Time and good karma have a funny way of repeating themselves sometimes and coming full circle. Here and now is one of those times, as we tell you the tale of Paper Garden Records’ first ever release and the Lovely Hearts Club’s newest addition – former Eagle Seagull front-man, Eli Mardock.
Eagle Seagull was the inspiration and jumping off point behind Paper Garden Records‘ entire existence back in 2005. The town of Lincoln, Nebraska brought the two together, and from there both parties grew into their early adulthood years, quickly gaining international critical acclaim. With their debut album very much at the forefront of the new indie-rock sound (think Arcade Fire and Handsome Furs), Eagle Seagull began to see shows and tours flow in from the likes of The B-52′s, Tokyo Police Club, Gnarls Barkley, Blonde Redhead, The Faint, and more. In the wake of this immediate success the big, bad major labels came calling, and needless to say, won the signing battle over the humble Paper Garden Records. After enduring nearly every major label cliche known to man and numerous setbacks to to release of their follow-up album, Eli and the band eventually decided to go their separate ways.
In the two years since the band’s demise, Eli has been hard at work recording and producing his first solo LP, “Everything Happens for the First Time”. Mixed in Brooklyn by Justin Gerrish (Vampire Weekend, The Strokes), the record is set for release in Summer 2012 and marks a new beginning for both Eli Mardock and Paper Garden. We are so excited to be working with Eli on his solo record and just couldn’t be happier about this phenomenal family reunion.
Eli will be making his way down to SXSW this year as well, playing the Paper Garden/My Old Kentucky Blog party @ Uncorked on 3/15…stay tuned for more on that soon!
