Tunnel Trees | 2012 | Dromedary Records
Buy Tunnel Trees on iTunes, Amazon, or Google Play.
The first full length cuppa joe release since 1994's "Nurture", "Tunnel Trees" was recorded in Doug and Steve's homes in Wisconsin and New Jersey (before Doug moved back to his home state), and released by a newly-reformed Dromedary Records.
trivia: The song "Forty" was written for the fortieth birthday of Dromedary Records' owner and founder.
Make the Load Lighter (compilation) | 2010 | Dromedary Records
Buy Make the Load Lighter on iTunes, Amazon, or Google Play.
Dromedary Records put this amazing benefit album together only a few weeks after the earthquake that devastated Haiti in early 2010. "Taniqua", originally from "Casualties of Exploration and Growth", was cuppa joe's contribution.
Everything Went Pop! (compilation) | 2001 | Meller Welle
This German compilation featured the "Casualties of Exploration and Growth" tune "P.D.A.".
Compilation Shmompilation (compilation) | 1999 | Plastic Duck Recordings
A cassette compilation that featured the cuppa joe song "Back to the Evergreens" from "The Short Rains".
Following Lights Into the Forest | 1999 | self-released
Buy Following Lights Into the Forest on iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.
Barely released in 1999 at the dawn of the burn-your-own-CD era, Doug and Steve put together 24 tracks for this friends-and-family collection. Four new tracks were recorded (two, "Falling" and "Manifesto", written and featuring lead vocals/guitars by new post-Peace Corps member Craig Frame), and favorite demos and studio tracks from previous releases and a few live covers were gathered for this, the band's final album.
trivia: Doug's wife Melissa played cello on "The Learned Astronomer".
Archipellago/Love Peace Anarchy Infinity | 1997 | Drive-In Records
The excellent Michigan-based label Drive-In Records picked two songs from the "Casualties of Exploration and Growth" album for this 7" vinyl single.
trivia: The back cover classroom photo was taken in the school in which Doug was then teaching Chemistry, and where Rick, at the time, was a student.
The Short Rains | 1997 | self-released
Buy The Short Rains on iTunes, Amazon, or Google Play.
Doug joined the Peace Corps in 1995, placing the band on a two-year hiatus. In his one-room hut in Kenya, he wrote 16 original tunes and recorded them directly onto a boombox. That tape was sent to Steve, who added found-object percussion (Tupperware, a coffee tin, cardboard boxes) and backing vocals at S.S. Sound Studios to complete each song. Low-fi cross-continental recording at its finest.
trivia: The "hakuna al-fahka" comment spoken over the Kenyan radio intro to "Options" was engineer John Bailey's extemporaneous mockery.
Casualties of Exploration and Growth | 1995 | self-released
Buy Casualties of Exploration and Growth on iTunes, Amazon, or Google Play.
A collection of 16 songs that the band recorded in one big burst before Doug entered the Peace Corps and was sent to Kenya. Featured the first outside-the-band musicians adding guest violin and trombone services. Doug played mandolin. Diz came back for additional vocals. Steve played maracas. It was anarchy! This album was preceded by a Passenger cassette of the same name and featuring about half of the same songs in four-track/demo form. Doug generously donated the title to this full-band album - most likely because the Passenger version was only heard by a dozen or so people.
trivia: The shaking percussion used throughout "Trade" was a bottle of iced tea played by Steve, mimicking the same technique used on Doug's original demo for that song.
Nurture | 1994 | Dromedary Records
Buy Nurture on iTunes, Amazon, or Google Play.
cuppa joe's first full-length CD collected songs from three separate recording sessions at S.S. Sound Studios. The album received moderate radio airplay (mostly for "Bottlerocket") and fairly decent worldwide distribution. The band played a bevy of shows after its release, with Doug's younger brother Rick stepping in for the now-departed Diz, who left the band for a full-time job after recording Nurture.
trivia: The hidden 14th track, "Second Violin", is a traditional Irish folk song, and is therefore, technically, a cover tune.
