Wednesday, March 14   8:00 p.m.
Antone's   (213 W 5th St)

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The Ladybug Transistor story begins in Brooklyn during the mid-1990’s. The genesis of the group is more that of a concept than actual band. Their debut album, Marlborough Farms, was a studio project based around founding member/vocalist Gary Olson's collaborations with friends.

Jeff Baron (guitar) and sister Jennifer (bass) joined during the recording of Beverley Atonale, the group’s first full length for Merge Records. When it came time to tour, they recruited San Fadyl (drums)and Sasha Bell (keyboards, vocals) as members of the group.

This invigorated and inspired line up went on to craft 1999's The Albemarle Sound. Dubbed "the last great pop album of the century", Albemarle trademarked the group’s unique flair for songwriting and classic pop arrangement and set a benchmark for their future recordings.

2001's Argyle Heir built and expanded upon many Albemarle's themes and the group grew to include violinist (& current bassist) Julia Rydholm. Regular touring of North America and Europe throughout 2001 helped
Ladybug secure a strong and passionate international following.

In 2003 the band visited Wavelab Studios in Tucson, AZ. The resulting self- titled LP was recorded by Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Giant Sand, Neko Case, Tape Op Magazine) It's certainly their most collaborative
and solid effort to date and also the first recorded outside of their Marlborough Farms headquarters. A new spirit can be heard in these songs, the result of a lot of preparation and touring before entering the studio. The usual diverse instrumentation (12 string guitar,
strings, horns and countless keyboards) is evident and the mix and is enhanced by Shumacher's excellent work behind the desk.

2005 WAS another year of changes and a line up focused around combinations of Gary Olson, San Fadyl, Jeff Baron and Julia Rydholm along with guests. Ladybug finally had their Australian debut that spring with a sucessful month long tour in March. On returning to the US, most of the group began work on an album project with Kevin Ayers (Soft Machine). After a month of rehearsals at Marlborough Farms, the group and Ayers returned to Tucson for three weeks of recording at Wavelab studios with Gary Olson producing. The results are heard on a new Kevin Ayers LP released in 2006.