Hailing from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I Was Totally Destroying It (IWTDI) have been swinging sledgehammers at barriers since early 2007. Can a band whose ages span seventeen years demonstrate the chemistry to keep them cohesive? Can a band toe the line between mainstream palatability and indie-rock influence while appealing to a wide range of audiences? Can a bumblebee overcome the ratio of its wing span to its mass and produce enough lift to take flight? We now know that the answer to all of these questions is a resounding YES!
Mixing indie rock veterans James Hepler (Sorry About Dresden, Erie Choir) and John Booker (Strunken White, io) with talented young upstarts Rachel Hirsh (A-OK), Curtis Armstead (Places to Live), and Joe Mazzitelli (Lemming Malloy) has so far been a recipe for awesome. A unique blend of 80's rock- think Outfield and The Cure- and 90's indie rock such as Superchunk, Velocity Girl, and The Anniversary leaves listeners' palates assaulted by pop flavor. IWTDI sweat and slave over their songs, leaving no aural opportunity unvisited. Their lyrics belie the sweet, sunny suggestions of their upbeat melodies, inviting you to listen in on their conversations about self-loathing, fear, and intimacy. The end result is a feast of music worth sinking your teeth into.
IWTDI self-released their first record in October of 2007 to a pleasantly surprising degree of success. Local NC press loved it, and in December IWTDI was predicted to be one of the area's "Great 8 Bands of 2008" by local McClatchy outlet, the Raleigh News and Observer. Their local success led the band to embark on a three week US tour in Summer '08. As soon as they returned home, they invaded the studio once more, recording a whole new set of rock gems. This time they enlisted the songwriting skills of Motion City Soundtrack frontman Justin Pierre(for help on the song "Come Out, Come Out") and the production savvy of MCS lead guitarist Josh Cain, who then invited IWTDI on a glorious three day tour of the Southeast in September. By late October 2008, IWTDI was ready to release a free, seven song EP, Done Waiting. Left up for over six months, it received attention and praise (and thousands of downloads). Now repackaged into a limited edition, 12" vinyl, dual EP including four brand new songs (The Beached Margin EP), IWTDI followed the vinyl quickly with their sophomore full-length Horror Vacui, released in October 2009. In February 2010, the song "Come Out, Come Out" was featured prominently in a television commercial for Brazilian cellphone service provider, Vivo. I Was Totally Destroying It are currently writing their third album, to be released in 2011.
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