The Matches

Oakland Punk Rock Quartet

Pop-punk band from Oakland, California, formed in 1997 under the original name The Locals. They changed their name to The Matches in 2002 and released 3 studio albums before going on hiatus in 2009. They have reunited every few years since, celebrating the 10-year anniversaries of each of their albums with performances and deluxe vinyl reissues. The Locals were formed by high school students Matt Esposito (lead guitar, backing vocals), Justin San Souci (bass guitar, backing vocals), Matt Whalen (drums, percussion), and Shawn Harris (lead vocals, rhythm guitar). Miles Hurwitz became their manager in 2000 and played a major role in guiding their career, including acting as co-writer and producer. Esposito left after graduating and was replaced by Jon Devoto. As The Locals, the band released a 6-song demo and 3-song EP, and built up a following in the East Bay. In 2002, threatened with a copyright infringement lawsuit by Yvonne Doll And The Locals, they changed their name to The Matches. The Matches recorded and self-released their first album, E. Von Dahl Killed The Locals (2003). They signed to Epitaph Records, who re-mixed and re-released it the following year. Their second album, Decomposer (2006) took their music in a more idiosyncratic direction with contributions from nine different record producers. It reached no. 18 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart. Extensive worldwide touring followed over the next two years. Their third album, A Band In Hope, was released in March 2008 and found them shifting further away from pop-punk. It reached no. 179 on the Billboard 200. San Souci left the band that July and was replaced by Dylan Rowe. The Matches announced a hiatus in July 2009. Shortly thereafter, they self-released the digital album The Matches Album 4, Unreleased; Graphics? Title? Or Not Needed?, a collection of demos and unreleased tracks. Devoto started Bird By Bird, while Harris started Maniac (19), then Fortress Social Club. In 2014 the lineup of Harris, San Souci, Whalen, and Devoto reconvened to re-release E. Von Dahl Killed The Locals as a deluxe 2-LP set. A string of reunion shows resulted in the digital live album 10YearsEVDKTL. A new single, "Life Of A Match / Crucial Comeback", followed in 2015. The following year they re-released Decomposer, also as a deluxe 2-LP set, and again played a series of shows resulting in a digital live album, Recomposer. They repeated this pattern again in 2018, reissuing A Band In Hope as a deluxe 2-LP set followed by a series of shows and the digital live album Aband1nh0pe.