The Stranger:
Nine years ago, John Spalding — guitarist for local punk band Ninety Pound Wuss and spastic hardcore act Raft of Dead Monkeys — quietly began recording some songs of his own at home. He named his new project LoveLand. But before Spalding could fully realize his new songs, life happened. He went back to school. He met, fell in love with, and married his wife, Jody. Then, about four years ago, Spalding was diagnosed with cancer. As his illness became more aggressive, so did Spalding, throwing himself into the project he had started then let stall years earlier. He recruited over a dozen local musicians he had worked with and befriended over the years — members of Minus the Bear, These Arms Are Snakes, the Blood Brothers, Suffering and the Hideous Thieves, Pretty Girls Make Graves — and with their help, LoveLand became a reality.