Back in 1996, newly transplanted Athenians Derek Almstead and Andy Gonzales divided most
of their time between the exploding Elephant Six scene and their day jobs at a local sub shop. Their
co-worker Carlton Owens, a fantastic and accomplished local drummer, was busied with a different side
of the local music scene, playing multiple jazz and blues gigs. Ten years later, the three have reunited
as the core rhythm section of M Coast, along with Sara Kirkpatrick and Emily Growden, two fresh talents
on the scene.




When Andy Gonzales first moved to Athens in tow with the Music Tapes, he already had his
project Marshmallow Coast in motion with a few singles, cassettes and even a finished first album,
"Timesqaure". Built on a love of jazz and impressionist classical composers, combined with the bedroom
D.I.Y. songwriting of the emerging 4-track generation, Marsmallow Coast was an abberation of depth
and complexity in a three chord world. Almost immediately upon arriving in town, Andy met Derek
Almstead through their E6 cohorts. Derek had moved into town the previous year, and had run into
another burgeoning songwriter, Kevin Barnes, at a local party. The two, along with bassist Bryan Poole,
had just gotten Of Montreal up and running by the time Andy arrived. Derek, secretly an accomplished bass
player, had just taken up the drums for the fledgeling band, getting a big boost by taking some lessons
with Carlton.




Derek and Andy became fast friends, sharing a love of the 60's psyche-pop that was already
getting E6 excited, but also of composers Erik Satie, Claude Debussy, and Ravel, the jazz of Charles
Mingus, Duke Ellington, and Eric Dolphy, and the funk of Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, and
Stevie Wonder. Diverse influences to be sure, especially in the modern, self-regurgitating, indie rock
world.




They made some records- a lot of records. In the following ten years Andy worked with
Marshmallow Coast, Of Montreal, the Music Tapes, the Instruments, and the Olivia Tremor Control.
Derek made records for and with Of Montreal, the Summer Hymns, Elf Power, the Sunshine Fix, Great
Lakes, Marshmallow Coast, Hawk and a Hacksaw, the Circulatory System, the Visitations, the 63 Crayons,
the Instruments, Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't, and on, and on... Their two collaborations within
Marshmallow Coast -"Marshmallow Coasting" and "Ride the Lightning"- often drew comparisons to
Steely Dan, and maybe not so surprisingly. After all, they were two hyper-talented, self-taught, studio
saavy, jazz loving, opinionated, pop-culture obsessed funny guys with a full compliment of guest studio
musicians.




Andy and Derek left Of Montreal in 2003, Andy to get a nursing degree and Derek to focus on
other projects and work on getting his own music recorded. Andy and Sara Kirkpatrick made a
Marshmallow Coast record together -with brilliant engineer and musician Jason NeSmith of Casper and
the Cookies- callled "Antistar", featuring Sara's beautiful flute-work and a more stripped-down, focused
sound. Meanwhile Derek had met Emily Growden, and he started to form the idea of a band with Andy
and their old friend Carlton who all those years ago had worked with them so well... Derek worked on
years of built-up "pieces" he had written, trying to make them into something more digestable and
song-oriented, but highly influenced by the more abstract pop songs of Brian Eno, the Moles, and
Brian Wilson. When Andy enlisted Derek to start recording and contribute to a new Marshmallow Coast
album in 2004, he had already guested multiple times on Derek's ongoing solo recordings. Derek, fueled
by his recently departed father Murray's long running request/ criticism for "more voices!" in the bands in
which he played, had the epiphany to join these coinciding projects together.