In the late 1980s, teens Will Cullen Hart, Robert Schneider, Bill Doss and Jeff Mangum met at Ruston High School. Their humble origins - Ruston, Louisiana has a population of only 20,000 - didn't stop them from making a worldwide impression among indie rock enthusiasts a decade later. Their bands , , and were each good for at least one classic. The groups operated under the common banner The
… Elephant 6 Recording Company, which thus became a hallmark of home-made, psychedelic indie pop. Besides a feeling for melody and a preference for sound collages, the groups often also shared each other's band members. In The Airplane Over The Sea is the most famous Elephant 6 record, with overdrive indie and penetrating folk songs. Jeff Mangum, the leader of Neutral Milk Hotel, would not be heard from for a long time after this. (JE)more