Pinback is an American
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band from
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. The band was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists
Armistead Burwell Smith IV and
Rob Crow
Robertdale Rulon Crow Jr. (born February 21, 1971) is an American singer and musician from San Diego, California, known for his involvement with the bands Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, Physics, Optiganally Yours and Thingy. He has also led the band ...
, who have been its two consistent members. They have released five studio albums and several other releases.
History and origin
The band's moniker is a reference to a character in the 1974 film ''
Dark Star'' (played by
Dan O'Bannon
Daniel Thomas O'Bannon (September 30, 1946 – December 17, 2009) was an American film screenwriter, director and visual effects supervisor, usually in the science fiction and horror genres.
O'Bannon wrote the screenplay for '' Alien'', adapte ...
, who also co-wrote the film), directed by
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
. Audio samples from this film are used frequently in the band's early works.
In 2004, Pinback signed to
Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. To ...
. They released their third album, ''
Summer in Abaddon
''Summer in Abaddon'' is the third full-length album by indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to desc ...
'', later that year. In 2006, the band released a collection of rarities, entitled ''
Nautical Antiques
Pinback is an American indie rock band from San Diego, California. The band was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow, who have been its two consistent members. They have rel ...
''. Pinback's fourth full-length album, ''
Autumn of the Seraphs'', was released on September 11, 2007. They appeared live in a nationally broadcast interview and played a couple of songs on NPR's ''
Talk of the Nation
''Talk of the Nation'' (''TOTN'')
is an American talk radio program based in Washington D.C., produced by National Public Radio ( NPR) that was broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. It focused on current events and controversial is ...
'' on October 8, 2007.
On April 1, 2009, it was announced that Pinback was working on a new album that would be released by
Temporary Residence Ltd. Their fifth studio album, ''
Information Retrieved'', was released October 16, 2012. On August 15, 2012, Pinback released the song "Proceed to Memory" from ''Information Retrieved'' free to play through
RollingStone.com.
Smith and Crow have been the band's two consistent members. They are typically joined by drummer
Chris Prescott; Tom Zinser and
Mario Rubalcaba
Mario Rubalcaba (also known by the pseudonym Ruby Mars) is an American drummer from San Diego, notable as a member of numerous rock bands including Clikatat Ikatowi, Thingy, Rocket from the Crypt, Hot Snakes, Earthless, the Sultans, and Off ...
have previously contributed drums. Other past members of the Pinback live band are: Erik Hoversten, Braden Diotte, Terrin Durfey, Ryan Bromley, Cameron Jones, Kenseth Thibideau, Brent Asbury, Gabriel Voiles, Dmitri Dziensuwski, Donny Van Zandt, and Thatcher Orbitashi.
Members

;Current
*
Rob Crow
Robertdale Rulon Crow Jr. (born February 21, 1971) is an American singer and musician from San Diego, California, known for his involvement with the bands Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, Physics, Optiganally Yours and Thingy. He has also led the band ...
– vocals, guitar (1998–present)
*
Armistead Burwell Smith IV – vocals, bass (1998–present)
*
Chris Prescott – drums (2005–present)
;Former
*Tom Zinser – drums (1998–2003)
*Thatcher Orbitachi – keyboards (1999)
*Donny Van Zandt – keyboards (1999)
*Dmitri Dziensuwski – keyboards (1999)
*Gabriel Voiles – keyboards (1999)
*Brent Asbury – keyboards (2000–2002)
*Ryan Bromley – guitar, bass, keyboards (2001–2005)
*Kenseth Thibideau – keyboards, bass, guitar (2003–2006)
*Cameron Jones – drums (2004–2005)
*Erik Hoversten – guitar, bass, keyboards (2006–2011)
*Terrin Durfey – keyboards, bass, guitar (2007–2008)
*Chris Fulford-Brown – keyboards, bass, guitar (2008)
*Braden Diotte – keyboards, bass, guitar (2008–2011)
Live band timeline
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Pinback
Pinback is an American indie rock band from San Diego, California. The band was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow, who have been its two consistent members. They have re ...
'' (1999)
* ''
Blue Screen Life'' (2001)
* ''
Summer in Abaddon
''Summer in Abaddon'' is the third full-length album by indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to desc ...
'' (2004) U.S. No. 196
* ''
Autumn of the Seraphs'' (2007) U.S. No. 69
* ''
Information Retrieved'' (2012) U.S. No. 71
Compilations
* ''
Nautical Antiques
Pinback is an American indie rock band from San Diego, California. The band was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow, who have been its two consistent members. They have rel ...
'' (2006)
* ''Some Offcell Voices'' (2017)
Extended plays
* ''
Live in Donny's Garage'' (2000)
* ''
Some Voices'' (2000)
* ''This Is a Pinback Tour E.P.'' (2001)
* ''
More or Less Live in a Few Different Places'' (2002)
* ''
Arrive Having Eaten'' (2003)
* ''
Offcell'' (2003)
* ''
Too Many Shadows'' (2004)
* ''ascii E.P.'' (2008)
* ''
Information Retrieved, Pt. A'' (2011)
* ''
Information Retrieved Pt. B'' (2011)
Singles
*"
Loro" (1999)
*"
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
*Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...
" (2000)
*"
Penelope
Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. ...
" (2001)
*"Fortress" (2004)
*"Todo" (2004)
*"From Nothing to Nowhere" (2007)
*"
Proceed to Memory" (2012)
*"
Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
" (2012)
*"ROJI (Roshomon Effect)" (2018)
Guest appearances
* ''
Elizabethtown (soundtrack)
The soundtrack for the film '' Elizabethtown'', directed by Cameron Crowe, constitutes multiple volumes released by RCA Records between 2005-2006. The first volume of original songs from the movie, titled ''Elizabethtown: Songs from the Motion Pict ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Sydney White
''Sydney White'' is a 2007 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Joe Nussbaum and written by Chad Gomez Creasey based on the story of "Snow White". The film, starring Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton and Matt Long, was released theatrically ...
'' (2007)
* ''
How I Met Your Mother
''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and ...
'' (2009)
* ''
Yo Gabba Gabba!
''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a children's musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The series is about five costumed toys come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson). It is co-produced by Magic Stor ...
'' (2010)
* ''
The O.C.
''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initialis ...
'' (2003)
References
{{Authority control
Indie rock musical groups from California
Musical groups from San Diego
Musical groups established in 1998
Touch and Go Records artists
Temporary Residence Limited artists