The Last 10 Feet of the Suicide Mile

Lenola began in southern New Jersey during the spring of 94 as a 4-track project of Jay Laughlin (guitars/vocals). Sean Byrne (drums) and Dave Grubb (guitar) joined in for some playing that summer and then acquired Scott Colan for bass duties. That fall the group self-released its debut single "Colonial 509". Live shows in the Philadelphia area, up the east coast, and west to Chicago soon followed. The summer of 95 saw their second self-released single "Oh Yes, Jeep Is Good". A split 7" (with the Asteroid #4) then came out in early 96 on the Lounge label. In the spring of 96 Lenola began work on their first full-length, "The Last 10ft. of the Suicide Mile". The group invested in some 8-track reel-to-reel equipment and recorded it all at home. Lenola then headed west again to Chicago that summer for some mid-west shows. "The Last 10ft" was released at the end of that summer and then came a full US tour in November of 96. Their second full-length "The Swerving Corpse" was recorded at Jay's house throughout the winter and spring of 97 and then released later that year in October. That November a second US tour followed the release of the "Corpse". Several batches of songs recorded between and around their 2 full-lengths were compiled onto two Eps. "The Resurrection of the Close-Up on the Magic Spot" 7' (released on Fuzzy Box in Feb.98) and "The Day The Laughter Smelled" 12" (released in November 98 on the blackbeanandplacenta label). A split single with the Photon Band was released in the summer of '98 on the Merrimac label. Lenola spent most of '98 recording new material for the full length "My Invisible Name" which was released in March 1999 on the Tappersize label.