Time Spent Driving
Time Spent Driving is:
Jon Cattivera: Vocals, Guitar
James Parker: Guitar, Vocals
Jonas Davidson: Bass Guitar
Kem Gallione: Drums, Vocals
David Cattivera: Piano, Keys
The Short Story:
A melodic, influential and hard-working indie/emo rock band originally formed in 1999, based out of Santa Cruz, California. They released a well-received 6 song debut CDEP entitled "Walls Between Us," followed by their phenomenal full length "Just Enough Bright" (Produced by J Robbins). Their music has been released and distributed on Sessions Records, Doghouse, Deep Elm, Unfun, Rise, Lorelei Records and other labels; in addition to being featured nationally on MTV (The Real World, Sirority Life, Fraternity Life, etc.), as well as Microsoft XBox video games Amp'd Snowboarding and Transworld Surf.
The band went on an untimely hiatus in mid 2003, and officially broke up in 2005 after recording 7 final tracks and releasing them along with a collection rare, demo and unreleased songs. The band is newly reformed for 2012, playing select shows and writing material for a new album.
The Long Story: (History)
Santa Cruz California, a mere 75 miles south of San Francisco, is a pseudo-college beach town, famous for surfing, skateboarding, punk and hippies; it seems a pretty unlikely place for one of the most beloved and underrated indie-emo-rock bands of the era to emerge from. Time Spent Driving was that band - officially formed in 1999, but actually quietly in the making even before that. While being one of the only bands of the genre in their entire geographical location may have hindered their overall local success; they were more concerned with reaching what would become loyal fans all over the globe. And that's just what they did.
Long before "emo" was a dirty word associated with painted faces and skinny jeans, Time Spent Driving was playing their own brand of emotive post-punk, literally. Everyone in the band had cut their teeth in pivotal local punk bands over the years (Jon in Fury 66, Jon and Derek in Reliance, and Todd in Black Label), with the exception of Kem (drums) who had actually never played in a functioning band before. But as they grew as musicians and songwriters, they craved more out of music than the basic power chords and two-minute anthems of their previous projects. Jon (the band's singer, guitarist, and songwriter) was always enamored by more than just punk rock; he also loved early alternative like Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth and Smashing Pumpkins. But that's not the kind of band a 15 year old self-taught guitar player and aspiring singer, growing up in Santa Cruz County, was able to start very easily. Much later, after cutting his teeth in the thriving punk scene, the birth of TSD was first inspired by bands often grouped into the first wave of West Coast melodic post-punk such Samiam, Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate, Knapsack, No Knife and Sense Field. Bands that still had the raw edge of their punk roots, but were more dynamic, dark and lyrically introspective. Often with clean, layered guitars, odd time signatures and a heavy intensity. Take that with the influence of East Coast post-hardcore's dissonant complexity, (Dismemberment Plan, Jawbox, Texas is the Reason, Shudder to Think), then blend the rising crest of "mid-western" emo-esque bands (Braid, Jimmy Eat World, Shiner, The Get Up Kids, Chamberlain) making their way to the forefront. All of that considered, coupled with some very special and unique characteristics, and you have a band that sounds a whole lot like Time Spent Driving.
The name of the band was decided on because the lyrics to several of the band's first songs were literally written while driving. Jon wrote the words to "Patterson Pass" in entirety on one of his repetitious drives over Central California's Altamont pass, and put it to music once home. This was the case with a lot of 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 other monikers they came up with. So, it was settled, and the band took it on as their name.
Shortly thereafter they released a 3-song demo, and in the following months, the band took on an immediate combination of hard work, self-promotion and live shows. Criss-crossing all throughout California, the band quickly caught the attention of a brand new label, Unfun Records (Saratoga, CA), as well as a booking agent. They signed on to release 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 CD EP, "Walls Between Us", was released in November of 2000 and was immediately followed by a European German tour with Favez and 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. Several record labels approached them, but they ultimately signed with Sessions Records to both re-release the EP and to put out a new full length. Sessions repressed the EP with slightly different artwork and Chestnut Café Records (Germany) met up with the band while in Europe and offered to release the EP on 10" vinyl as well. 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).
