The crazed experimental rock of San Francisco's Total Shutdown first saw the light of day at a gig on February 14, 2000. Vocalist Bob Linder, bassist Nate Denver, guitarist Paul Costuros, drummer Phillipe Nguyen, and saxophonist Matt Hartman all play a variety of instruments besides their main ones and, individually, have been involved in everything from performance art to death metal. There first release came as a split 7" with Boxleitner on Thin the Herd Records and it earned a spot on Byron Coley's Top Ten singles of 2001 in the Village Voice. Compilation appearances and limited-edition CD-Rs followed before the one-sided 12" "Long in the Making" came out on blood-red vinyl and with silk-screened covers in 2002. It was enough to draw the attention of the usually electronic-leaning label Tigerbeat6, who issued the band's self-titled debut in 2003. ~ David Jeffries