I. What has Magnapop released so far?

*Magnapop

II. What videos have been broadcast?

III. How can I get hold of the Play It Again Sam releases if I live outside Europe?

There are several import shops on-line which specialize in these types of hard-to-find CD's such as www.cdeurope.com, and www.cdbanzai.com

IV. How did the band form?

From Melody Maker, Jan 29th 1994 by Jim Arundel: "We had to beg people to come and play with us," says Linda, "and the people that *did* want to play with us were sick. It was 'don't answer the phone, I think it's them!'"

Lineup Changes

The original incarnation of Magnapop lasted through '94, but since that time there have been some changes.

On Drums

David McNair and the band went their separate ways in late '94 / early '95.

From huH magazine June 1996 by Grant Alden: Magnapop have been at this for six years, and they are a close bunch. Which makes the departure of drummer David McNair a particularly painful issue.

"We had a hard time recording (the last album) Hot Boxing, because our drummer had a lot of things in the way," Hopper says. "And that was really frustrating. And then the live shows had a harder time lifting up and becoming a show. It was more like, 'Uh, only three more to go...can we make it?'"

"And when you start counting into your set list for how many more there is to go," Mulvaney adds, "something's wrong."

"Nobody wants to hurt anyone, or to cut them out," Hopper says quietly, "but it was just like four adults getting a divorce, and their child is the band."

The upside to this down time in the band's history was the recruitment of Mark Posgay to take David's place. Mark joined the band in '95 after auditioning for them in LA. Fans of the band were not disappointed by subsequent live shows in support of Rubbing Doesn't Help - Mark is a superb drummer and fit in onstage like he'd been playing with them for years. But after the Rubbing Doesn't Help tour was cut short when the band was abruptly dropped by their label, the band went through some difficult times. Mark left the band in the summer of '97.

For a short period of time Johnny Rozas from Lifter worked with the band but not on a permanent basis.

On Bass

In late '96, bassist Shannon Mulvaney parted ways with the band. The split was very friendly and likely based on geographical differences as much as anything else (with Linda, Ruthie and Mark in LA, and Shannon in Atlanta). Shannon is still in Georgia and is playing upright bass in a new band called The Lugosis which also has some pedal steel and electric banjo so it's got a country feel and it's been described as a "country Social Distortion".

In '97 Magnapop found a fitting bassist in Greg Urbaitis who played with The Queers and The Swinging Erudites. The line-up with Greg on bass and Mark on drums performed a few live shows together and received great fan reviews. But in late '97 / early '98 Greg split from the band.

V. Where did they get their name?

The band's very first name, Homemade Sister, was taken from a line in the movie "Baby Doll". They released a single ("Rip The Wreck/Merry") on Safety Net records under this name. Apparently no one in the band liked the name so they became Swell. Unfortunately, a band from San Francisco was already using that name and requested that they change it. They became Swell Dopa for a short time until they finally decided to come up with a name or word that wasn't in the dictionary and that no one else could possibly be using - Magnapop. A name which also fit the music perfectly.

VI. Why were the Dutch the first to go ga-ga over them?

"We were completely blown away when we played the festival in Rotterdam. It was just like we'd known them all for ages. They loved everything we did and forgave all the mistakes onstage. It was amazing."

VII. What's the connection with Bob Mould/Michael Stipe/Juliana Hatfield?

Bob first saw the band at CBGB's in New York. He wasn't too impressed. It was a stroke of luck that when he next saw them play it was at the 1991 Rotterdam Festival, the scene of what Bob described as their "turning-point".

Melody Maker Jan 29th 1994:
"It was really interesting to be in the dressing room with them. It was one of those with a divider in it. Nirvana were on the other side throwing shit around and Magnapop are sitting there going, 'Wow, people liked us!' They were totally wide-eyed. They could feel something had arrived."

b) Michael Stipe

Linda and Michael met at the University of Georgia in a basic design course. They became good friends and eventually shared a house with several friends. Linda's first musical project was with Michael and was called Tanzplagen. Not long after meeting Michael she met his younger sister, Lynda. Shortly thereafter, Linda and Lynda started a band together called Oh-OK which lasted three years and was a staple of the early 80's Athens jangle-pop scene. After a brief stint in Washington, Linda returned to Atlanta and formed the band which became Magnapop. The band's first gig (under the name Swell) was in Athens and Michael was in the audience. After the show he approached them and asked if he could produce their demos.

From "It Crawled From the South: An R.E.M. Companion" by Marcus Gray:
"Michael (Stipe) resumed his working relationship with Linda Hopper, now resident in Athens, when he took her new band Swell into John Keane's in December 1990 to produce a five-track demo. He subsequently described the band's sound as 'kind of like Young Marble Giants backed by AC/DC.' Linda's band was one of the four Stipe protoges showcased at the July 1991 New York New Music Seminar. By this time, however, Swell had changed its name to Magnapop."

c) Juliana Hatfield

Juliana first met the band in 1992 when they were opening for her at a show in West Virginia. They'd been hanging out in the hallway, to shy to come in, so she invited them in and they got on well straight away. Juliana, her band and crew all watched Magnapop play that night and were all heavily impressed, Juliana being particularly amazed by Ruthie's playing style. She got them to support her on tour later that year, wrote a song about Ruthie called "Ruthless" (sample lyric:"We're all gushing but I swear we really mean it, man. We're all pining for Ruthie") and raved about the band in "Sassy" magazine in September 1993:

"You have to check out Magnapop. They are from Georgia. Linda (the singer) looks a little like Belinda Carlisle in the early days (without the stupid clothes) and she sings with *the* coolest grin on her face. Ruthie (the guitar player) so impressed me when I saw the band that I wrote a song about her called "Ruthless". It's about how she rocks so hard it makes everybody want her but there's only one of her so most of us are "Ruthless". Then there's Shannon and Dave (bass and drums, respectively), who wail on their instruments in the aggressive (and very cute) punk rock style. Go and get their EP. It has jack-o-lanterns on the front and the band's sweet faces on the back."

VIII. How do I contact the band?