Ciao Bella

by Jason AnkenyAlameda, CA-based indie-pop duo Ciao Bella teamed singers/songwriters Mario Hernandez and Jamie McCormick, longtime friends who first joined forces under the name Teeny Hi-Fi for a 1992 single, Weekend Go. Appearing live on only the rarest of occasions, the duo spent the next several years collaborating in their home studio, finally releasing their first material as Ciao Bella on a 1996 EP on the Winnipeg-based Endearing label. The full-length 1 followed on March Records in 1997, earning the band a worshipful following among indie-pop fanatics, but after a handful of subsequent compilation tracks Ciao Bella went on hiatus; McCormick went on to produce sessions for acts including the Aislers Set and the Fairways, while Hernandez recorded under the alias From Bubblegum to Sky.