The Hang Ups

The melodic alterna-pop band the Hang Ups came together in 1990, while the band members were attending the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Consisting of Brian Tighe (vocals, guitar), Jeff Kearns (bass, vocals), Stephen Ittner (drums), and John Crozier (guitar), the band began playing the Minneapolis club/bar circuit. However, drummer Ittner was unable to commit to long-term touring, which all but extinguished the band's hopes of hitting it big with the original lineup. Ittner remained with the group as a songwriter and studio drummer, as the band released both their debut EP Comin' Through and full-length He's After Me in 1993 (band friend Bryan Hanna fills the drum slot for touring). The band gained a dedicated fan in Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner, who compiled the soundtrack to the film Chasing Amy and picked an old favorite from their 1993 debut ("Jump Start") for an important scene in the movie. It took the band a long three years to follow-up their debut with sophomore effort So We Go, but thanks to the film, the timing couldn't have been better. The track led to greater interest in the band, as a remixed version was quickly added to second pressings of So We Go. Second Story -- notable as the first pairing of producers Don Dixon and Mitch Easter since R.E.M.'s classic Reckoning 15 years earlier -- followed in 1999.