Wikipedia

Forget Cassettes

Forget Cassettes was an alternative rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, active between 2001 and 2016 on the Theory 8 Records label.[1][2][3][4] Frontwoman Beth Cameron was the band's only permanent member throughout the band's years of activity.[5]

Forget Cassettes
Also known asEliza the Arrow
Elizabeth Grace
OriginNashville, Tennessee
GenresAlternative rock, indie rock, synth pop, dream pop
Years active2001 (2001)–2016
LabelsTheory 8 Records, One Little Indian Records
MembersBeth Cameron
Doni Schroader
Aaron Ford
Jay Leo Phillips

History

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Formation and Instruments of Action (2003)

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Forget Cassettes was formed in Nashville by vocalist Beth Cameron, formerly of the musical trio Fair Verona.[6][7] In 2001, Fair Verona broke up after a record deal failed to come to fruition.[8] This band received revived interest in 2024 after its 1999 song, The Downfall of a Well Known Actress, was investigated by the Lostwave community on Reddit.[9][10]

Following the band's dissolution, Cameron was joined by Fair Verona's drummer, Doni Schroader.[6] They recorded Forget Cassettes' first album, Instruments of Action (2003), through Theory 8 Records.[6][11] The album, produced by Mike McCarthy,[12] debuted at 47 on the Core Chart, a collation of playlists from the largest 100 college radio stations in the United States.[13][14]

In a review for Dusted Magazine, Joel Calahan compared Forget Cassettes' debut to Mission of Burma and Gang of Four, "infusing the post-rock genre with a modern, explosive sensibility."[12] Airplay received by the album on Ohio-based radio station WOXY.com brought Forget Cassettes to the top of the station's People’s Choice Countdown for several weeks.[15]

Salt (2006) and other activities

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When Schroader left to tour with ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead shortly after the recording of Instruments of Action, Cameron partnered with multi-instrumentalist Jay Leo Philips and drummer Aaron Ford.[5][6][16] At this time, Philips and Ford were Cameron's fellow labelmates.[16]

This line-up was responsible for the band's second album, Salt (2006),[5][6][17] also released via Theory 8 Records.[18] Recorded with producer Jeremy Ferguson,[18] Salt's musical style and Cameron's vocals invited comparisons to PJ Harvey and Karen O by Spin magazine,[19] while Hayley Avron of Plan B compared track "Quiero, Quieres" to the Dresden Dolls.[20] Cameron would cite PJ Harvey as a personal inspiration in an interview with Missbehave in 2007.[16]

Salt was slated to receive a European release through One Little Independent Records in 2007, but the deal fell through.[21][3] Cameron, who had relocated to Chicago in anticipation of further career opportunities, felt disillusioned with the music industry after this experience.[3] She returned to Nashville and enrolled in college.[3]

Also in 2007, Schroader returned to the band.[5] The group was briefly active as a four piece until Jay Leo Philips and Aaron Ford departed the same year.[5][16] Philips left to become the frontman of band Apollo Up!.[18][22] Cameron and Schroader briefly performed under the name Elizabeth Grace,[23] then Eliza the Arrow in 2009.[24]

O Cursa (2013) and breakup

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Cameron and Schroader collaborated for the band's third and final album, O Cursa (2013).[25] Preceding the album's release, the band released a music video for the track, "Sometimes You're The Bad Guy."[26]

A collection of three Forget Cassettes EPs into a two-part LP,[3] the first half of the album was released in November, followed by the second half in December.[4] O Cursa fell "just shy" of making it to the Nashville Scene Critics' Poll of Top Local Albums (2013).[27] The album represented a move from the band's rock sound to "richly textured electro-rock," as described by D. Patrick Rodgers.[4]

Cameron performed alone as Forget Cassettes for several years following the album's release.[3] She also performed with the band Ponychase until around 2016.[28][4][29][30]

Later activity

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Black Bra

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In 2016, Cameron married Miles Price, a fellow musician who she had met at her solo Forget Cassettes shows.[3] They enlisted other musicians to form a band, Black Bra, which signed to Y2K Records in 2019.[3][31][32] The band remains on the label as of 2026.[8]

Reunion

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Cameron, Philips, and Ford reunited in November 2022 to discuss the writing and recording of Salt (2006) with Nashville music outlet, We Own This Town.[18]

Band members

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  • Beth Cameron (guitar, vocals, keys)[16][18]
  • Aaron Ford (drums)[16][18]
  • Jay Leo Phillips (bass, guitar, keys, backing vocals)[16][18]
  • Doni Schroader (drums, percussion, backing vocals, keys)[16][18]
  • Jason Milan Dietz (bass and keys 2007)[33]

