Jon Cattivera: Vocals, Guitar. Derek Pabich: Guitar. Mike Hicks: Bass, Vocals. Kem Gallione: Drums, Piano.
Released on May 7th, 2002, Time Spent Driving's debut full-length "Just Enough Bright," is easily their best work to date. Seemingly more upbeat at times than its predecessor, ("Walls Between Us" CDEP - Nov. 2000), each track works off each other to create a diverse listen, showcasing an immaculate account of what they are capable of creating. With the help of the much sought after J Robbins (Burning Airlines, Jawbox) in the producers seat, they entered Tiny Telephone studios in San Francisco, CA to sculpt their vision into a lasting impression. Keeping the complexity alive, the music puts its best foot forward with a direct focus and fine-tuned orchestration.
In August of 1999, founding members Jon Cattivera (vocals, guitar), Derek Pabich (guitar) and Todd Archibald (bass), finally found themselves in what they could actually consider a band. All three were veterans of melodic punk bands from their area of Santa Cruz, CA, and all three had a goal to break away from the monotony, something that no doubt contributed to the demise of their previous bands. The songs took shape in the form of dynamic rock with a post-punk edge, maintaining skewed pop structures. After over a year of growing as songwriters, and struggling with drummers, they found a permanent member in Kem Gallione. It wasn't until this point that they considered recording and deciding on a much needed name.
The lyrics to several of the band's first songs were literally written while driving. Jon penned the words to "Patterson Pass" in entirety while driving, and put it to music upon arriving home. This was the case with other parts and ideas for additional songs as well, so the idea arose to title the first release "Time Spent Driving." It ended up that the band liked the name more so than any of the others they came up with. It was settled, and the band took it on as their name. Soon after, they headed into House of Faith Studios (Oakland, CA) to record a demo containing "Balance," "Your Arms the Blades," and "Patterson Pass." They released the songs as a self-titled demo and played their first show in February of 2000.
In the following months, Time Spent Driving took on an immediate combination of hard work, self-promotion and shows. With tours althroughout California, the band quickly caught the attention of Unfun Records, as well as a booking agent. They agreed on releasing a 6 song CDEP with the label, and found themselves hopping on two West Coast tours with the likes of Brandtson, Legends of Rodeo, Jebediah and Favez. The debut CDEP, "Walls Between Us", was released in November of 2000 and was immediately followed by a European tour with Favez and some dates with The Stereo. The success of the tour was undeniable, and the quick growth of the band was highly evident.
The band needed more support and push to help them continue to keep touring and get to the next level. Sessions Records approached the band about re-releasing the EP and signing them on for a full length, the band happily agreed and repressed the EP with slightly different artwork. Chestnut Café Records (Germany), met up with the band while in Europe and offered to release the EP on 10" vinyl. The vinyl import version was released in Jan. of 2002 with a new layout and a different track order.
Time Spent Driving went on to continue constant touring all across the Western U.S, including a West Coast stint with Pop Unknown and Sunday's Best. Shortly thereafter, the band embarked on a full 35 day U.S. tour in October/November of 01' with Favez and Scott Ritcher (of the Metroschifter). The three touring acts also shared a 3-way split 7-Inch for the tour, released by Doghouse Records. The tour was nothing short of a success, meeting up with Mock Orange, Fairweather, Liar's Academy, Counterfit and the Honor System along the way.
The band recorded a few extra tracks here and there. The dark, yet beautiful "Lowlight" was put to tape exclusively for the long-standing Deep Elm compilation series, "The Emo Diaries" (Chapter 7 - "Me Against the World"). The original version of "Thin Like Paper" was submitted for "Translation: Music 2" (Don Lee Records). An older song entitled "Dear Shannon" was finally recorded almost entirely acoustic by the band for a comp called "Voice this Sound," (Inverse Records).
With a huge list of shows and a growing number of releases behind them, Time Spent Driving continues to accumulate a loyal fan base across the world. They recently finished a West Coast tour with Counterfit and a week with The Casket Lottery and Rocky Votolato... capped off with a San Francisco Warped Tour date. They have upcoming tours in the works for the rest of 2002.
