Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 is an experimental indie rock group formed in 1986 in San Francisco, California, though half of its members are from Iowa. Their albums combine lo-fi noise rock and ambient sounds (referred to as "Feller filler") with tightly constructed rock and pop songs. The band has a small but intensely loyal cult following. Band members are Brian Hageman, Mark Davies, Anne Eickelberg, Hugh Swarts and Jay Paget. Hageman was also a member of the Iowa City based group, Horny Genius.
The band achieved their greatest critical and commercial success in the mid-nineties when they signed with the influential indie rock label Matador Records. It was during this time that Thinking Fellers produced their most prominent albums, Lovelyville, and the critically lauded college radio hit Strangers from the Universe. They toured the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and the U.K. in 1994. In 1996 they toured briefly as an opening act for the then-popular band Live but were not received well by the Live fanbase. Thinking Fellers has been largely dormant since 1996, having toured sporadically and released only one full album, Bob Dinners And Larry Noodles Present Tubby Turdner's Celebrity Avalanche, since. (From Wikipedia)
Links to Peel[]
Peel was a comparative latecomer to TFUL282's music. Their first LP Wormed, By Leonard (inspired by Leonard Nimoy) appeared on Thwart Productions in 1988, but there are no recorded plays of their material until tracks from their second LP Tangle, released the following year, were played in early 1990. JP commented, "It's always nice to hear a band whose influences aren't immediately apparent." The band's quirky sense of humour extended beyond their name: John noted, "I quite often, you know, when I am picking a track to play from an LP, I’ll pick one that has a title that kind of amuses me. There was one I played last night which was something about a hummingbird locked in a block of ice or something, from a new LP by Thinking – what’s it called, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282. And, you know, I shall play other tracks from it, but that’s the one that I played first – because I liked the title as well." [1]
Kat's Karavan took the opportunity to book them for a session when they toured Europe during 1994, which obviously met with John's approval: after the first track aired, he stated, "Just exactly what the doctor ordered, at least as far as your little fat friend is concerned," but it was neither repeated nor released commercially. Moreover, John's unstinting promotion of their sound (including playing three tracks from Mother Of All Saints back to back) failed to garner any Festive Fifty entries.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- None
Sessions[]
- One session, no known commercial release. Anne Eickelberg wrote in her diary, "SSL computerized board. We recorded Star Trek, More Glee, 1 Inch Tall, Father–all live except for vocals. It was the best sound we’ve ever gotten in a studio. Massive room w/ perfect acoustics. It was amazing to work with such an experienced engineer as well. I love to watch engineers feel out music and see how quickly they grasp it." [2]
1. Recorded: 1994-02-13. First broadcast: 18 March 1994. No repeats.
- Star Trek / More Glee / One Inch Tall / Father
Other Shows Played[]
- 1990
- 19 March 1990: 'Sister Hell (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 20 March 1990: Sports Car (LP - Tangle) Thwart Productions
- 27 March 1990: 'Sister Hell (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 28 March 1990: Change Your Mind (LP - Tangle) Thwart Productions
- Best Of Peel Vol 2: 'Change Your Mind (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 02 April 1990: 'Choke (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 05 April 1990: 'Keeps Repeating (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 14 April 1990 (BFBS): 'Sister Hell (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 28 April 1990 (BFBS): 'Choke (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 05 May 1990 (BFBS) (Peel 142 (BFBS)): 'Sister Hell (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 19 May 1990 (BFBS) (Peel 144 (BFBS)): 'Choke (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 29 December 1990: 'Sports Car (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions) (JP: 'There are certain records which, during the year, I almost think, perhaps I should stop playing this because I get so fed up with writing postcards and letters to people saying, "Well, what it is, actually...", and in this case it was Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, which isn't a catchy name for a band anyway, and I'd have to write and say, "the LP's very difficult to get hold of because you have to write to Enablers Music in wherever it is, and try and track 'em down that way", but I know that later in the year, Rough Trade got a bunch of them in, and they still have some left, so if you're tempted to try and get a copy now, that's where you have to go to.')
- 30 December 1990: 'Change Your Mind (LP-Tangle)' (Thwart Productions)
- 1991
- 21 July 1991: 'Four O'Clocker (LP-Lovelyville)' (Matador)
- 21 July 1991: 'Nail In The Head (LP-Lovelyville)' (Matador)
- 27 July 1991: More Glee (album - Lovelyville) Matador
- 02 August 1991 (BFBS): Nail In The Head (LP - Lovelyville) Matador
- 05 August 1991 (Radio Bremen): More Glee (LP - Lovelyville) Matador
- 12 August 1991 (Radio Bremen): Big Hands (LP - Lovelyville) Matador
- 31 August 1991: Nail In The Head (album - Lovelyville) Matador OLE 031-1
- 06 September 1991 (BFBS): Nail In The Head (album - Lovelyville) Matador OLE 031-1
- 1992
- 04 December 1992: 'Humming Bird In A Cube Of Ice (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 05 December 1992: 'A Gentlemen's Lament (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 05 December 1992: 'Catcher (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 05 December 1992: 'Wide Forehead (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 11 December 1992: 'Tell Me (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 12 December 1992: 'Wide Forehead (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 20 December 1992 (BFBS): 'A Gentlemen's Lament (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 20 December 1992 (BFBS): 'Hummingbird In A Cube Of Ice (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 1993
- 03 January 1993 (BFBS): 'Tell Me (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 10 January 1993 (BFBS): 'A Gentlemen's Lament (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 21 May 1993: Heaven For Real Idiots (12" - Where's Officer Tuba) Hemiola Records – HEMIOLA 2
- 21 May 1993: Strolling Big Butter (12" - Where's Officer Tuba) Hemiola Records – HEMIOLA 2
- 21 May 1993: 282 Years (12" - Where's Officer Tuba) Hemiola Records – HEMIOLA 2
- 22 May 1993: 'Wide Forehead (12"-Where's Officer Tuba)' (Hemiola)
- 28 May 1993: 'A Gentlemen's Lament (12"-Where's Officer Tuba)' (Hemiola)
- 28 May 1993 (BFBS): 'Strolling Big Butter (12"-Where's Officer Tuba)' (Hemiola)
- 28 May 1993 (BFBS: 282 Years (12" - Where's Officer Tuba) Hemiola Records – HEMIOLA 2
- 12 June 1993: 'I Am Beautiful, I Am Good (12"-Where's Officer Tuba)' (Hemiola)
- 19 June 1993 (BFBS): 'I Am Beautiful, I Am Good (12"-Where's Officer Tuba)' (Hemiola)
- 02 July 1993: '282 Years (12"-Where's Officer Tuba)' (Hemiola)
- 04 December 1993 (BFBS): 'Tell Me (2xLP-Mother Of All Saints)' (Matador)
- 10 December 1993: 'Undertaker (10"-Admonishing The Bishops)' (Matador)
- 17 December 1993: Million Dollars (EP Admonishing The Bishops) Matador - OLE 068
- 1994
- 08 January 1994 (BFBS): 'Million Dollars (10"-Admonishing The Bishops)' (Matador)
- 28 May 1994: 'Flames Up (CD-The Funeral Pudding)' (Ajax)
- 12 November 1994 (BFBS): 'Noble Experiment (LP-Strangers From the Universe)' (Matador)
- 1995
- 08 December 1995: Selections From A Fistful Of Dollars (7" - Everyday / Selections From A Fistful Of Dollars) Amarillo
- 1996
- 12 January 1996: 'KLTX (2xLP-Wormed, By Leonard)' (Thwart Productions)