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About The Active Set

 
Portrait of The Active Set

photo by Sterling Andrews of Shutterface Photography

We aren’t big fans of band bios. But we do like choices:

1) If you don’t like bios either, skip down to “Points of Interest”. 2) If you do like reading bios, with spin and all, continue reading.

Choose your own adventure…

The Active Set DON’T want to take over the world… yet. Right now they’re focusing on a couple of small islands off the coast of Europe. The strategy comes from Wayne Russell (guitar/keys/vox), a Brit and former member of Dollar Hit. After seeing his fellow countrymen successfully invade the US in the recent influx of indie, brit pop, new wave and electro, Wayne decided to reverse the concept and invade his own country, from the outside.

Following a successful move to the states, Wayne soon met Matthew Stolarz (lead vox/bass), a founding member of L.A. punk rock outfit The Briggs and lover of all things British. The two formed The Active Set, with a goal of making music that builds on the foundations of indie and post-punk, both old and new, ala Bloc Party, the Replacements, Hot Hot Heat, XTC, The Clash, Interpol and The Cure.

When Francis Ramsden (guitar/vox) answered their MySpace ad, it seemed more than coincidence that he join the group. Francis, a citizen of both the UK and the US, was raised on a healthy dose of British music, Monty Python and Christmas Pudding. He too had plans to return to the UK, having grown up mostly in southern California.

With the addition of Michael Castro (drums/keys), a Louisiana native with a talent for adding beautiful complication to songs, the Active Set fully embarked on their mission. So far they’re off to a good start. After playing regularly in LA, they were invited to play the Evil Seed showcase at SXSW with such up-and-coming artists as Iglu & Hartly, Rocket and Matt & Isom. Covert plans are in the works to tackle other large festivals, like D-Fest, CMJ and even Glastonbury. With your help The Active Set can really stick it to King George. Have a listen and thanks for your help!

STOP… You’ve won and will receive total enlightenment. Continue reading for more info.

 
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