Love in October

Though based out of Minneapolis, MN, the pop/rock outfit Love in October can easily trace its roots back to Sweden. Erik Widman (vocals, guitar, piano, Moog) relocated from his native Sweden to Michigan in 2000 to attend college, his brother Kent (bass, Moog) following him out there two years later. In 2006, both relocated again together, this time to Minnesota, where the longtime musical partners started up a new project entitled Love in October. The band, rounded out initially by guitarist Nik Pfiefer and drummer Mike Swanson, started performing that summer and quickly made friends with popular local acts like Motion City Soundtrack. They eventually entered the studio with producer Ed Rose (the Get Up Kids, the Casket Lottery) to record their debut EP. The resulting power pop of Words of Sound appeared in late February 2007 via the Musik Group. In addition to just songwriting, however, Love in October further enjoy the visual arts, taking time to produce short films and music videos for themselves, and they garnered a healthy amount of online buzz for the video for their single "A Day in the Life Of." The video and song even earned the band a Best Music on Campus nomination for the 2007 MTVu Woodies, the awards handed out by the college-oriented arm of MTV. By the end of the year, Love in October found the Widman brothers completed by guitarist/pianist Charlie Abbott and drummer Chresten Hyde, and their debut full-length, Pontus, the Devil, and Me, recorded again with the help of Ed Rose, was released in January 2008.