Mat Brooke at Grand Archives first UK concert on February 5, 2010
Following his departure from Band of Horses in 2006, Mat Brooke (vocals and guitar) formed a new band with Jeff Montano (bass and vocals) and Curtis Hall (drums and vocals). Ron Lewis (keyboards, guitar and vocals) was added to the lineup later in the year, and Thomas Wright (guitar and vocals) joined in early 2007.
The band emerged, under their original name, in March 2007 by posting two tracks to their MySpace page. After a show with Brooke's former Carissa's Wierd bandmate Sera Cahoone they had their track "Sleepdriving" added to Pitchfork Media's Forkcast playlist, which provided them with substantial internet exposure.
Once the band switched to their current name, Pitchfork published a more in-depth feature on the band, which discussed all four demos from their MySpace page. Soon afterwards they supported Modest Mouse on seven west-coast tour dates and subsequently signed to Sub Pop for a full-length album.
Following the release of their second album, Keep in Mind Frankenstein, Grand Archives embarked on extensive tours of the United States, Canada, and Europe, playing their first UK concert on February 5, 2010. For these live shows the four piece band was augmented by Robin Peringer (guitar & keyboards). Jason Kardong (pedal steel guitar) has also played with the band following Lewis's departure. The band toured the West Coast of the United States in July 2010 and Europe in August.
In February 2010 the band covered the song "Cupid" by Sam Cooke for Starbucks' Sweethearts compilation series.
Villains Demos and inactivity
During their tour in late 2010, Grand Archives previewed several new songs from their yet to be recorded third album. At their show at The Hoxton in London on August 2, Mat Brooke revealed that the band hoped to record the new album after they had completed the tour. On October 7, 2010, the band made demos of four songs from the new album available for free download on their official website and followed this with three more free tracks in June 2011. The title of the new album appeared to be Villains.
Grand Archives third album has, as yet, still not been recorded and the band now appear to be inactive. Brooke has concentrated on running bar / restaurants, such as The Redwood in Seattle which he co-owns with his wife Lisa.
Band members
Members
Mat Brooke (formerly of Carissa's Wierd and Band of Horses) – vocals, guitar.
Jeff Montano (The New Mexicans) – bass, backing vocals.
Thomas Wright (The Can't See) – guitar, backing vocals.
Curtis Hall (The New Candidates) – drums, backing vocals.
Former members
Ron Lewis (The Fruit Bats, Mines, Joggers, Ghost Stories) – keyboards, guitar, vocals.
