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LOST CLASSICS

Lost Classics: Chavez “Ride The Fader”

They’re nobody’s buzz bands anymore. But since 1993, MAGNET has discovered and documented more great music than memory will allow. The groups may have broken up or the albums may be out of print, but this time, history is written by the losers. Here are some of the finest albums that time forgot but we remembered in issue #75, plus all-new additions to our list of Lost Classics.

:: CHAVEZ
Ride The Fader // Matador, 1996

“It was the worst experience of my entire life,” said Chavez frontman Matt Sweeney in a 1996 interview with MAGNET about the recording process behind Ride The Fader. The sessions for the band’s second album were strained by proximity issues (bassist Scott Marshall was often unavailable, due to his other career as a director/actor), but more profoundly by lengthy and unrewarding sessions with producer Bryce Goggin. Though two of Goggin’s tracks wound up on the album, the bulk of Fader emerged from a 10-day stint with John Agnello. The result was a fiery and disjointed album, destined to reward the men of Chavez with the fame the indie press had advocated for them. Alas, it wasn’t to be. The band’s brief tours were fiscally and psychologically draining, leading to the conclusion that Chavez just wasn’t worth continuing.

Catching Up: Fader and 1995’s Gone Glimmering were repackaged together by Matador in 2006 as Better Days Will Haunt You, and Chavez has played live as recently as three years agoSweeney has collaborated with Neil Diamond, Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan, Will Oldham, Cat Power and others; Marshall, despite directing 2007 Jessica Simpson bomb Blonde Ambition, still works in Hollywood; guitarist Clay Tarver co-wrote 2001 film Joy Ride; and drummer James Lo has played with Baby Dee.

“Unreal Is Here”:

4 replies on “Lost Classics: Chavez “Ride The Fader””

the very existance of this article is evidence that Gone Glimmering is in fact the lost classic. [/nerd]

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