Cleo's Mass. Appeal
by Michael Rubiner (Rolling Stone, issue 710)

You may know Letters To Cleo from their fine debut, 
Aurora Gory Alice, or as the band whose video 
"Here and Now" is the best part of Melrose Place  
(maybe because it plays over the closing credits).  
Asked how they swung that, guitarist Mike Eisenstein 
says, "I was sleeping with many of the actresses."  
Eisenstein and singer Kay Hanley, who share an 
apartment in Boston's South End - they're 
roommates, OK? - talked about how they'll pass 
the time between tour dates this summer.

Q. What's your No. 1 summertime activity?

HANLEY: Every day we do the Newbury stroll. The 
statistic used to be that, per square foot, 
Newbury Street was the most expensive street in 
the world.
EISENSTEIN: But not the end that we walk at. There's 
lots of used-record stores and used-clothing stores.  
It's a tradition to sit out in front of the Coffee 
Connection [165 Newbury St.] with your iced coffee 
and watch the young and beautiful walk by.

Q. What other outdoor things do you do?

EISENSTEIN: Watch TV.
HANLEY: I love going to Central Square, in Cambridge.  
They have a lot of street fairs and stuff like that 
on the weekends.  Kenmore Square is great.  Harvard 
Square is great.
EISENSTEIN: My favorite summer thing is to go to an 
enjoyablee three-hour Red Sox game at Fenway Park.

Q. What do you like to do at night?

EISENSTEIN: You can really just go out any night 
and see some good bands.  One place we like is the 
Middle East.  It's a bar, rock club and restaurant.
HANLEY:  We go to the Rat.  And we can't forget 
about T.T. the Bear's [10 Brookline St., Cambridge] 
- when it's not too crowded.

Q. Do you have a favorite dive bar?

HANLEY: The Waltham Tavern [298 Shawmut Ave.]. 
They've got this great pool table, real cheap beer, 
pinball and just old guys sitting at the bar.  And if 
you give the bartenders a dollar tip for a beer, they 
act as if you've just given them the cure for cancer.

Q. What kind of food do you like?

EISENSTEIN: We like food in general.
HANLEY: I have a big thing for expensive food and 
wine - when I can afford it.  Sometimes I'll go to 
Capital Grill [359 Newbury St.], which is a very 
upscale steakhouse, lots of mahogany, lots of cigar 
smoke and businessmen.  You can go in there all tattooed.

Q. What about someplace more casual?

HANLEY: Anchovies [433 Columbus Ave.] is 
awesome.  It's sort of a simple Italian place.  
Tim's [329 Columbus Ave.] has the best cheeseburger 
ever known to man.

Q. Anything more to say about summertime?

HANLEY: I think we talked more about the 
summertime than I ever talked in my entire life.