American Eyes

Friends since their preschool days, it wasn't until high school that singer David Henry, guitarist Brent Richardson, and drummer Oliver Gold met up with kindred spirits able and willing to launch their collective rock career. Coming together in the hallways of Agoura High — the same school members of Incubus, Linkin Park, and Hoobastank attended — in Agoura Hills, CA, Michael Anthony (guitar) and Tyler Johnson (bass) nicely rounded out the trio, and together they launched American Eyes in 2002. Small disasters at early gigs (windows and a grand piano among the casualties) got the quintet — which sounded almost like a dance-rock, neo-goth version of Sugarcult — quickly banned from most L.A. hot spots. A gay club in West Hollywood was about their only opportunity for shows; they embraced the situation, however, and given the band's high-energy performances, local promoters soon couldn't ignore American Eyes much longer. They were eventually taken off the L.A. club scene blacklist and began selling out most of their gigs. The group self-released some recordings before eventually catching the eye of local indie SideOneDummy Records in 2004. American Eyes were signed midway through the following year and their six-song EP Never Trust Anything That Bleeds appeared that fall.