When their band, Carissa's Weird broke up, Ben Bridwell (guitar, vocals) and Mat Brooke (guitar) got together and formed Band of Horses in 2004.  They opened for Iron and Wine for the Seattle shows, and eventually signed with Sub Pop.  They released an extended play recording entitled Tour EP

Band of Horses

Everybody's saying that commercials are the new radio, and it feels that way to me. The radio doesn't provide as many opportunities as it used to, but you're hearing all these success stories that started with being on a commercial of some sort.

The Beginnings

When their band, Carissa's Weird broke up, Ben Bridwell (guitar, vocals) and Mat Brooke (guitar) got together and formed Band of Horses in 2004.  They opened for Iron and Wine for the Seattle shows, and eventually signed with Sub Pop.  They released an extended play recording entitled Tour EP which was only available at shows and on Sub Pop's website for download.  

The band's debut album, Everything All The Time, was released in 2005, to generally positive reviews.  The first single released from the album, The Funeral, gained instant fame.  It was released in the UK on special edition 7” vinyl records to coincide with tour dates in the United Kingdom.  The song would go on to be a defining hit for the band.  In fact, the song was recently covered on the MTV series, My Life as Liz, by the title character.  

Keeping it Up

The success from the album continued in 2006, as The Funeral appeared on the video game, Skate, on multiple television episodes, including Numb3rs, One Tree Hill, and Criminal Minds.  The song was featured in film trailers, including Love the Beast and Penelope.  Band of Horses also appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in 2006, where they preformed The Funeral.  

Cease to Begin was the title of Band of Horses' second album.  The album was voted one of the ten best albums of 2007 by Paste Magazine.  The first single, Is There a Ghost, was released for mp3 download on MySpace.  Despite the success of The Funeral, Is There a Ghost was the first single for the band to hit the charts, peaking at #34 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.  Soon after the release of the album, iTunes featured the third single, No One's Gonna Love You, which was available for distribution at Starbucks.  

Moving Forward

In 2008, Bridwell mentioned an upcoming album, Night Rainbow to fans at multiple concerts while on tour and performed various songs slated to appear on the album.  In early 2010, in an interview, Bridwell indicated that the new title for the upcoming album is Infinite Arms.  It is due to be released in May of 2010.

The band is currently touring the United States, and are planning a tour of the US and the United Kingdom after the release of their new album.  They continue to maintain a solid presence on line with singles available for download on their website and at iTunes.

Did you know . . .

1. Band of Horses' single, The Funeral, was featured briefly at the 2010 Winter Olympics in in a short segment about Apolo Ohno.

2. Originally Band of Horses was known simply as Horse.

3. On the upcoming album, Infinite Arms, each band member contributed to the recording process for the first time.  

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