Bellingham, Washington's Ben Gibbard has always been the restless type. Not content to only front the one-man lo-fi outfit All-Time Quarterback, he recorded a collection of tunes that he unassumingly called You Can Play These Songs With Chords, distributing them only on cassette. They were so well received, he decided to expand his vision and assemble some like-minded and literate types to form a band around his quirky, rather reflective compositions. Drafting guitarist/organist/producer/engineer Chris Walla (who recorded those early sessions and continues to produce the band), bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Nathan Good, Gibbard had his dream team assembled by June 1998, christening themselves Death Cab for Cutie after the title of a Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band song that appeared in the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour extravaganza. In choosing such an esoteric name, the musician charted a course for the band to be perpetual outsiders, garnering more cred than dollars. Even after signing with equally resolute mavericks Barsuk Records, a then-up-and-coming Seattle-based indie label, the band didn't find itself on Easy Street but instead criss-crossing the country in a run-down van, as they honed their live act and built a fan base, one person at a time. Within the year, they had released Something About Airplanes, a subtle, erudite but somehow quietly anthemic album featuring brainy lyrics, stream of consciousness observations and ragged beats. Blame it on the relentless touring or their unstinting work ethic, but just before the band issued its 2000 follow-up, We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes, Nathan Good left the group and was replaced by the more flamboyant Michael Schoor. The chemistry was even better with Schoor in the band, and by the fall of that year, they released the darker yet still tuneful Forbidden Love EP, which foreshadowed 2001's The Photo Album, a more thoughtful, wistful work of missed connections and thwarted love. After its release, the band members took a long-deserved break, a relief after their punishing, 250-plus-dates-a-year touring schedule. But it didn't turn out to be much of a vacation. Chris Walla took on some rather high-profile work, producing the Decemberists, the Thermals and Nada Surf, while Ben Gibbard relocated to Los Angeles for while, discovering the joys of electropop with Dntel, under the tutelage of producer Jimmy Tamborello. Together they created the Postal Service and signed a deal with Sub Pop, releasing Give Up in 2003, which eventually sold over 650,000 copies and remains one of the little label's best-selling albums ever, right behind Nirvana's Bleach. Despite that astonishing success, Gibbard's allegiance remained with Death Cab For Cutie, and the band reconstituted itself with yet another drummer. Jason McGerr made his presence known on their fourth album, Transatlanticism, which caught everyone's attention with its scope, poetry and s
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