Cymbals Eat Guitars is an indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band from Staten Island

Staten Island

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, founded by high school friends Joseph D'Agostino and Matthew Miller. The band's name comes from a Lou Reed

Lou Reed

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...

 quote describing the sound of the Velvet Underground.

History

Cymbals Eat Guitars was founded in 2007 by guitarist Joseph D’Agostino and drummer Matthew Miller, who both graduated from Southern Regional High School

Southern Regional High School

Southern Regional High School is a regional public high school in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in grades 9 - 12 and operating as part of the Southern Regional School District. The school is located on of wooded land, upon which future projects are to be completed...

 in Manahawkin in 2006. Neil Berenholz, guitarist Matt Cohen, and keyboardist Daniel Baer joined the band after responding to an ad D'Agostino posted on Craigslist

Craigslist

Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....

. 90's alternative bands such as Pavement

Pavement (band)

Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...

 heavily influenced the Cymbals Eat Guitar's sound. An early version of the song "Share" was released on the Indiecater Vol. 1 compilation in June 2008.

The band first gained buzz

Marketing buzz

Marketing buzz or simply buzz — a term used in word-of-mouth marketing — is the interaction of consumers and users of a product or service which serves to amplify the original marketing message. a vague but positive association, excitement, or anticipation about a product or service...

 in 2009 when their self-released debut album Why There Are Mountains

Why There Are Mountains

-Cymbals Eat Guitars:* Daniel Baer - Keyboards, Piano* Neil Berenholz - Bass* Joseph D'agostino - Guitar, Vocals, Composer* Brian Hamilton - Keyboards, Piano* Matthew Miller - Drums, Percussion-Recording personnel:...

 was included in Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

's "Best New Music", earning 8.3/10 in the website's review. Later that year, Cymbals Eat Guitars went on tour with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are an indie pop band from New York City. Their first album was a self-released EP which came out in 2007 through the Painbow label. Their debut self-titled full length album was released on February 3, 2009 via Slumberland Records. The band name comes from an...

 and opened a couple of shows for The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...

. In addition, the band played at the 2009 College Music Journal

College Music Journal

College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...

 festival and the Pitchfork Music Festival

Pitchfork Music Festival

The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by Pitchfork Media and held in Union Park in Chicago, IL. The festival, which is normally held over three days in July, focuses primarily on artists and bands from alternative rock, rap & hip-hop, electronica, and dance...

. In late 2009, the band was chosen as of one Beyond Race Magazines "50 Emerging Artists," resulting in a spot in the publication's #11 issue (with Bodega Girls and J. Cole on the cover), as well as an exclusive Q&A for the magazine's site.

2009 also saw a change in Cymbal Eat Guitar's lineup. Dan Baer, the band's original keyboardist, left the band due to an illness, while the band's original bassist, Neil Berenholz, left due to his dislike of touring. Baer and Berenholz were replaced by Brian Hamilton and Matthew Whipple respectively.

In March 2011, Cymbals Eat Guitars signed with Barsuk Records

Barsuk Records

Barsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...

 to produce a follow-up to Why There Are Mountains. The band released their second album Lenses Alien

Lenses Alien

Lenses Alien is the sophomore album by the indie rock band Cymbals Eat Guitars, released August 30, 2011 on Barsuk Records. The album was produced by John Agnello and received generally positive reviews.-Background and recording:...

on August 30, 2011.

Band members

Members of Cymbals Eat Guitars are:

• Joseph D'Agostino – guitar, lead vocals
• Matthew Miller – drums
• Matt Whipple – bass guitar, vocals
• Brian Hamilton – keyboards, vocals

Former members include:

• Daniel Baer – keyboards
• Neil Berenholz (2005–2007, 2009) – bass
• Jon Levine (2007–2008) – bass
• Matthew Cohen (2008) - guitars