Serendipity

From Eliafamily

The front (top) and back (bottom) covers of Serendipity, the debut of the Madison, WI Purple Mushroom Band.

History

Serendipity was the debut album of The Purple Mushroom Band. The band, formed of high schoolers at Madison's Memorial High, had been playing gigs for some time when they won a local Battle of the Bands concert. The win entitled them to studio time, allowing them to print some 2000 compact discs. The discs sold well among a core group of fans in the city, and some of the tracks (especially W Song and Secure) were played by a local college radio station.

Track Listing

1. Second Hands - 5:49
2. Secure - 3:17
3. W-Song - 2:42
4. Once Again - 5:02
5. Crushed Black Sky - 4:30
6. Candle Light - 2:41
7. 4th Of July - 3:47
8. Grubby Boys - 6:51
9. Hurricane - 5:10
10. Tell The World - 2:59

Trivia

• The main lead singer on the album is Gabe Shapiro. However, some tracks have other leads:
  • 4th of July is sung by Chris Pennington, the bass guitarist
  • Crushed Black Sky is sung by Kevin St. John, the lead guitarist
  • Candle Light is sung by Mike Mannerowski, the rhythm guitarist
• Although the back jacket lists 4th of July as the third track and W-Song as the seventh track, the two songs are reversed on the disc
• When these two songs are ripped from the CD into wmv or mp3 formats, they will be mislabeled
• Rather than a track listing, the CD itself is printed with obscure quotes from the band members

Other Albums

Serendipity would be the band's only CD, and therefore the only songs to receive any radio play. However, the band also produced a second album released on cassette only called Friend, Stranger, and Stranger Still.