Mea Culpa

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BIO

Mea Culpa is:
Gilbert Garcia — Vocals, guitar
Chris Gafford — Guitar
Adam Hill — Bass, Vocals
J.T. Terrell — Drums, Vocals
Among its many, culture-transforming musical credits, Memphis can lay claim to being a power-pop mecca on the enduring strength of '70s artists such as Big Star, the Scruffs, and Tommy Hoehn.
In the late 1990s, Mea Culpa — along with Crash Into June, and Kitchens and Bathrooms — helped to define modern Memphis guitar-pop with songs that were brooding and darkly comic, but inevitably melodic and concise. With its new 2006 release, Madison, the band has returned with its strongest, most confident collection, a cycle of songs that chronicle a period of crisis from every conceivable angle. Most of the CD was recorded at Memphis' famed Ardent Studios and engineered by the band's bassist, Adam Hill.
Mea Culpa was formed in 1995 by Gilbert Garcia, a journalist who has worked for Phoenix New Times and the Dallas Observer. In 1997, the band released its debut CD, Blindfolds and Cigarettes (on Hoehn's Frankenstein label), and followed it up the following year with Sucker Punch Drunk. These releases earned raves from the Memphis Flyer, Popsided, Bucketfull of Brains, Pop Culture Press, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Yeah Yeah Yeah, and Independent Memphis Musician.
Garcia has always envisioned Mea Culpa as an eclectic collective that could simultaneously incorporate everything from Brit-pop to punk to country to R&B. In that spirit, Madison veers from the propulsive punk of "Silence" to the sinewy grooves of "Expiration Date" and the baroque pop of "Resumé" and "Nothing To Say."
J.T. Terrell is the group's powerhouse drummer, as well as a gifted multi-instrumentalist and creative harmony singer. Chris Gafford, a veteran of the Memphis bands Crash Into June and Yes No Maybe, plays guitar with an intuitive sense of sonic textures. Adam Hill contributes bass and occasional lead guitar, and also works as an engineer at Ardent Studios, where he’s participated in sessions by the White Stripes, Cat Power, Big Star and B-52s, among others.
Although Garcia currently lives in San Antonio, Mea Culpa maintains Memphis as its home base. More importantly, the group also maintains Memphis as its biggest source of inspiration.


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BIO Mea Culpa is: Gilbert Garcia — Vocals, guitar Chris Gafford — Guitar Adam Hill — Bass, Vocals J.T. Terrell — Drums, Vocals Among its many, culture-transforming musical credits, Memphis can lay claim to being a power-pop mecca on the enduring strength of '70s artists such as Big Star, the Scruffs, and Tommy Hoehn. In the late 1990s, Mea Culpa — along with Crash Into June, and Kitchens and Bathrooms — helped to define modern Memphis guitar-pop with songs that were brooding and darkly comic, but inevitably melodic and concise. With its new 2006 release, Madison, the band has returned with its strongest, most confident collection, a cycle of songs that chronicle a period of crisis from every conceivable angle. Most of the CD was recorded at Memphis' famed Ardent Studios and engineered by the band's bassist, Adam Hill. Mea Culpa was formed in 1995 by Gilbert Garcia, a journalist who has worked for Phoenix New Times and the Dallas Observer. In 1997, the band released its debut CD, Blindfolds and Cigarettes (on Hoehn's Frankenstein label), and followed it up the following year with Sucker Punch Drunk. These releases earned raves from the Memphis Flyer, Popsided, Bucketfull of Brains, Pop Culture Press, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Yeah Yeah Yeah, and Independent Memphis Musician. Garcia has always envisioned Mea Culpa as an eclectic collective that could simultaneously incorporate everything from Brit-pop to punk to country to R&B. In that spirit, Madison veers from the propulsive punk of "Silence" to the sinewy grooves of "Expiration Date" and the baroque pop of "Resumé" and "Nothing To Say." J.T. Terrell is the group's powerhouse drummer, as well as a gifted multi-instrumentalist and creative harmony singer. Chris Gafford, a veteran of the Memphis bands Crash Into June and Yes No Maybe, plays guitar with an intuitive sense of sonic textures. Adam Hill contributes bass and occasional lead guitar, and also works as an engineer at Ardent Studios, where he’s participated in sessions by the White Stripes, Cat Power, Big Star and B-52s, among others. Although Garcia currently lives in San Antonio, Mea Culpa maintains Memphis as its home base. More importantly, the group also maintains Memphis as its biggest source of inspiration.