Nashville indie rock outfit
Paper Rival formed in 2005 under the moniker Keating and released the Thieves EP as such that same year (later re-released under the
Paper Rival name via iTunes in the fall of 2007). Owning a collective love of artists like
Bob Dylan,
Broken Social Scene,
Neutral Milk Hotel, and
Bruce Cockburn, the band -- bassist
Cody McCall, guitarist
Brent Coleman, guitarist
Patrick Damphier, and vocalist
Jacob Rolleston -- was approached to be one of the first groups to join booking agent
Matt Galle's new record label, Photo Finish Records (asked before the label even really existed, no less).
Damphier had found
Galle's contact information in the liner notes to
Circa Survive's
Juturna and emailed him never expecting a response. Instead, he was shocked to receive a rather quick reply from
Galle, who was impressed enough by their songs on MySpace to fly out and catch the band's second gig ever in Tennessee. At this point, they were still known as Keating and played around as such until a gig one night in Edmonton, Alberta, brought several people expecting to hear from the female-fronted Canadian band of the same name. Instead of wasting the time and money to fight for rights to Keating, the Tennessee gang decided to simply change monikers and thus became
Paper Rival in March 2007. A self-titled five-song EP appeared midway through the year, and since the band was still without a permanent drummer,
Damphier manned the skins on the album. For touring purposes, drummer friend
Dillon Napier, whose own
Scatter the Ashes (Epitaph) had broken up the previous year, joined
Paper Rival on the road. The band's full-length debut followed in early 2008. ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide