SHAME IDOLS

A rocking, somewhat punky, power pop group (more Cheap Trick or Buzzcocks than Raspberries or Knack) from Birmingham, AL, the Shame Idols released two fine albums in the mid-'90s on the estimable Frontier Records. Singer/songwriter and guitarist Tim Boykin formed the group in Birmingham in 1991 when his previous group, Carnival Season, split up. The other bandmembers, guitarist Bryan Price, bassist Buddy Banks, and drummer Jesse-Diego Suttle, had previously played together in the punk band Working Mothers.

An early fan of the group, the Young Fresh Fellows' Scott McCaughey, hooked the band up with his then-current label, Frontier, and also introduced him to Seattle-based indie producer extraordinaire Conrad Uno, who produced both 1995's I Got Time and 1996's Rocket Cat. (Comics collectors should note that Jaime Hernandez, one of the most talented and distinctive comic artists of the '80s and '90s, did the cover art for both albums.) The Shame Idols split shortly after the release of Rocket Cat, with Boykin going on to form the Lolas.