Leaving halfway through the tour and landing in Minneapolis, Elder grew a fondness for the city. While he had the desire to reunite with Kelley and reassemble Lillian The Mannequin, he knew that the universe had other plans. After returning home to Santa Rosa, he and James Florence toured together as Lillian The Mannequin to fulfill their contract with Ben Pasley. Of course, the mannequin came along as the pair played shows along the West Coast with one of Elder’s favorite Netherland bands Anderson. A mixtape featuring Tom Waits was given to Elder around this time as well, but more on that later.
By now you’re probably wondering when Aitch enters into the picture, right? One could say that the early stages of the group were in formation during Elder’s time with Under The Knife, but in reality, the band didn’t fully evolve until a bit later. Their 2006 release Okay So Carol Loves You is the token of all indie bands, complete with photocopied inserts accompanying a CD-R. Less than 100 copies were produced and feature original versions of songs that would later be seen on subsequent albums.
This idea of repurposing and reinventing songs to create multiple expressions entered into Elder’s mind from Phil Elvrum of The Microphones and Mount Eerie. Lyrics from Elvrum’s song “I Say ‘No’” also grace Elder’s body, as he strongly resonates with Phil’s bold disregard of recording standards and the raw transparency that he writes his songs with.
At this time, the band was perhaps at its largest ever, with T. Elder (credited as Murdoc Loch) responsible for a host of sounds including banjo, melodica, and concertina, as well as providing vocals, mixing, and mastering. Long-time friends Micah Suard and James Florence are featured on electric guitar and drums, respectively, with then-roommate Matthew John Elias’ whistling found on various tracks. Lindsay Gray contributed her accomplished talent on the cello, and Christopher James Fernandez, brother of Under The Knife’s Tim Beach, presented backup vocals along with alto saxophone and keyboard skills.
In 2007, the band transitioned from the somewhat childish sound of Okay and moved toward a more folk direction throttled by optimistic lyrics. While Gray was replaced on the cello by Elinore Jenkins, the rest of the band members stayed the same and recorded ¡Aitch Y Double Hockey Sticks! in the closet of Elder’s apartment in downtown Santa Rosa. The album heavily featured ambient sounds including phone calls between friends, sounds of rain outside Elder’s window, and audio recordings of house parties, infusing an element of organic humanity into the record.
It was here that Andrew Maurer contributed guest vocals and the true genius behind T. Elder’s musical ability really shone through with a cover of mewithoutYou’s “A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains” that redefined the emotion of the song. During the latter part of the year, newcomers Tim Neuenschwander and Matt Coello of Gone Fishin’ joined Aitch, essentially encouraging Elder to ask Suard to leave the band. While the infusion of new blood offered life to future songs, Elder regrets the decision to move forward without his friend.
A busy year for T. Elder as he not only released ¡Aitch Y Double Hockey Sticks! but also got married later that fall, 2007 found the band back in the studio to create eigh eye tea sea aitch. The album was recorded on 2” tape in San Francisco at Tiny Telephone, with Justin Phelps heading up the engineering. The band booked nine days at the studio, but after recording ten tracks and running out of capital, did not complete the album. It still remains unfinished. Despite the disappointment of an incomplete product, Aitch demonstrated a beautiful blend of fresh sounds and was accompanied by Matt Henry Cunitz on celesta and Sam Bass on the cello.
T. Elder took a step back at this point, instead focusing on his new marriage and first child in 2009. Feeling as if the time at Tiny Telephone left a major creative loose end in his life, he dabbled in songwriting during some of 2008, channeling his depression and creative rage into songs that mirrored the unforgiving honesty often seen from David Bazan, another strong influence in Elder’s life. He purposely amassed a recording of poorly executed tracks as he forced himself through the motions without any of his previous passion.