Pistolita

Pistolita, the San Diego outfit fronted by Conor Meads, built its early reputation on opening bills for Brand New, Saves the Day, and Say Anything, propelled by Meads’s forceful piano attack. By age 18 he had already left his family home in San Diego, taken a position composing television jingles, and settled into the attic of a recording studio, where he began shaping the material that would become the band’s first full-length release. Recruiting proved simple: he enlisted longtime neighbor Cory Stier on drums and high-school acquaintances Justin Shannon on guitar and Alex Kushe on bass, the last of whom was eventually succeeded by Derek Miller. After issuing the Gliss Note EP in 2005, Pistolita became the inaugural act signed to booking agent Andrew Ellis’s Montalban Hotel Records, an imprint of East West, and delivered its debut album, Oliver Under the Moon, in early 2006.