Nurture was re-released in 2010 by a newly-reformed Dromedary Records, with additional songs from the original recording sessions added to the track listing.
Passenger E.P. | 1994 | Inkling Records
Doug and Steve originally started Inkling Records to release Doug's Passenger material. The centerpiece of this 4-song vinyl E.P. is "Stalked by Claude", which documents (and incorporates several disturbing answering machine messages of) Doug's pursuit by a strange Haitian man who could not deal with his advances toward Doug's friendship being spurned.
trivia: The only non-Passenger project released by Inkling was a 7" by The Semibeings, another Trenton band.
Busy Work E.P. | 1993 | Dromedary Records
3-song red-vinyl 7" E.P. featuring "Bottlerocket" on the A side, and "French Toast" and "Surface Area" on the B. The artwork was printed in black and white, with each of the 500 covers then hand-colored by the band, with crayons and markers, in a pizza-fueled frenzy within the Domedary Records office.
trivia: The original suggestion for the E.P.'s title was "Botany", which was changed just prior to release. "Revenge of the Jedi", anyone?
Nothing Smells Quite Like Elizabeth (compilation) | 1994 | Dromedary Records
The first release from Dromedary Records was this album featuring all New Jersey area bands. cuppa joe's song "Meanings" was selected for this collection.
trivia: If you're not from New Jersey, you may not be aware that Elizabeth is a city in the northern part of the state, notable for its smokestacks and prominent industrial smell.
Pondhoagie Cassette (Passenger) | 1992 | Inkling Records
Released under Doug's solo project name, Passenger, these four-track recordings had an experimental flavor to them. A few of the songs - "French Toast", "Trade", and "Tense Present" - later made their way into the studio for full-band recordings.
trivia: Unlike most cassette sleeves, the j-card for the Pondhoagie Cassette folded out vertically, revealing more of the arm from the front cover illustration.
Demonstrations | 1992 | self-released
An 8-song cassette that was the band's first "proper" release, sold at shows and distributed to friends. Recorded by John Bailey at S.S. Sound Studios in Trenton, where the band would record all subsequent studio releases. This cassette was sent to Dromedary Records, leading to their future cuppa joe releases.
trivia: This is the only cuppa joe release not to feature cover art by Steve.
cuppa joe | 1991 | self-released
Actually, "self-released" may even be an overstatement. This first demo tape was recorded on a four-track in Diz's basement with the primary purpose of getting shows in the Trenton area. Most of the songs survived to future releases, though, curiously, the early favorite "Canadian Dime" was never to be seen again. Conspiracy theorists are still working on that one.
trivia: Doug's earlier recording of "Bookmark" - his first ever four-track demo - was later released on the Passenger E.P.
live tracks
From horrible dive bars in the Trenton area (all of which were razed to the ground long ago), to coffee houses, nearly-abandoned record stores, Irish bars, dance clubs on off nights, fire halls, colleges, book stores, one airport lounge, and even a few genuine music venues - cuppa joe's super-low-fi collection of live recordings of cuppa joe is second to none.
Check out our Trivia Page to see a list of the places cuppa joe has played, and much more obscure band information.
radio and online interviews and performances
cuppa joe has made a few radio appearances - often performing, and usually being interviewed as well. Listen to the sometimes funny, sometimes awkward, band banter and stripped-down live songs. Can you hear the guitar string that breaks live on-air?
unreleased demos, rehearsals, and other material
Doug was a monster on the Tascam four-track back in the 90's, and he wound up writing and recording demos for many more songs than the band was ever able to record in the studio. Some demos made it onto the early "cuppa joe" cassette, a few were included on "Following Lights into the Forest", and a bunch more composed the Passenger 7" and the "Pondhoagie Cassette". These demos, however, have never been included anywhere.
