MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center (SFPAC) at the University of Memphis has made history for itself. In mid-June, the center’s first full-length LP was released. The group who released the album is a band five UofM students, known as Degenerate Breakfast. Together, they recorded, mixed and mastered the album.
“I was happy enough playing a few shows a month with my friends,” said fourth–year philosophy major and bass player Brandon Kelly. “That’s already more than I could have imagined. This album’s release signifies to me that Degenerate Breakfast is going to have a long future of breaking expectations and opening imaginations for people.”
The 10-track album, self-titled “Degenerate Breakfast,” includes several previously released singles paired with new releases, all written by the band.
From start to finish, the process took 16 months and was part of UofM student Ryan Cleaver’s senior project. Lead vocalist and third-year music major, Liam Wilde said it was the most fun he’s had making music.
“The recording process flew by,” Wilde said. “Sometimes it was hard to work around our schedules since we’re all in school, but we managed to get all the recording, mixing and mastering done in one semester. Now, people who’ve never been to our live shows can finally hear the songs we’ve been putting so much work into.”
Band members, which include Wilde, Kelly, third-year music major and saxophone/guitar player Bridger Whittier, third-year music major and drummer Marshall Rambin and fifth-year music major and lead guitarist James Alberts, describe themselves as a combination of alternative rock, punk, blues, jazz and folk music, certainly checking the boxes for Memphis’s long and diverse music culture.
“We have so many songs we’ve been working on, and we can’t wait to get them out.”
– Liam Wilde
Over the years, they’ve played at local venues like Hi Tone Café and Havenhaus and also concerts and festivals like last year’s Mempho Music Festival. Wilde said he’s already itching for another album.
“We have so many songs we’ve been working on, and we can’t wait to get them out,” Wilde said.
“And this is only possible because of the incredible resources and people that we have had the privilege to work with,” Kelly said. “It’s extremely rewarding to see everything come together the way we wanted it to.”
Degenerate Breakfast’s next three shows are July 11 at Havenhaus and July 19-20 at 901 Growlers, both in Memphis. The album can be found on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
