The Gene Pool 2005 Local lIcks Live Radio Series

Geno Stroia II - founder of Gene Pool - believed a band could be built around three equally strong songwriter/performers, and when he formed this band in March 2002, he sought out musical peers who could share the stage, not just support him. In fact, when asked about the name, he admits he'd be embarrassed to use something like the Geno Stroia Band. The Gene Pool was the suggestion of a friend. "She said, 'If you ever start a band, you should call it the Gene Pool, because it'd be like you and all your friends playing.' And I said, 'You know, that's a great idea.' The name seems to fit," he adds, "and people remember it really easily."

Just as he didn't want the band to carry his name, he didn't want to be its main attraction. "I wanted to put a project together that allowed me to start singing and performing my songs, where I was the front guy but not really the front guy," Stroia says with a laugh. "So I called Jackie and Jorge. They were musical friends and we had played in bands together."

Stroia, a veteran of the Groove Junkies, the Jay Thomas Band and Parade, asked them if they were interested in working out some songs they couldn't perform with their other bands. "We thought it would be just a little project, doing one-off gigs here and there. But it turned out to be a lot more," he says. The current lineup - with Stefano Intelisano on keyboards, Travis Woodard on drums and Harmoni Kelley on bass - became permanent in 2004.

"From all the live shows, I think we've gained a lot of knowledge and restraint. And going in to make a record forces you to really think about what you're playing," Stroia says. "We tried to make a really sparse record with that in mind. There are not a lot of misspent notes." Steven Collins was hired to produce because, Stroia says, "We knew he'd draw performances out of us. He didn't allow a lot of takes - some songs are first takes. He'd look at us and say, 'Yep, we got it.'"

Gene Pool recorded their album's 12 tracks at Stevens' studio, the Troubadour, a restored and converted town meeting hall in MacGregor, Texas. Because the place had such a wonderful, time-transcending vibe – "You feel like you can make a great record in there the minute you walk in," Stroia says – the band named the album after its location at the corner of Third and Main.