Infrareds

The Infrareds were born sometime in 1999 but for the next few years were nothing more than a "hobby band," playing primarily in small bars
throughout Monterey County and even releasing a self-titled album which accurately reflected the bands attitudes and motivation. The bands surf
music influences consist primarely of the "first wave" surf bands such as The Lively Ones, The Belairs, The Challengers, The Trashmen, The Astronauts, and Dick Dale and the Deltones. However, being a couple of punk/hardcore kids their interests were rooted in a heavier vein of music. It was ultimatley the raw energy of the younger bands from the 1960s that attracted the Infrareds to surf music.
After playing their still primative and underdeveloped sound for a couple of years in the Monterey/Santa cruz area, the band eventually dis-banded, deciding school and careers would be a more lucrative use of time. At this point front-man and guitarist Rory Fortune moved to sunny San Diego while Bassist Keigan Skydecker and drummer Matt Glasby stayed in foggy Pacific Grove. And so it was for the Infrareds until October of 2002 when long-time Infrareds fans The Nebulas, a young surf band from Boston, asked the band to organize a week-long California tour with the two bands. This tour was what truly introduced The Infrareds to the "surf scene," or at least what was left of it. Throughout the tour the band was hailed as "crazy motherfuckers" (Dusty Watson - Slacktone, Agent Orange, Dick Dale) "nuts" (The Volcanics) and their name quickly became synonimous with "energetic and very fast." (Phil Dirt - Reverb Central)
The Infrareds first real tour started a fire in their guts. They realized it was high time for them to record a real album. Thus, "Recorded on Microfilm" became a work in progress. The only problem was the hundreds of miles of California coastline seperating the songwriter from the rythm section. With the help of new-found motivation and a little ingenuity the band was able to write an entire album without leaving their homes. Rory began recording demos and sending them north via the mail to Keigan and Matt who would then develop the rythm section independently. On many occasions the band would book shows without practice and play brand new songs without having ever played them as a group. The formula seemed to work for The Infrareds and before long Rory came to Pacific Grove for one long weekend where the bass and drum tracks were recorded in Keigan's basement. Rory then returned to San Diego where he layed the guitar tracks, mixed and mastered the finished songs and had one thousand copies pressed. Recorded on Microfillm became a reality. The album quickly received rave reviews from various sources throughout the surf-music community and was recognized as one of the best surf albums of 2003.
With the success of "Recorded on Microfilm" came the question of how to unload one thousand copies. The band realized that an extensive tour was necessary. So began plans for a U.S. tour spanning the continent. In 2003 the Infrareds spent the month of July in a rented mini-van playing shows from Denver to Maine and back through the southern states. As with all fledgling tours this one had its ups and downs but overall the band was weel received throughout the country and was able to unload several hundred copies of their new album.
The rest of 2003 and the beginning of 2004 was spent small-time gigging throughout California and eventually the band began work on their second "real" album; Sounds From the Darkroom. The writing and recording process was similar to Microfilm's but the band had learned from its many mistakes and Darkroom was as well received if not better than Microfilm. The coming months after the albums release signified the changing face of the band.The year 2005 brought The Infrareds a music video shot by USC director and woman wonder Sandy Alprecht which in turn brought the band in contact and business with Fishbone, a management team, and long time friend and vocalist Lance "Bane" Thompson. In the midst of such dramatic changes the band completed a brief two week tour of the Netherlands and upon their return decided that a new direction and sound would be needed for the band to live up to its potential. A third album quickly became a work in progress and with the help of management and other outside influences the band hopes to take their name as far as the world will allow. . .Keep your eyes and ears open, The Infrareds are just getting started.