central Europe, where they first broke through to the mainstream. It was only after they had established a fan base in Europe and received positive press in the United Kingdom that the band first became recognized in the United States, including their native Atlanta. By the end of 1992, they were getting positive write-ups in American press such as The New York Times and supported Juliana Hatfield on tour. The group made appearances at Rocking Kolonia Festival in Maastricht in 1992, Pukkelpop in 1992, Transmusicales in 1992, A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise in 1993, and the Reading Festival in 1993. They also recorded a John Peel session on September 2, 1993 and a Black Session on February 25, 1994. Mainstream success (1994–1997) Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü had seen the band at a show in New York City's CBGB as well as in Rotterdam—he called the latter show their "turning point"—and invited the band to tour with his new group Sugar in Europe and the United States in 1992–1993. The band asked Sugar bassist and fellow Athens musician David Barbe produce their major label debut album. When he refused, Mould offered to record with the band, taking them to Pedernales Recording Studio, in Austin, Texas in August 1993. The sessions would result in the album Hot Boxing, which was released by Play It Again Sam in Europe and Priority Records domestically on July 5, 1994. Releasing an album by Magnapop was a radical departure for Priority who had previously focused on rap music. The album produced two singles: "Slowly, Slowly", which spent seven weeks on the charts, peaking on September 10, 1994, at 25 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks, and "Lay It Down", which topped the 1993 De Afrekening poll. The band toured the United States supporting The Lemonheads in 1993 and played at the 1994 Phoenix Festival and Marktrock to promote the album and created music videos for "Lay It Down", "Slowly, Slowly", and "Texas". The promotional EP Big Bright Cherry was released in 1994 and included three tracks from the Hot Boxing recording sessions as well as three self-produced songs. In 1995, the McNair and the band parted ways, with neither party giving a definitive rationale. Hopper explained "We had a hard time recording Hot Boxing, because our drummer had a lot of things in the way ... Nobody wants to hurt anyone, or to cut them