An Orchestrated Rise to Fall
Jimmy LaValle had been playing guitar in the post-rock instrumental band Tristeza. Being a multi-instrumentalist, during downtime in the fall of 1998, he began playing drums for San Diego band GoGoGo Airheart. The singer and guitarist for the group, Mike Vermillion (which later inspired the song name “Vermillion” on One Day I’ll Be on Time) recorded LaValle doing improvised material playing to a vintage roland drum machine on a Rhodes Piano that would become his first full-length album, the 10-track An Orchestrated Rise to Fall. Benjamin White of GoGoGo Airheart and Vermillion both supplied added improvisation with synthesizers and vocals to these recordings.
Before Tristeza released Spine and Sensory on Makoto records in 1998, the band was talking with a handful of different indie record labels. One of the record labels was “The Music Fellowship” out of Salt Lake City, Utah. LaValle asked them if they would be interested in releasing his solo material. They accepted, and An Orchestrated Rise to Fall saw release in 1999 on CD. Later in the year, Tristeza and The Album Leaf both signed with newly started Tigerstyle Records out of New York City. A&R rep for the Tigerstyle, Mike Treff, had previously operated his own record label named Linkwork Records. Tigerstyle wanted to release the vinyl version of An Orchestrated Rise to Fall, since it would be one of the first Tigerstyle releases, and being only on Vinyl format, Mike opted to make it Linkwork Records last release.
LaValle played his first official Album Leaf show at the Che Cafe in the winter of 1999. Band members for this show consisted of Rafter Roberts, Jimmy Lehner (of Tristeza), Leilani Clark (of local San Diego band, “the Straight A’s” also with LaValle), Benjamin White (of GoGoGo Airheart), and John Pham.
Into the Blue Again (2006)
- “The Light” – 4:29
- “Always for You” – 5:07
- “Shine” – 5:53
- “Writings on the Wall” – 4:55
- “Red-Eye” – 7:01
- “See in You” – 4:37
- “Into the Sea” – 4:31
- “Wherever I Go” – 4:38
- “Wishful Thinking” – 5:32
- “Broken Arrow” – 5:50
In a Safe Place (2004)
- “Window” – 3:44
- “Thule” – 4:23
- “On Your Way” – 4:31
- “Twentytwofourteen” – 5:40
- “The Outer Banks” – 4:23
- “Over the Pond” – 4:55
- “Another Day” – 4:21
- “Streamside” – 3:34
- “Eastern Glow” – 6:06
- “Moss Mountain Town” – 9:24
One Day I’ll Be on Time (2001)
- “Gust of…” – 5:21
- “The MP” – 6:21
- “Story Board” – 4:53
- “Wet the Day” – 5:25
- “The Audio Pool” – 4:57
- “Hang Over” – 4:08
- “In Between Lines” – 4:04
- “Last Time Here” – 4:21
- “Asleep” – 4:59
- “The Sailor” – 4:37
- “Vermillion” – 5:42
- “Glimmer” – 4:44
An Orchestrated Rise to Fall (1999)
- “Wander”
- “An Interview”
- “Lounge Act”
- “September Song”
- “We Once Were (One)”
- “This River Deep”
- “Airplane”
- “A Short Story”
- “We Once Were (Two)”
- “Lounge Act (Two)”
