 // "The Pod" & "Stars" Videos

01:16:51 // D.I.H. Design

01:30:14 // "Puppets" & "Comin' Home" EP Designs

01:34:25 // Inlet Design

01:41:37 // '90s Album Art Peers

01:45:31 // C-Clamp, "Morning" (Ohio Gold Records)

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Today I’m speaking with 2 fixtures of the Champaign-Urbana music scene, MARK BALDWIN & KENT WHITESELL.

In the ‘90s, Mark sang & played guitar in the highly influential Love Cup, a band name you’ve heard in almost every episode of this show. Their discography was small but their impact was huge, gradually perfecting what Mark has called the “heavy but pretty” sound at ear-splitting volumes.

Since then, he’s played in Absconder, California Mummy (with Matt Talbott), The Shit People, & The Mezzanines, who just released a new record called Sugarpants this year. There’s lots to explore in his ever-expanding discography on Bandcamp, links below.

Kent started playing in & recording with power-pop bands in high school, including The Martyrs, Schoolyard Truce, The Outnumbered, & Three Hour Tour, with whom he’s working on new material this year. In 2010, The Martyrs released a CD reissue of their discography, including their first & only record, plus compilation tracks & other extras.

He’s also produced dozens of Champaign bands at his local studio, Clubhouse, from the ‘80s & ‘90s through today, including HUM’s first record, Hot Glue Gun, Mother, 16 Tons, Corndolly, Hardvark, & many others.

In this episode, we talk about Champaign’s early indie & alternative scene, the importance of Jane's Addiction, & the telepathic thrill of improvising songs in public.

There were some technical difficulties toward the end of the interview, so the song conversation is a little abbreviated.

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LOVE CUP BANDCAMP

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MEZZANINES BANDCAMP

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LOVE CUP INTERVIEW

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THE MARTYRS BANDCAMP

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TIMESTAMPS:

03:04 // "Billfershort" (Love Cup)

04:52 // Mark & Kent's Early History

06:06 // Kent's '80s Bands

06:55 // "Trends of the Turmoil" (The Martyrs)

08:19 // "Boy on a Roof" (The Outnumbered)

12:06 // Mark's First Bands

15:34 // Clubhouse Studio

18:03 // "Strangled with Flowers" (The Flat Earth Society)

20:55 // Love Cup Demos & Tearing Water EP

25:35 // "Tearing Water" (Love Cup)

27:30 // Jane's Addiction, the "Heavy But Pretty," & Local Touring

38:06 // ...Grefus Gronks & Sheet LP

46:47 // "Nothing in Particular" (Love Cup)

49:00 // Meeting HUM Members

53:50 // "Roar, I'm a Tiger" Discussion

01:07:00 // "Scientifically Yours" (Love Cup)

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