Hope For Always - Poor Old Lu

Poor Old Lu was one of the pioneer alternative Christian bands in the Northwest. Just sophomores in the spring of 1990, Nick Barber, Aaron Sprinkle & Scott Hunter began playing under the name 'Bellbangvilla'. The group threw together a 9-song first album named 'In Love with the Greenery'. A few months later Jesse Sprinkle joined the band.

In the summer of 1991, the band officially changed its name to Poor Old Lu, which is taken out of the first book in C.S.Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe. In spring of 1992 the group released their first full-length demo entitled Star-Studded Super Step. After Aaron & Jesse's father passed their demo to Randy Stonehill, the group was signed to Alarma Records in the summer of 1993.

Their first album released with Alarma Records was entitled Mindsize, a critically praised release from the foursome. The next summer the band regrouped to record their second album. Wanting to capture a more raw sound on the record, the group teamed up with engineer & producer John Goodmanson. Simply called Sin, the group released the album to high reviews and a growing fan base.

In the midst of their constant touring at this time, the group took about a month in the late spring of 1995 to record an elusive experimental EP entitled Straight Six. The EP saw new musical steps for the group as well as guest vocals from Jeremy Enigk and a cover of The Swoon's Speak Soft.

After an unsuccessful tour in the summer of 1995, the band's financial status forced the group to gain part-time or full-time jobs to help keep the group and their families afloat. With less time for shows and writing music, the group didn't start to seriously talk again of next album until the spring of 1996. Already the band had started tossing around the idea that this album might be their last album and shutting things down altogether. With a few songs in hand, the group entered the studio with Gene Eugene mixing and co-producing the album. Diverse as their previous albums, A Picture of the Eighth Wonder was released as the band began talking about their impending split. As a way for the band to reminisce once more over the years, in November of 1996 in front of packed house in Wallingford, WA the group played its farewell concert. Recorded and later released the next year, In Their Final Performance captures the memorable evening from a group who knew their time had finally come.

In the years following the disbanding, the group released a self-selected greatest hits disc entitled Chrono: 1993-1998, which featured a number of remixes of fan favorite songs. Five years after the group went their ways, these four high-school friends rejoined for a single album with Tooth & Nail Records. In 2001 the group released their last disc, The Waiting Room. Released to mixed reviews, the group did minimal tour support for the album.

Since Poor Old Lu almost all of the band members have gone on within some musical project in one way or another. In 1997 Nick Barber and Aaron Sprinkle formed the group Rose Blossom Punch with two other friends. Released through Sara Bellum Records, Ephemere was released to good reviews. Yet the group suffered through a number of label issues which not only delayed their next album, but eventually altogether shelved the album entirely. Offered eventually as limited-time download through MP3.COM, by the time the six-song EP entitled Sorry To Disappoint You was released the band had long been disbanded and Aaron Sprinkle had begun his solo career, releasing his debut solo disc Moontraveler. Aaron went on to release three more albums: The Kindest Days, Bareface, and a greatest hits disc Lackluster.

Both Aaron Sprinkle and Jesse Sprinkle released solo discs over the next few years, with Aaron also starting to produce records for Tooth & Nail Records.

In 2006 Nick Barber and Aaron Sprinkle once again rejoined, adding Erick Newbill and Joey Sanchez as the group Fair. The group released their debut album The Best Worst-Case Scenario to solid reviews. To all Poor Old Lu fans out there, the album gives hope that we'll be able to enjoy this favorite group in some form or fashion for the foreseeable future. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.