An expanded edition of Churn, the debut album by ’90s alt-rock standard bearers Seven Mary Three, originally released independently in 1994 through the band’s 5 Spot Records, is slated to be reissued by ABKCO on May 30. The album, recorded between December 1993 and January 1994, was notable for its inclusion of the first version of “Cumbersome,” the track that was re-recorded when the band later signed with Atlantic-distributed Mammoth Records the following year and hit #1 on Billboard’s US Mainstream Rock chart. The same is true of “Water’s Edge” that was also first heard on Churn and later re-recorded for inclusion on platinum-selling American Standard, the band’s initial album for Mammoth.
ABKCO’s new digital version of Churn, includes the original album in addition to three previously unreleased tracks: “Wrecking Wall”, which has never been heard in any form, an early demo of “My My”, and “Over Nothing”, which served as the blueprint for “Margarette” on both Churn and American Standard. The ABKCO edition of Churn also includes six Seven Mary Three tracks that comprised the Yukon Cornelius EP, a title derived from an earlier name for the band that evolved to become Seven Mary Three. Three of the tracks from that EP – “Marching On”, “50,000 Spectators”, and “Saturday” –have never been previously released digitally and three are demo versions of songs that ended up on Churn as well as on American Standard.
The history of Seven Mary Three can be traced to the early ‘90s when Ross attended the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA, where he met guitarist Jason Pollock. Together with drummer and fellow William and Mary undergrad Giti Khalsa, and bassist Casey Daniel (a high school friend of Ross’ from Florida), the band found its footing in clubs, bars and coffee houses throughout the southeast. Influenced by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, R.E.M. and the Seattle grunge movement, Ross fronted the band in various incarnations for two decades with Seven Mary Three, re-grouping thereafter from time to time.
In the years following his tenure with Seven Mary Three, Ross has become a music and marketing executive heading Fresh Produce, the audio-first creative studio with a presence in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, Mexico City and London. The company specializes in talent-led, narrative audio and video with over 30 launched series. Its projects span from music storytelling, wellness and sports, to scripted fiction and news. Ross also witnessed and catalyzed an explosion of talent during his seven years with New York’s The Bowery Presents. He recently referenced his multi-faceted career commenting, “Stepping away from making music to focus on the business of music for a while, I was able to come back to it in a way that felt like I hadn’t lost what did the most for me. As soon as I started making music again, life got better – work, marriage, everything. Nervous as I am about getting a toe back in the water, the farther out I swim the better it is. I’m glad to come back to music not feeling like I’m retreading. I feel like I’m still learning.”
Track listing for 2025 expanded edition of Churn:
1. Cumbersome
2. Water’s Edge
3. Devil Boy
4. Roderigo
5. Lame
6. Kater
7. Margarette
8. Anything
9. Punch In Punch Out
10. Favorite Dog
11. Wrecking Wall (Unreleased Demo)**
12. My My (Unreleased Demo)**
13. Over Nothing (Unreleased Demo)**
14. Margarette (Demo)*
15. 50,000 Spectators (Demo)*
16. Marching On (Demo) *
17. Devil Boy (Demo)*
18. Saturday (Demo)*
19. Punch In, Punch Out (Demo)*
*Yukon Cornelius Sessions – recorded in Fall 1993
**Recorded at Rumble Studios in August 1994, never previously released