Death Cab For Cutie In Profile

Nine years ago, Death Cab For Cutie (DCFC) was a well-repsected Indie band singing powerfully melodic pop songs in basement clubs and small venues. Then there was The OC, The Postal Service and a decade of rigorous touring. Death Cab are still a well-repsected band singing powerfully melodic pop songs. Only now, they're signed to Atlantic Records and — seven albums later — are a fierce and elegant voice rising through the crowds of mediocre Alt Rock crooners populating modern rock radio.

DCFC began as a solo project in Bellingham, WA, a tiny college town where singer-songwriter Ben Gibbard was attending school. Gibbard put out a cassette entitled You Can Play These Songs With Chords with the help of friends. When Indie fans around the Seattle area showed interest in the tape, he decided to solidify a band behind it. In 1998, they released Something About Airplanes, their "official" debut album. They quickly became known as one of Indie Rock's most promising groups.

After touring extensively in support of Something About Airplanes, DCFC went back into the studio and recorded both We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes and The Forbidden Love E.P in 2000. Each album was met with increased critical praise and each round of tour support continued to swell their indie fanbase. In 2001, they released The Photo Album and in 2003, Transatlanticism, an almost unanimously praised album that sold a formidable 225,000 copies during its first year.

As more fans heard Death Cab (and liked what they heard), songs off of Transatlanticism were featured on popular TV shows The O.C. and Six Feet Under. Meanwhile, Gibbard's 2003 side project, The Postal Service, became a wild underground success. Consequently, the band gained further national recognition and hundreds of thousands of new fans. In 2004, DCFC signed a long-term contract with Atlantic Records. They released their first Major Label album, Plans, in 2005, to great critical acclaim.

The first two singles off Plans, "Soul Meets Body" and "Crooked Teeth," can still be heard on most Alt radio stations and on MTV. In addition, Plans recieved a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album of 2005, videos inspired by the album have been compiled into a MTV2's Subterranean program and a DVD (entitled Directions.) DCFC are still writing and touring and are considered by many to be one of the most promising modern rock bands strumming chords on today's Alt Rock stage.

Current Band:

• Ben Gibbard, Guitars, Vocals (1997 - present)
• Chris Walla, Guitars, Production (1997 - present)
• Nick Harmer, Bass (1997 - present)
• Jason McGerr, Drums (2003 - present)

Other Drummers:

• Nathan Good (1998 - 2000)
• Michael Schorr (2000 - 2003)

Full Albums

1997: You Can Play These Songs with Chords
1998: Something About Airplanes
2000: We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes
2001: The Photo Album
2002: You Can Play These Songs with Chords [expanded]
2003: Transatlanticism
2005: Plans

EPs

2000: The Forbidden Love E.P.
2002: The Stability E.P.
2004: Studio X Sessions E.P.
2005: The John Byrd E.P.
2006: Crooked Teeth E.P.

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