Discography

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  • Instruments of Action (2003)[34]
  • Salt (2006)[34]
  • O Cursa (2013)[34]

References

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  1. ↑ NME (April 27, 2007). "Forget Cassettes - Salt". NME. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  2. ↑ Eades, Michael. "Forget Cassettes". yk records. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Zaillian, Charlie (July 16, 2020). "Beth Cameron Makes a Timely Return With Black Bra". Nashville Scene. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rodgers, D. Patrick (October 17, 2012). "The Week in Fresh Tracks [Forget Cassettes, Feral Hymns, Jamey Johnson, The GoldRoom, Penicillin Baby, Megajoos]". Nashville Scene. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Diver, Mike (February 26, 2007). "Discover: Forget Cassettes". DrownedInSound. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilson, Rodney (August 2006). "Forget Cassettes" (PDF). Cincinnati Enquirer. pp. 36–37.
  7. ↑ Sam (December 19, 2005). "Forget Cassettes". 3hive. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  8. 1 2 records, yk. "Black Bra". yk records. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  9. ↑ But Her Lyrics (July 27, 2024). "A 90s Lostwave Mystery Solved: Fair Verona". yewknee. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Discovered by Lost Wave with Alex Caress & Beth Cameron". YK World. August 27, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  11. ↑ "theory 8 - artist - Forget Cassettes". www.theory8records.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Calahan, Joel (August 27, 2003). "Dusted Reviews Forget Cassettes - Instruments of Action". Dusted Magazine. Archived from the original on March 23, 2025.
  13. ↑ Maybe, Brad (July 21, 2003). "At the Core". CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network. p. 15.
  14. ↑ Farrish, Bryan (December 2000). "Radio Airplay 101: CMJ Magazine". www.musicbizacademy.com. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  15. ↑ Breen, Mike (April 14, 2004). "Forget Cassettes tunes up their Instruments of Action". Cincinnati CityBeat. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Graber, Cary (March 6, 2007). "Forget Cassettes: Tennessee Rock Titans". Missbehave. p. 49.
  17. ↑ Dean, Will (March 5, 2007). "Album Review: Forget Cassettes - Salt". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 We Own This Town (November 4, 2022). "327: Track by Track: Forget Cassettes – Salt". We Own This Town. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  19. ↑ Spin Volume 22, Issues 7-12. Spin Magazine. 2006. p. 119.
  20. ↑ Avron, Hayley (April 2007). "Forget Cassettes Salt (Tangled Up!)". Plan B. Vol. 1, no. 20. p. 81.
  21. ↑ Moore, Tracy (January 22, 2007). "Beth Cameron Signs With One Little Indian". Nashville Scene. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  22. ↑ YK Records. "Apollo Up! - Chariots of Fire". Apollo Up - Chariots of Fire. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  23. ↑ Haruch, Steve (December 4, 2008). "Which Cassettes Were Those Again?". Nashville Scene. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  24. ↑ Haruch, Steve (July 6, 2009). "Those Darlins in the WaPo, D.P.R. on Out the Other, Eliza the Arrow: Newsy Bits". Nashville Scene. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  25. ↑ records, yk, Forget Cassettes - O Cursa, retrieved April 1, 2026
  26. ↑ Rodgers, D. Patrick (October 22, 2012). "Forget Cassettes' 'Sometimes You're the Bad Guy' [Fresh Vid]". Nashville Scene. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  27. ↑ Trageser, Stephen (December 5, 2013). "Diarrhea Planet leads the local charge in a year full of powerful releases and big developments". Nashville Scene. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  28. ↑ Crystal (April 17, 2013). "Almost Famous: Ponychase". Autostraddle. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  29. ↑ Eades, Michael (June 18, 2018). "110: Beth Cameron of Forget Cassettes, Ponychase, Black Bra". We Own This Town. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  30. ↑ Powers, Ann (February 23, 2017). "World Cafe Nashville: Little Bandit". NPR. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
  31. ↑ TRAGESER, STEPHEN (November 19, 2019). "Ten Years of YK Records Feat. Hotpipes, Fetching Pails, Black Bra & more". Nashville Scene. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  32. ↑ Trageser, Stephen (June 12, 2020). "Cream Premiere: Black Bra Considers a History of Violence in 'I Was a Young Girl'". Nashville Scene. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  33. ↑ Dietz, Jason. "Inside the studio". TWIN OAK RECORDINGS. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  34. 1 2 3 yewknee. "forget cassettes // salt". forget cassettes // salt. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
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