The Parcels

The Parcels formed in New Jersey the summer of 1997. The original lineup of Tara Mackay (vocals and bass), Christian Elton (guitars, vocals, keyboards), and AJ Naito (drums) emerged as a sped-up indie pop trio in the vein of Go Sailor. The band released the Oh What a Busy Day single on Brentwood Estates Records in 1998. The EP was recorded with Small Factory's Dave Auchenbach in Providence, RI. Melissa Wysocki took over on bass and vocals in 1999. The band's first and only full-length CD, Have a Go with the Parcels, was released on Brentwood Estates in 2000. The disc was recorded with Bill Wells and Ladybug Transistor's Gary Olson at Marlborough Farms Studio in Brooklyn, NY. Toward the end of the band's tenure, they appeared on various indie pop compilations. "Snappy New Haircut" appeared on New Atmosphere for the Future: U.S. Pop Life International on Japan's Contact Records in 2001. Parcels songs also appeared on compilations on Morgan Leah Records and Shelflife Records in 2001 and 2002. The band rarely performed live before calling it quits in 2002, but they managed to perform with the likes of Wolfie, Barcelona, Masters of the Hemisphere, and Calvin Johnson during their brief tenure. They toured the East Coast during summer of 2000, culminating in a performance at Kindercore Records' Expo 2000 Festival.