Featuring members of Deerhoof, Natural Dreamers, Open City, and St. Joseph and the Abandoned Food, the Curtains were formed in 2000 by Chris Cohen, Trevor Shimizu, and Jamie Peterson. This version of the group recorded the 2001 debut album Fast Talks, a vinyl-only release limited to 500 copies. Peterson and Shimizu departed and were replaced by Greg Saunier and Andrew Maxwell, who appeared on a split 7" with Ghost to Falco, contributed a track to a Toyo compilation, and continued the group's self-released lathe-cut 7" series. The Curtains' second album, Flybys, arrived in fall 2003, coinciding with a tour and another split 7" with Maher Shalal Hash Baz. 2004's Vehicles of Travel found the band's outbursts moving in a more structured, song-like direction, which Cohen explored even more fully on the fourth Curtains album, Calamity. Cohen left Deerhoof to concentrate on the Curtains, writing, producing, and recording nearly all of the album on his own, though guitarist/vocalist Nedelle Torrisi and Half-Handed Cloud's John Ringhofer were drafted later to give the album a fuller sound. The Curtains found a new home on Asthmatic Kitty, who released Calamity in fall 2006. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi