An alternative rock supergroup united in their love of the Great American Pastime, the Baseball Project features members of a handful of celebrated bands who write and sing songs about baseball. Playing smart, energetic rock with pop accents and a rootsy feel, the group features members of R.E.M., the Dream Syndicate, and the Minus 5, and their material focuses on the outsized personalities and legendary tales of the great game's history. The act started after a casual conversation backstage at a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame event, and within a year they put out their debut album, 2008's The Baseball Project, Vol. 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails; the busy schedule of the members meant there were often gaps between releases, but 2011's The Baseball Project, Vol. 2: High and Inside, 2014's 3rd, and 2023's Grand Salami Time showed their passion for the game as well as their musical friendship wasn't fading away. The Baseball Project had its origins in 1992 when Scott McCaughey, a member of the Young Fresh Fellows and the Minus 5, met Steve Wynn, who had worked with the Dream Syndicate and Gutterball before launching a solo career. The two discovered they shared a passionate interest in baseball, and became friends based on their fandom. The two crossed paths in 2007, when they were both at an event in New York celebrating R.E.M.'s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. McCaughey and Wynn struck up the idea of making an album of songs about baseball. McCaughey was close friends with Peter Buck of R.E.M., and had toured with them as an auxiliary musician; McCaughey soon brought Buck on board to play guitar in the new band. Linda Pitmon, a former member of Zuzu's Petals who played in Wynn's solo projects, signed on as their drummer, and the Baseball Project was born. Wynn, McCaughey, and Buck quickly wrote a batch of songs, and went into the studio to record The Baseball Project, Vol. 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails, an often tongue-in-cheek set of narrative songs about baseball legends Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Satchel Paige, and others, released by Yep Roc Records in 2008. Fellow baseball fan David Letterman invited the group to appear on his Late Night chat show, and they played a handful of live dates in support of the LP. In 2010, the cable sports network ESPN invited the band to do a "real time commentary" project where they would write and record songs relating to that year's baseball season which were made available as downloads on the network's website. The ESPN tracks and some outtakes from the band's studio sessions were issued on a digital EP, 2011's The Broadside Project. The same year, a second proper album, The Baseball Project, Vol. 2: High and Inside, appeared and included more baseball-centric tunes done up in an alternative rock and roots fashion. The group's post-release touring included a string of dates in cities that were hosting major league spring training camps, as well as a performance at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. In 2013, the Baseball Project expanded to a five-piece when former R.E.M. bassist and noted Atlanta Braves fan Mike Mills joined the lineup, and they rolled into the studio to record their third album, simply called 3rd. The album also featured guest performances from Josh Kantor, the official organist with the Boston Red Sox (and also a member of the Split Squad), and trumpeter Alex Gonzalez. After nine years of the members being occupied by other commitments, the Baseball Project reconvened to record 2023's Grand Salami Time, their first release for Omnivore Recordings. The album also marked a reunion of sorts for Peter Buck and Mike Mills, as the sessions were engineered and co-produced by Mitch Easter, who produced R.E.M.'s debut EP Chronic Town (1982) and the albums Murmur (1983) and Reckoning (1984). Grand Salami Time included guest appearances by Stephen McCarthy of the Long Ryders and Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. ~ Steve Leggett & Mark Deming, Rovi

Hollis Brown, The Baseball Project

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