No Motiv

Emerging from Oxnard, California, the punk-pop quartet No Motiv centers its sound on the personal introspection and emotional release that mark the emocore style. Their first two albums appeared on Edge Records as Cynical and Scarred, after which they ranked among the earliest acts to join the newly established Vagrant Records. The band sustained its momentum by placing songs in film soundtracks and on the Vagrant compilation Five Years on the Streets. That exposure directly led to the Vagrant debut And the Sadness Prevails, issued in early 1999. Two years and ten tours later, spring 2001 brought Diagram for Healing, produced by Face to Face’s Trever Keith. Personnel shifts occurred ahead of the Lola EP’s June 2003 release, and the following January delivered the darker, more mature Daylight Breaking. By then No Motiv’s lineup featured Max McDonald (vocals, guitar), Jeremy Palaszewski (vocals, guitar), Jeff Hershey (bass), and Roger Camero (drums).