Artist Information Biography HEY!! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?? Our latest CD, entitled "This is Therapy", was released August 28, 2009. We are working on a new music video and are working on a publishing contract. WHY DID YOU GET THIS EPK? One of POSTCARD's short-term goals is to tour. Our ultimate goal is to be able to make a living with our music, without relying on unrelated sources of income. Networking, marketing, and management are not strong skills for any of us, so we continue to look for folks who can help with booking tours, group management, and promotions. HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM THIS EPK: Start listening to the songs via the player at the top of this page, or click on the "Audio" button to stream the songs and check out the lyrics. The songs from "This is Therapy", if listened to in the order presented here, instill in the listener a sense of progression through stages of depression. Of the songs from "Volume" included here, "Snow" is a hard rockin' anthem; "Cloud 8" is a bit quieter; and "Take aiM" is a solid, harmony-driven, screamo song that ends a capella. Our calendar information is more current on our myspace page. Check out the "Past Dates" on our Sonicbids calendar to get a feel for other gigs we've gotten through Sonicbids. The remaining paragraphs present the whole picture of how we started and where we're going. ... and thanks for looking at this POSTCARD (pass it around). THE WHOLE PICTURE: POSTCARD were formed in St. Louis, Missouri, in January 1999, under a different band name that they choose to keep mum about. Merrick Astroth and Nate Sloan met in the 7th grade and had been in a Beatles cover band together, as well as a couple of other bands separately. They decided to come together again to write and sing their own songs and were joined by Corey Evers, who is one of the most incredible drummers alive. Corey was 15 years old and Merrick and Nate were 16 years old. Nate had been a drummer in former bands, but his abilities were not nearly as proficient as Corey's, and someone needed to play bass, so he decided to pick up a bass guitar; somewhat surprisingly, the bass turned out to be the perfect instrument for Nate, and his expertise with it is jaw-dropping. They wanted to be like Less Than Jake or Reel Big Fish, so they scouted around for a couple of horn players. No one that tried out seemed to be a good fit; so the band tweaked their primary genre from third wave ska to ska punk. Now they were more like Less Than Jake than they were like Reel Big Fish. They began playing at high schools and parties and recorded a demo at Music Masters Studio, mixed and mastered by engineer John �Obie� O�Brien, in 2000. They had such a memorable time during the recording sessions, that Nate wrote a song about Obie, titled �Paging Dr. O�Brien.� That song was included on their first full-length CD, recorded and mixed in 2001, by Tim Mauldin at Smith/Lee Productions studio. Their first local venue gig was at the Hi-Pointe. From there, they got gigs at the Creepy Crawl, the Galaxy, Pop�s, and the Tin Ceiling, averaging two to three gigs a month and building a fan base of nearly 400. By the time they reached their goal of getting booked at Mississippi Nights, in the fall of 2002, their skills were sharper. The stage was like a second home to them, their performances were �tight,� and they had added a second guitarist. Casey Evers, Corey's twin brother, became the fourth band member while the band were recording their second full-length CD in 2002, recorded and mixed by Wayne Way at Bridges Recording Studio, and mastered by Dark Skyy Productions. Merrick asked Casey to lay down some additional guitar tracks for the CD. The extra guitar sounded so great, they asked Casey to permanently join the group. Meanwhile, Merrick�s and Nate�s songwriting abilities became more and more diverse. In the beginning, one could always tell which guy had written the lyrics to a song by who was singing lead vocal. Because their singing and songwriting styles were similar back then, it was fairly difficult to tell them apart when listening to a CD. With each new CD, telling them apart became easier. It was as if the two guys, traveling together, converged upon a fork in the road, and each took a different path. The road Merrick took helped him create radio-ready, pop-punk songs. Nate took a darker path that led him to wade through the deepest, darkest parts of his soul, setting clever phrases to progressive rock strains that awaken one�s imagination. In the summer of 2003, the guys decided the name they originally had given the group no longer fit their evolving musical style. After trying out and discarding several potential names, Merrick picked up a Who CD, started reading off song titles, and stopped when he got to �Postcard.� They decided to display the new band name in ALL CAPS (which is really hard to enforce). The hardest thing about the name change was starting from scratch again. The nearly 400 fans kind of dispersed � the faithful, diehard fans were still around, but there were many fly-by-night folks who were lost, mainly due to a lack of communication about the name change, and the fact that the guys completely distanced themselves from the original name. In April 2003, POSTCARD joined Sonicbids and started submitting for showcases. Their first invitation came in June 2004: they made a lasting impression at the Rock 'N' Ride Festival at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, where they played two sets, one acoustically. Other bands, music industry reps, and brand new fans were all thoroughly entertained and pleasantly surprised by the short, diverse sets. They returned in June 2005 to rave reviews. They were also well received at the Cutting Edge Music Business Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, in August 2004, where they showcased at The Howlin' Wolf. Many music industry folks liked their sound and stated they were expecting great things to come from POSTCARD. They were invited to return in 2005, to showcase at One-Eyed Jacks in the French Quarter, but declined, due to a scheduling conflict. The scheduling conflict was the Amplify Battle of the Bands in Las Vegas, where POSTCARD wowed audiences, judges, and competing groups alike; they finished 8th out of 45 hand-picked bands from across the country. In April of 2005, POSTCARD were invited to play at Indie 911's Viper Night, at the Viper Room in West Hollywood, California. This invitation came from Justin Goldberg, who met them in New Orleans at the Cutting Edge Music Conference. Justin absolutely LOVED everything about POSTCARD, from their attitude to their sense of humor to their incredible musicianship. On the way out there, they stopped to play the Emerald Lounge in Phoenix, Arizona, and the guys fell in love with Phoenix. In the summer of 2004, they got Pro Tools and began recording, mixing, and mastering their music themselves. Toward the end of that year, they released a six-song EP under their new band name, which they produced, manufactured, and distributed. They followed the same protocol for their most recent seven-song EP, released in the fall of 2006. When the first batch sold out, they created an enhanced CD, which contains the music video for "My New Favorite Color." May 11, 2007 was the CD release party for POSTCARD's new CD, "volume." The sold out show was at the Creepy Crawl in St. Louis. For a limited time, "volume" will be enhanced with two music videos for "My New Favorite Color" and "Make It Hard." POSTCARD showcased at MidPoint Music Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio. They performed at 9:15 p.m., Friday, September 28, 2007, on the Toxic stage at the Poison Room. In the summer of 2008, POSTCARD participated in a 16-band battle of the bands taking place prior to Cardinals' games at Busch Stadium in POSTCARD's hometown of St. Louis. They won the first round, but did not fare as well in the final. However, they had a great time, got to see three Cardinals games for free, and automatically qualify for next year's battle. August 2009, POSTCARD played the Kia Kevin Says Stage at Warped Tour when it landed in St. Louis ... a gig they got through Sonicbids. The key to enjoying and appreciating their music is being a part of their live shows. On stage is where POSTCARD excel. They are flexible, versatile, and well respected by other bands. Their shows are fun, energetic, and enjoyed by all. There is a wonderful camaraderie among the band members and audience that shows in their performance. Even though their music has a harder sound, the show might not be what you expect. These four guys do not just stand on a stage and play their songs -- they entertain you, and they do so with finesse and ease. They even play acoustic shows that are fun, witty and involve the whole audience. In addition to the previously mentioned influence of The Beatles and The Who, POSTCARD share a love of and count as musically influential the musical stylings of Fenix TX, Foo Fighters, Goldfinger, My Chemical Romance, Pantera, Thrice, and The Rat Pack. Instrumentation Merrick Astroth, guitar, vocals Casey Evers, guitar, vocals Corey Evers, drums Nate Sloan, bass, vocals Discography Three-song demo, released late 1999 First full-length CD, 12 songs + 15 minutes of hidden material, released June 2001 Second full-length CD, 14 songs + 2 "hidden" tracks, released December 2002 A 6-song EP, released December 2004 A 7-song EP and music video, released separately August 2006 Second batch, manufactured November 2006, contains enhanced CD with music video for "My New Favorite Color" and songs combined 10-song CD, first batch enhanced with two music videos for "My New Favorite Color" and "Make It Hard," released May 2007 10-song CD, "This is Therapy", released August 2009 They continue to receive radio airplay on local radio stations and have appeared on the playlist for a radio program in the foreign country of Macedonia. You can also find them streaming on numerous online radio stations. As new songs are recorded, they are streamed and available for download at www.myspace.com/postcard. Browsing their myspace page will give the casual visitor a peek at the candid reality of the band and their friends and fans. Links http://www.postcardmusic.com Our MySpace Page