Math and Physics Club remained mostly a basement project for James (guitar) and Charles (vocals) until the summer of 2004 when they met up with Kevin (drum wizard), who had just moved to Seattle from Boston. By the end of the summer, Saundrah (violin) and Ethan (bass) had also joined the band, and there was an undeniable chemistry at work.

They decided to bypass playing shows in favor of spending time recording a demo in their basement, which they mailed out to a few of their favorite pop labels. At the top of their list was a small label in Santa Barbara called Matinee´ Recordings that released great pop records by bands like The Lucksmiths and Pipas, each with artfully-designed sleeves that made you wish vinyl had never gone out of style. A few weeks later, to their amazement, they received a note from Jimmy Tassos at Matinee´ saying he wanted to release their demo as an EP.

About the same time, John Richards, a DJ at influential Seattle radio station KEXP, also received a copy of the demo and started spinning it on his morning show. By the time the band played its second show in late December (their first with Ethan on bass), they were already receiving considerable attention.

The four-song EP “Weekends Away” was released in February 2005 and easily surpassed the few expectations the band had, getting heavy radio play on hip stations like KEXP and WOXY, and picking up glowing reviews from the indiepop press.

Features

• 05/01/2006: Community Creates: An indie rock guide to getting together

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