T
a definitive
timeline of
he indie rock legends Death Cab
for Cutie have been through it as
a band, constantly rebuilding and
reimagining their music in order
to create relevant rock that still resonates
with a core fanbase while also attracting
newcomers. In anticipation of Thank You
for Coming, the band’s first album to be
released without founding member Chris
Walla, we have created a definitive timeline
of Death Cab for Cutie’s career — including
everything from the origin of the name to the
countless Grammy nominations.
BY LILLY MILMAN
OCTOBER, 1967
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band release their
debut album Gorilla, featuring a sardonic
track called “Death Cab for Cutie” penned
by Neil Innes and Vivian Stanshall. Innes
claims that the track’s title came from an
American pulp fiction crime magazine, but
the phrase was also seen in Richard
Hoggart’s The Uses of Literacy (1957),
which analyzed popular culture in the U.K.
MID-1990S
Frontman Benjamin Gibbard and founding
member Chris Walla meet at Western
Washington University in Bellingham,
Washington. Their life-long musical
relationship begins in their dorm rooms as
they begin writing and recording together.
1994
Although Death Cab for Cutie had yet to
officially be created, future members of the
band begin playing in local venues with
Seattle indie band This Busy Monster --
formed by Christopher Possanza, Josh
Rosenfeld, Jason Avinger, and Barrett Wilke.
This Busy Monster later created the label
Barsuk Records in 1994 as a way of
releasing their own music, and would soon
sign Death Cab.
1995
Seattle-based band The Revolutionary
Hydra release their self-titled debut album.
The group would go on to become friends
of founders Gibbard and Chris Walla. After
starting their own small indie label, Elsinor
Records, the Hydra crew would go on to help
the indie rockers release their debut cassette.
1996
The Bellingham, Washington band Shed
is founded by Arman Bohn, Gibbard, and
future Death Cab bassist Nick Harmer. Later
in the year, Gibbard left the band and was
replaced by another future Death Cab
member: Jason McGerr. A year later, the
band had changed its name to Eureka Farm
and Harmer was replaced by Chuck Keller.
MAY–JULY, 1997
The seed is planted for what would become
Death Cab for Cutie as founders Chris Walla
and Benjamin Gibbard decide to record a
demo together, which would later become
the debut release You Can Play These
Songs With Chords. At the time, Gibbard
had been playing guitar in the Bellingham
band Pinwheel. The demo was released only
on cassette at the time, and led to Gibbard
recruiting a full band. They recorded the
demo in the studio built by Walla in Seattle,
The Hall of Justice. Around the same time,
they were signed to Barsuk Records by their
friends This Busy Monster.
FEBRUARY 25, 1998
Death Cab for Cutie plays its first ever live
show at Seattle’s Crocodile Café alongside
Harvey Danger. Almost a decade later,
Gibbard would return to play a surprise
show at the venue and explain that it was
their most memorable show. According to
a review of this return by The Stranger, the
first gig at the Crocodile “convinced them
that they were a real band.”
AUGUST 18, 1998
The band releases their studio debut,
Something About Airplanes on Barsuk