#poundsign# are an indie pop group whose drowsy, introspective tunes give a nod to Galaxie 500, the Smiths, and the Field Mice. Stephen Vesnecky, Alicia Vanden Heuvel (who would go on to become a core member of the Aislers Set), and Becky Barron, formed the group in 1993, having met one year earlier at UC-Santa Cruz. "We were all friends and would drive around late at night and hang out at Ferrell's Donuts," Vanden Heuvel explained in an interview with the 'zine Movers and Shakers. "And then we just sort of did what came naturally and started practicing music together." #poundsign#'s first 7" single, "The Almondy Many," was released on the Ann Arbor, MI-based label Fantastic Records in 1996. Another single, "Michigan," came out the following year on Belmondo Discs. Fantastic released #poundsign#'s debut full-length, Wavelength, in the spring of 1998. Jaime Knight (the Guild League) was brought into the fold for the group's second full-length album, Underneath the Marquee, which came out on Fantastic three years later. The band went on hiatus soon after the disc was released, and #poundsign#'s original members busied themselves with other projects: Vesnecky went on to form the likeminded pop group Strega; Barron, who at that point had amicably split with Scrabbel, went on to work with Dressy Bessy; and Vanden Heuvel continued to work with the Aislers Set. ~ TiVo Staff