Native Californians Will Etling (guitar) and Jesse Hoy (drums) met at the University of California in Santa Barbara, where the annual Reel Loud Film Festival (a UCSB tradition featuring student-made silent films accompanied by live music) resulted in their first musical collaboration. After mutual friends introduced the musicians to Christopher Richard (vocals) and Mike Hughes (keyboards/drums), both of whom had relocated to L.A. from the East, the Deadly Syndrome was born in 2006. A handful of raucous shows on the L.A. club circuit led to a contract with Dim Mak Records that same year, and the band released its debut album, The Ortolan, in September 2007. ~ Andrew Leahey