JPS, writing for Talkhouse on the legacy of Sunburn and “what it was like to be a “college rock” band on the verge in 1990”:

Happily, Freda, Juliana, and I have rekindled our friendship several times over, and we made what I personally consider our best album, God Bless the Blake Babies, in 2001. We’ve periodically done shows together and supported one another in all of our mostly successful post-band pursuits. It’s wild to think that was over 30 years ago. It’s even wilder to listen to the music with the knowledge of what indie music sounds like today, and realize it still sounds contemporary. With the exception of a few dated production touches, Sunburn could fit in with what we call Indie Pop today.

John P. Strohm posted on Twitter yesterday about finding a Blake Babies tour diary he kept from 1989-1990, and which he’s now transcribing.

I’ll keep this post updated with links to John’s Wordpress as he publishes in parts.

A snippet from Part 1 (November - December 1989) :

12/7/89

Athens GA did not disappoint. Tuesday night we played the 40-Watt. We played an hour and two encores. It felt a little lackluster because Juliana is getting a cold. The staff at the 40-Watt are as nice as any club people I’ve met. The sound guy kept offering Juliana various cold remedies including slugs of brandy (which she declined – she never drinks and in fact none of us are drinking at all on this tour). Wednesday we drove to Sparta to a junk store and I bought some shitkickin’ boots and some hats. Freda got these amazing red cowboy boots, which she’s wearing with pride.

Updates:

Part 2 (January 1990) published April 3, 2022

Part 3 (February 1990) published April 4, 2022

Part 4 (February 1990) published April 5, 2022

Part 5 (March 1990) published April 6, 2022 (final part)

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John P. Strohm, writing today for Talkhouse about "the 'demonic' 1970s Chevy cargo van that carried Blake Babies across America":

Juliana always drove, because she believed that she had a psychic connection with The Van and she could will it to stay on the road. We had a boom box that ran on batteries, but often we just rode in silence as Juliana looked straight ahead, jaw clenched, occasionally muttering insults to the van when it made its strange noises or if any indicator lights came on. The “check engine” light remained on pretty much always after we left New England.

talkhouse.com/the-van-from-hell/

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photo from @johnpstrohm

A post shared by @ julianahatfield on Jul 25, 2019 at 5:16pm PDT

Here are the first new recordings I've made public in over a decade, side one of an album I'm making. Enjoy and feel free to share. https://t.co/ch6Got3zDi

— John P. Strohm (@johnpstrohm) November 14, 2017

John P Strohm has a new job:

The music industry is changing almost daily with technological advancements, social media and the shifting population of music fans, and no one knows that better than John Strohm. Strohm, a former Birmingham resident and graduate of the Cumberland School of Law at Samford, recently was named president of Rounder Records in Nashville, after years as a musician himself and an entertainment lawyer. But Strohm made a name for himself musically as a member of bands such as the Lemonheads, Blake Babies and Antenna, and help launch the careers of some of today's most successful musicians - including Alabama Shakes, Sturgill Simpson and the Civil Wars.

Patch caught up with Strohm to discuss his new gig as a record executive, what brought him here, and where music is headed as an industry.

Read more at patch.com/alabama/birmingham-al/rounder-records-new-leader-5-questions-john-strohm

Two Blake Babies in discussion earlier this week in Nashville to promote Freda's recipe book / rock memoir.

The talk focuses on their love of food, touching on their respective lives in and out of the music industry.

Low Times Podcast:

Maggie Serota sits down with entertainment lawyer John P. Strohm to chat about his roots in the Boston music scene of the late 80s, founding The Blake Babies with ex-girlfriend Freda Love and Juliana Hatfield and playing in The Lemonheads with Evan Dando. He also discusses the shift from trying to eke out a living as an indie musician to becoming an attorney specializing in working with artists.

It's a very good interview and well worth a listen for any Blake Babies / Juliana fan.

You can hear it via the episode page at Low Times.

John's interview is the last section of the episode and begins after the 1 hour 4 minute mark.