The Helium Tapes

The Helium Tapes was formed in spring of 2004 in St. Louis, MO. The original lineup was Sunyatta Marshall (vocals, guitar, glockenspiel), Joe Stulce (drums, percussion), Cullen McGrane (keyboards), Tim Lohmann (guitar), and Brandon Mason (bass). They recorded a 4-song demo during the summer of 2005 at Smokin' Baby Studios, engineered by Jason Hutto. By the time of this recording, Cullen McGrane had left the band, so keyboard parts were recorded by Brandon. Throughout the end of 2005 to early in 2007, The Helium Tapes tracked a full-length album in their rehearsal space. The project was mixed by Steve Marshall, and was completed in early 2008. The album is self-titled and was released in September of 2008. In fall 2007, Jarrod Burkemper was added to the lineup on bass, while Brandon moved to keyboards full-time. In fall 2009, the band released Ghost Wave. Ghost Wave was the result of a different recording approach, with tracks recorded in a variety of locations. Drum and bass tracks were recorded by Steve Marshall in the rehearsal space. Sunyatta's vocals were recorded by Tim Gebauer in the studio he worked at in Brentwood, MO. Guitar and vocal overdubs along with some percussion were recorded in Steve's apartment. Keyboard parts were tracked in Brandon's home. Mastering was performed by Tim Gebauer in his home. Shortly after the release of Ghost Wave, Tim left the band, followed by Joe. After auditioning several guitarists and a drummer and playing one more show The Helium Tapes disbanded later that winter.