History
Early years
Peter Arcuni, a native of
Connecticut and former editorial assistant at
Wired, formed Birdmonster in
2004 with three other local
San Francisco musicians: childhood friends
bassist Justin Tenuto and
guitarist
David Klein, and
drummer
Zach Winter.
[1]
The band began by playing live shows, initially booking performances by offering to fill in opening act slots. They also courted
Internet radio stations, like San Francisco's BagelRadio.com, whose owner convinced a
booker to give the band its first high-visibility show, opening for
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
EP and No Midnight
The band released their self-titled EP in December 2004 and used proceeds from its sales to tour the United States.
[2] In the summer of 2005, David Klein paid $500 to include "Resurrection Song" on a
Magnet magazine sampler, which attracted music industry attention.
[3] The band received several offers for recording contracts and distribution, but turned them all down. Arcuni explained that "the numbers (risk vs. reward) didn't add up."
[4]
The band decided to self-release their debut album,
No Midnight
, hiring producer
Bradley Cook, who had previously worked with
Foo Fighters and
Queens of the Stone Age.
The album reportedly cost $15,000 to record.
It was initially distributed through
CD Baby, but was later distributed through
SpinART. The band toured the United States and Canada in support of the album.
From the Mountain to the Sea
In early 2008, the band began recording material for their new album at Hyde Street Studios in the
Tenderloin.
[5] On August 5, 2008, the band released their follow-up album,
From the Mountain to the Sea
. The album was released
digitally by
Fader Label via
iTunes and
Amazon and will be in stores on September 2, 2008. The album was produced and engineered by Tom Schick, who has also worked with Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, and Rufus Wainwright.
Hangin' Out on E Street
In late 2008, as part of the
Hangin' Out on E Street
series, the band recorded a cover of Bruce Springsteen's
The Promised Land