, Bobby Bognar, Garner Knutson, and Yell McGuyer recorded a 5 song EP entitled First Time. Recorded in a studio owned by Richmond’s home town music hero Dave Lowrey (Camper VanBeethoven, Cracker), and produced by John Morand (Cracker, Dave Lowrey), the 3 set off to Los Angeles. The first to move was Bobby, followed by Garner, Yell,and an unassuming Ellen. (More on Ellen later)

Los Angeles was exactly where Bobby Bognar and the Distractions were meant to be. Quickly integrating themselves into the L.A. pop scene, BB and the D recorded another album, 2 Cents Worth. Embarking on 2 coast to coast tours, the trio sought to play as often as possible. Bognar was quite a prolific writer, so there was never a lack of new material for the fans to enjoy.

In 1999, the band changed their name, and their lineup. BB andthe D now became the Piper Downs, and Garner moved down stage to take over lead guitar duties. There was a revolving door of different drummers for the next 3 years. It was then that Ellen entered the picture. She had been learning to play the drums all this time, and proved herself every bit as good as her male counterparts.She was also as much a showman as lead singer Bobby Bognar, often competing for the spotlight. While witty banter up tempo live shows were the norm for the Piper Downs, Bobby and Ellen took it up a notch.

After releasing the big budget album Varying Degrees of Failure and Tunelessness, the Piper Downs found much success. In 2004 they became the first unsigned band to have a guitar placed on the wall at the Los Angeles Hard Rock Café. It was that same year that they flew to Cabo San Lucas to open for Sammy Hagar, Tommy Lee, and Jerry Cantrell. In 2005 they represented the U.S. in the Global Battle of the Bands in London’s historical Astoria Theater. Later that Year the song Louder was chosen to be on Nickelodeon’s Zoey101 soundtrack (Sony records) along with bands like Good Charlotte.

Still playing and making music today, the Piper Downs are one of the rare bands to survive the brutal music industry with their priorities intact. Making good music.