Released on May 7th, 2002, Time Spent Driving's long-awaited debut full-length "Just Enough Bright," was easily their best work to date. Seemingly more upbeat at times than its predecessor, each track worked off the other to create a diverse listen, showcasing a true account of what they were capable of creating. With the help of the very much in demand J Robbins (Burning Airlines, Jawbox) in the producers seat, they entered Tiny Telephone, John Vanderslice's studio in San Francisco, to sculpt their vision into a lasting impression. The entire album is 100% analog and real. No computers, no Protools, no cutting and pasting. A complex yet melodic showing, the music puts its best foot forward with a direct focus and fine-tuned orchestration. When the record was recorded, the band didn't have a permanent bass player, so Jon (vocals/guitars) recorded bass for the entire record; making for an even more cohesive sound.
Shortly after the record was completed, the band recruited a new bass player to play shows in support of the album, and continued to accumulate a loyal fan base across the world. They packed up for a West Coast tour with Counterfit (San Diego) and a week with The Casket Lottery and Rocky Votolato, a spot on the San Francisco Warped Tour, and a short stint with Counterfit and Benton Falls. They also gained a large amount of new fans when their music was included on several Microsoft XBox Video games such as Amp'd Snowboarding and Transworld Surf. Additional tracks were also featured nationally on MTV (The Real World, Sirority Life, Fraternity Life).
Even though the band was reaching the height of their popularity, a hiatus in early 2003 was imposed to Jon's dismay. It was mainly out of sheer exhaustion, and because they were having trouble keeping a permanent bass player in the line up. Their founding guitarist, Derek, also moved out of the state. A few years passed while Kem and Jon briefly attempted to get another band going with Jesse Buglione (Lag Wagon) on bass. But when Derek moved back into the area in 2005, they decided to try to get back together and record another album with Jesse in the line-up and possibly do some more shows. In the process, they finished writing and recording 7 new songs, and recorded them at The Compound Recording Studio in Santa Cruz. Derek left the band again in the process, who was not easy to replace, so they officially broke up. Afterwards they decided to put out the 7 new songs, along with other hard-to-find and unreleased tracks for a new full-length CD what would act as the band's final release. "I'm Your Stab in the Back," came out on Lorelei Records in June of 2007 and to many fans, features some of the best tracks they've ever written. Fans across the world have yearned for new material and live shows ever since.
Since the original breakup, a few of the members have been involved in small projects on a smaller scale. Kem and Mike (Bass) started the short-lived Go Mexico!, and Jon stepped in as the guitarist in punk/hardcore band Crucial Unicorn. Most recently, Jon and Kem helped form Gentlemen of Japan in 2009 with ex-Cutlass Supreme (Some Records) singer/guitarist Pete Johnson and released a full length entitled "Versus Utah". GOJ shared two singers and two songwriters, and offered the closest glimpses of what listeners loved about TSD in quite some time. But in early 2011 the band parted ways with Pete, leaving Jon as the sole singer/songwriter.
Gentlemen of Japan took a bit of a break while Jon prepared for his role as the guitarist in a nostalgic Fury 66 reunion show. They regrouped, and with new material on the way from the two core members of Time Spent Driving, and a permanent bass player in place (Jonas Davidson) - the band was really more Time Spent Driving than it was Gentlemen of Japan, so they made a collective decision to reform Time Spent Driving moving forward. Better yet, they now had Jon's brother (David Cattivera) as a full time piano player as a live representation of what had always been a component of the bands recordings. (Kem wrote and played piano on many of the band's songs in the studio). A new second guitar player (James Parker) is also helping to breathe new life into both the new and existing material. Time Spent Driving are playing select dates in 2012 while continuing to write and record for a new full-length album. There are good things to come.
Past Members:
Jesse Buglione, Derek Pabich, Mike Hicks, James Findlay, Keith Brinkley & Todd Archibald.
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