Saddle Creek

The Faint (lead singer Todd Fink, Fink's brother drummer Clark Baechle, bassist/guitarist Joel Petersen, guitarist/bassist Dapose and Jacob Thiele, who plays synthesizers) first came together in fewer numbers and under the name Norman Bailer, a "lite rock" band formed with future indie superstar Conor Oberst. After Oberst's departure, and the realization that the genre didn't quite fit who they were, the Baechle brothers and Petersen released Media, a foray into guitar-heavy indie rock, under the name The Faint in 1998. It wasn't until 1999's Blank-Wave Arcade, however, that the band found their sound: In place of guitars, they added synthesizers, and the effect was revelatory. Says Todd, "From our point of view, synthesizers seemed to have a limitless and almost magical quality to them; magical in the sense that you could create a keyboard sound out of almost nothing, and have it perfectly fit your musical disposition." Thiele joined the band, and with the line-up further cemented, they began to hone their live shows - part-rave, part-gallery affairs - that had audiences drenched in sweat. With 2001's Danse Macabre, the band ventured further into the world of dance music, and the missing member of the band came in the form of Dapose, a death metal guitarist and visual artist who helped to craft their visceral, beat-heavy songs detailing everyday malaise and job despondency. The album was immediately embraced by hundreds of thousands of kids around the world who longed for a record to which they could both relate and dance, and not long after, a remix album, Danse Macabre Remixes, followed. By the time the band released 2004's critically-lauded Wet From Birth, an album best marked by its sonic expansion of The Faint's signature sound, the band's shows were legendary and their musical prowess perfected.

more info available at thefaint.com