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The then-blossoming — and ultimately doomed — relationship between Thomas and Ronson is not a topic Like members are eager to discuss. "He came along as a sort of Prince Charming," Thomas said.
Ronson is more forthcoming. "I had a crush on Tennessee, and while I didn't feign an interest in the band, it was definitely an incentive to go and hear the stuff. It ended before the record was finished ... But I was genuinely interested in hearing the band. It was also a good excuse to ask her on a date."
Ronson persuaded Interscope Geffen A&M to pay for a week in the studio. Everyone was on board, and then Froom and the band split three days before the session. Berg drafted friend and ex-Phantom Planet member Alex Greenwald to play bass.
Today, Froom is taking classes at Santa Monica College and aims to get a master's in clinical psychology. She recently released an album with Taylor Locke & the Roughs, a band led by the Rooney guitarist. She noted only that her split with the Like was "a long time coming."
Berg, however, was determined to keep the Like afloat. "We were not going to waste that opportunity," she said. "By hook or by crook, we were going to make this happen."
Ronson, said Berg, was the first producer to get her vision. The band cut nine songs in five days, and utilized the Dap-Kings' Victor Axelrod on organ. "I wanted to record live," she said. "I wanted one guitar track. Yet every producer that we had ever worked with said that that's not how records are made anymore."
Whether it was Ronson's busy schedule or the dissolution of his relationship with Thomas is not clear, but he left four songs to Dap-Kings drummer Homer Steinweiss to produce.
Looking back, "I could have been more responsible," Ronson said.
With a finished album, Berg and Thomas needed a band. Geronimo was suggested by Jim Smith, who runs the downtown club the Smell, and keyboardist Annie Monroe, who attended Santa Monica's Crossroads school with Berg, auditioned after graduating from New York University.
Interscope Geffen A&M agreed to release the Ronson-produced album, shuffling it to Downtown Music, the label responsible for Gnarls Barkley. Downtown's Deutsch was aware of the Like's early hype, noting that he heard talk of a "bidding war" in 2004. "I look at this as the first record," he said.
As does Berg, who's bringing a fresh outlook to the Like's new lease on life. "I've spent my whole life trying to be precocious and plan everything," she said. "At this point, we want to do every strange opportunity that comes up, whether it's being asked to play a show that day, or playing a house party.
"We want to work," she continued." We want to be good."
todd.martens@latimes.com
Ronson is more forthcoming. "I had a crush on Tennessee, and while I didn't feign an interest in the band, it was definitely an incentive to go and hear the stuff. It ended before the record was finished ... But I was genuinely interested in hearing the band. It was also a good excuse to ask her on a date."
Today, Froom is taking classes at Santa Monica College and aims to get a master's in clinical psychology. She recently released an album with Taylor Locke & the Roughs, a band led by the Rooney guitarist. She noted only that her split with the Like was "a long time coming."
Berg, however, was determined to keep the Like afloat. "We were not going to waste that opportunity," she said. "By hook or by crook, we were going to make this happen."
Ronson, said Berg, was the first producer to get her vision. The band cut nine songs in five days, and utilized the Dap-Kings' Victor Axelrod on organ. "I wanted to record live," she said. "I wanted one guitar track. Yet every producer that we had ever worked with said that that's not how records are made anymore."
Whether it was Ronson's busy schedule or the dissolution of his relationship with Thomas is not clear, but he left four songs to Dap-Kings drummer Homer Steinweiss to produce.
Looking back, "I could have been more responsible," Ronson said.
With a finished album, Berg and Thomas needed a band. Geronimo was suggested by Jim Smith, who runs the downtown club the Smell, and keyboardist Annie Monroe, who attended Santa Monica's Crossroads school with Berg, auditioned after graduating from New York University.
Interscope Geffen A&M agreed to release the Ronson-produced album, shuffling it to Downtown Music, the label responsible for Gnarls Barkley. Downtown's Deutsch was aware of the Like's early hype, noting that he heard talk of a "bidding war" in 2004. "I look at this as the first record," he said.
As does Berg, who's bringing a fresh outlook to the Like's new lease on life. "I've spent my whole life trying to be precocious and plan everything," she said. "At this point, we want to do every strange opportunity that comes up, whether it's being asked to play a show that day, or playing a house party.
"We want to work," she continued." We want to be good."
todd.martens@latimes.com
