Forming the ragged power pop-punk outfit the Actual were vocalist/guitarist Max Bernstein, son of writer Nora Ephron and Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein, guitarist/vocalist Ben Flanagan, and brothers Jeremy Bonsall on bass with Aaron Bonsall on drums. Easter Sunday 2001 marked the Los Angeles-based quartet’s first performance together, after which they began securing shows at any venue willing to host them, among them an ill-advised slot at a biker bar. Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland soon took notice of their infectious tunes and placed the group on the roster of his Soft Drive Records, an imprint of Sony BMG. The alliance yielded immediate advantages: Weiland agreed to co-produce the band’s debut album and booked them as openers for multiple Velvet Revolver arena dates. In May 2007 the Actual issued that album, In Stitches, fronted by its lead single “This Is the Worst Day of My Life,” then spent the summer on the road, among other stops playing August dates on the 2007 Warped Tour.
