The Smiles is an indie “beach rock” quartet comprised of four college students from a university in Los Angeles, CA.
Will Sturgeon and John McGrath met in 2009 at the University of Southern California. They wrote songs together in their dorm rooms until, in September of 2009, Brendan Kirlin joined them on guitar and Mark Edwards joined them on drums. Will picked up the bass, and started playing house parties at USC. They slowly became one of the “go-to” bands on campus, and were selected as the only student band to play KSCR’s annual music fest. They also landed a spot at one of UCSD’s biggest music festivals, Muirstock. As The Smiles grew together over the next few months, they started recording their debut EP, Hermosa. To do this, they set a goal of $2000 to raise on the brilliant fundraising site Kickstarter, reaching and exceeding their goal in under 24 hours. /////
Hermosa - EP came out in May 2010. The title of this 6-song EP originates from the city where it was recorded, Hermosa Beach, CA. Their friend, Michael Peha, recorded them in his basement, so they got to watch Planet Earth and eat pizza while recording near the beach. Sweet. These six songs are a good introduction to The Smiles. These songs introduced The Smiles to themselves. Deep. /////
Though The Smiles just released their debut EP, the nature of a college lifestyle forced The Smiles into a two-month summer haitus. However, The Smiles plan to ride the strength of their debut EP once they reconvene in Los Angeles in August 2010. |
