Episode 34: Adam Clair on the Elephant 6 Collective

Adam Clair was barely out of undergrad when he began the manuscript for Endless Endless: A Lo-Fi History of the Elephant 6 Mystery (Hachette Books, 2022). The book is a definitive history of the 1990s underground musical movement known as the Elephant 6 Collective. Founded by Robert Schneider, Bill Doss, Will Cullen Hart, and Jeff Mangum, who grew up as friends in the small town of Ruston, Louisiana, the Elephant 6 was initially centered around three bands—the Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Olivia Tremor Control—whose records were expertly produced in home studios in Denver and Athens, Georgia, by Robert Schneider, who wouldn’t mind being referred to as the Brian Wilson-like engineer extraordinaire of the collective. (Schneider is currently a professor of math in Georgia, having earned a PhD in his post-rocker years.) By the late-1990s, the Elephant 6 had exploded onto the musical scene in a way that hasn’t really been felt since—their ’60s psychedelia-inspired, almost utopian mindset of a better world with their music as the soundtrack was as intoxicating then as it is now. Rock ‘n’ Roll stardom was something that seemed to frighten and elude the collective’s founders, however, who were more focused on the art of the music than on the business side. By the turn of the century, relentless touring and recording schedules led Neutral Milk Hotel’s front man Jeff Mangum to retreat from performing—and even from doing interviews. The Olivia’s disbanded for a time, the Apples changed line ups, and the second-generation bands, like Of Montreal and Beulah, began to build their own audiences. In 2013, the original members of Neutral Milk Hotel reunited for a year or two of touring. Then Bill Doss from Olivia Tremor Control passed away suddenly, thwarting their comeback. All the while, Adam Clair was gathering reportage. He conducted over 100 interviews over 13 years to complete Endless Endless. Although the reclusive Jeff Mangum did not speak to him for the book, Clair was able to carve in Mangum’s voice from past interviews (more than I remember taking place, having been around to see it unfold in real time the first time around). Clair and I spoke recently about Endless Endless and how it came to be. Tune in for all the details.