Roman Candle was Elliott Smith's debut album as a solo artist, even though he was still a singer and guitarist for the band Heatmiser. The album has a raw, homemade sound (see Lo-fi music), with Smith playing each instrument and recording it on his four-track recorder. Kid Tulsa (Pete Krebs) played snare and cymbal on tracks "No Name #1" and "Kiwi Maddog 20/20". According to the Elliott Smith biography, Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing, Elliott recorded the album in the basement of the home of then-girlfriend and Heatmiser manager J.J. Gonson. The album was never intended for release, as Read more on Last.fm.