Christopher Brady and Steven Birch were Sub Pop darlings in the early '90s; Brady and his band Pond and Birch's band Sprinkler were the first two bands hailing from Portland, OR, to be signed to the famed Seattle label. After spending much of the decade fronting and touring the country with their respectable projects, Birch and Brady's creative spirits found each other in 1998. Pond had disbanded and Birch had his fill touring with Everclear, so the two turned to one another for music. They went by the name Mandarin and self-released the limited-edition EP Home Recordings in 1999. Rich Egan of Vagrant Records was lucky to get his hands on a copy, and by spring 2000 Birch and Brady had christened themselves Audio Learning Center. With drummer Paul Johnson, Audio Learning Center crafted a raw emo/indie rock style for 2002's Friendships Often Fade Away. Cope Park, home-recorded and co-produced by Joe Chiccarelli (Frank Zappa, Beck), was issued in April 2004. ~ MacKenzie Wilson