Pinq

San Francisco based quartet. Vocalist Tim Mitchell's and drummer Ben Montesano have been at the helm of the project since 1995, back when it was called Goldenrod. Bassist Greg Bertens (also a member of Film School) was a part of the group then too, but left for a couple of years as the band struggled to find a coherent sound. By 1998 Mitchell and Montesano were playing and recording together as Pink, and recorded a well-received three-song demo. Soon after the demo was completed, Bertens returned and Andrew Simas signed on to handle keyboards and sampler. Simas stuck around for only a few months before Tad Ro was brought in to replace him, adding a second guitar and piano to the mix. It was then that Pink became Pinq and began to move in an increasingly nuanced, spacey, phantasmagorical direction. In 2000, Peppercorn (2)'s Kurt Hobson and AM Magic's Mike Alexis completed Pinq's rhythm section and grouped together for the bands first bona fide album, the self-released eight-song album Quiet Games for Hot Weather. Quiet Games is a lofty, heavy debut, submerged in swirling whirlpools of guitar, whispery vocals, and emotionally resonant melodies. Upon release of the album, Pinq went on tour, and played a lot locally in San Francisco. In 2002 the band, following a change of line up,decided to reform as The Decoration.