The Matches

Located in Oakland, California, this US pop punk strap was shaped in 1997 by classes friends Shawn Harris (vocals/guitar), Justin San Souci (bass) and Matt Whalen (drums). Originally referred to as the Local people, the trio added Jon Devoto (acoustic guitar) towards the line-up and started playing gigs in a warehouse that that they had used as the right location. Dubbed ‘L3’ (Live, Loud & Regional), the location became a rallying stage where additional Bay Area rings could actually make their music noticed. After a pressured name modification to the Fits following complaints through the Chicago-based music group of the same name, the quartet documented their low-budget debut E. Von Dahl Killed The Local people. Originally self-released in 2003, the recording gained wide-spread distribution the next year when it had been found by Epitaph Information and re-released within an extended version. The Fits quickly founded themselves as a favorite draw for the nationwide punk circuit, and got important slots for the 2004 and 2005 Warped Tour. Their follow-up, 2006’s Decomposer, exposed a larger maturity and determination to test beyond the pop punk genre.