A Cursive Memory

Even during their formative years, the Southern California ensemble A Cursive Memory attained MTV broadcast exposure while most groups of comparable age were still struggling to devise an original moniker. The pop/rock outfit merged piano leads, rousing choruses, '80s-influenced keyboards, and sunny melodies, drawing inspiration from an array of acts such as the Killers, the All-American Rejects, and the Beach Boys. Colin Baylen (guitar, vocals) and Shaun Profeta (guitars, vocals) first encountered each other at an eighth-grade birthday party, where they quickly bonded and began casually composing songs. Brian Boylen soon joined the pair, after which the three routinely jammed following classes until classically-trained pianist and budding bassist Mark Borst-Smith completed the lineup. With A Cursive Memory now formally established, the group leveraged Borst-Smith’s keyboard proficiency to gradually weave such parts into their arrangements. By the time the members reached junior year of high school, M-Music—the music management arm of Bunim/Murray Productions, the company behind The Simple Life and MTV’s The Real World—had taken notice. As the label’s inaugural signing, the quartet saw its material placed in MTV programs including The Real World and The Gauntlet 2. Work on the debut EP Respeck! commenced in early 2006, with the release arriving the next year. Following Boylen’s departure, drummer Dillan Wheeler came aboard, after which A Cursive Memory inked a deal with Vagrant Records and delivered its first full-length album, Changes, in February 2008.