The Matches are a United States-based band formed in 1997 in Oakland, California. It currently is comprised of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Shawn Harris, lead guitarist and backup vocalist Jonathan Devoto, bassist and backup vocalist Dylan Rowe, and drummer Matt Whalen. The Matches have released three studio albums and five singles, and currently are unsigned after their contract with Epitaph Records expired.

On July 9th, 2009, the Matches announced on their MySpace and Facebook pages that they were taking a "hiatus", saying that, "our time to start new projects has come". It is unclear whether they will rejoin to play again after select "going away" shows in California.

Beginnings (1997-2002)

The band was formed as as "The Locals" in 1997 by Justin SanSouci, Matt Whalen, Matt Esposito, and Shawn Harris. At that time, all four members of the band were at Bishop O'Dowd high school. Matt Esposito then left the band to enroll in the US Naval Academy, and was replaced by Jon Devoto as a guitarist. In those early years, the band played ska music—creating songs like "People on the Block", "Studio 5866", and others. These songs can now be found in The Matches' online "song vault".

Gradually, their style started shifting towards alternative rock. Their influences included fellow East Bay punk/pop-punk bands like Green Day and Rancid, as well as more mainstream bands and musicians like Elvis Costello, David Bowie, The Who and Joe Jackson. The name "The Locals" soon led to copyright infringement complications when Yvonne Doll, the frontwoman for the Chicago indie rock band also called "The Locals", contacted the band and asked that they change their name.

The band gained notoriety for "commo-promo", or commotion promotion, in which they would bring their acoustic guitars and play outside various Bay Area venues as concerts for larger acts were letting out. In conjunction with Oakland's (now defunct) iMusicast venue, the band started producing their own shows called L3 (Live, Loud & Local), which became a launchpad for many other Bay Area bands, as well as attracting such headlining acts as Link 80, Sugarcult, and Zebrahead.

E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals (2003-2005)

Eventually, under the new name "The Matches", they self-released their debut album, E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals (this was assumed as an effort to publicly resent Yvonne Doll while avoiding libel). Then soon after they landed a record deal on Brett Gurewitz's Epitaph Records, although they had already previously released the album E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals without a recording contract, Epitaph Records re-released it. The version released by Epitaph lacks the song "Superman", but adds the songs "Borderline Creep" and "More Than Local Boys" instead. As well as slight changes to lyrics on "The Jack Slap Cheer", and the last untitled track (often referred to as "Track 11", "Abraham's Song", or "Scratched Out"). "Audio Blood" was featured in the video game Burnout 3: Takedown. The band also worked with rapper MC Lars on the song "Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock".

Decomposer and A Band in Hope (2006-2008)

The Matches' second album, Decomposer, was released on September 12, 2006. The album features work by nine producers, including Tim Armstrong, Nick Hexum, Mark Hoppus, and John Feldmann, among other punk rock mainstays. The albums also marks a change to more experimental alternative rock sound, as opposed to the pop punk sound of their first album.

The Matches were on the Vans Warped Tour 2007 supporting the new album. The Matches played the entire AP tour 2008 with other bands such as All Time Low, and The Rocket Summer - Live Photos from AP Tour. Also, The Matches were one of the many bands who played on the Soundwave tour in Australia late February and early March 2008.

The group finished their third album titled A Band In Hope and released it on March 18, 2008. This album again featured the collaboration of multiple producers: Nick Hexum, John Feldmann, Tim Armstrong, Miles Hurwitz, Mike Green, John Paulsen, and Paul Ruxton (Paulsen and Ruxton of the San Francisco producer-collective Talking House, to whom the album is dedicated in the CD liner notes).

The album was leaked on February 11, 2008. Harris wrote the following on the band's Blog in response to the leak.

On July 9, the band posted a bulletin on their MySpace saying that bassist Justin SanSouci will be leaving the band. The Matches asked people to send in demo tapes of themselves in order to audition for the recently-opened role of a new bassist.

On August 7, 2008, The Matches announced that Dylan Rowe of Nashville, Tennessee, whom they met 5 years prior, would be their new bassist. He replaced Justin SanSouci at the Oakland Art and Soul Festival on August 30, 2008.

Side Projects and hiatus

The Matches played their final show to a sold out crowd at the Fillmore on 8-23-2009. Some members of The Matches have embarked on personal side projects. Jonathan Devoto performed as a solo artist on May 17, 2009 at Berkeley, C.A., playing three cover tacks and four originals. Devoto formed the band Bird by Bird which played their first live show at Blakes on Telegraph on 8-21-2009. Shawn Harris and Jake Grigg from Something with Numbers have started writing for Maniac, the duo's side project.Maniac has released several covers and will continue to do so until the release of their album in 2010. The Matches are officially on hiatus as of July 9, 2009. On August 7, 2009, the band announced that they would be releasing a digital rarities album titled the Matches album 4, unreleased; graphics? title? or not needed? on August 12.

Current members

• Shawn Harris - rhythm guitar, vocals
• Matt Whalen - drums
• Jonathan Devoto - lead guitar, backup vocals
• Dylan Rowe (2008-present) bass guitar, backup vocals

Former members

• Justin San Souci (1997-2008) bass guitar, backup vocals
• Matt Esposito - Lead guitar, backing vocals

Albums

• E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals (self-released - 2003, re-released on Epitaph Records - 2004)
• Decomposer (2006)
• A Band in Hope (2008)
• the Matches album 4, unreleased; graphics? title? or not needed? (August 12, 2009)

DVDs

• Show Must Go Off!, Vol. 14

Compilation tracks

• A Santa Cause - It's a Punk Rock Christmas - "December Is for Cynics" (2003)
• Agent Records Presents the NorCal Compilation 2003 - "Audio Blood" (2003)
• Warped Tour 2004 Tour Compilation - "Audio Blood" (2004)
• Punk Rock is Your Friend: Kung Fu Records Sampler No. 5 - "Chain Me Free" (live) (2004)
• 2004 Smartpunk: Music on the Brain - "Got the Time" (2005)
• Warped Tour 2005 Tour Compilation - "Dog-Eared Page" (2005)
• Dead Bands Party: A Tribute to Oingo Boingo - "Violent Love" featuring Zebrahead (2005)
• Takeover Records 3-Way Issue #2 - "A Girl I Know", "Sick Little Suicide" (Acoustic), "Shoot Me in the Smile" (Acoustic) (2005) [2]
• Warped Tour 2006 Tour Compilation - "My Soft and Deep" (2006)
• Greetings from Norcal - The Northern California Compilation - "Didi" (2006)
• Unsound Compilation - "Little Maggots" (2006)
• Punk-O-Rama Vol. 9 - "Sick Little Suicide" (2006)
• Punk-O-Rama Vol. 10 - "Shoot Me in the Smile" (2006)
• Warped Tour 2007 Tour Compilation - "Little Maggots" (2007)
• Warped Tour 2008 Tour Compilation - "Wake the Sun" (2008)
• A Foggy Holiday - Carols From the SF Scene, Vol. 2 - "Happy New Year" (2008)

Singles

• Interview with The Matches
• Interview with Shawn Harris of The Matches
• Interview with Shawn Harris of the Matches November 2008

• Official band site
• The Matches at MySpace
• Live Shots & Interview with Jon Devoto and Dylan Rowe of The Matches
• Shawns Side project - MANIAC BLOG