The career of Los Angeles based band Signal Hill Transmission began rather inauspiciously. In 2001, friends Scott Warren and Scott Schoen got together in Warren’s basement to start playing music. They played the local club circuit. Relatively quickly, they outgrew themselves and recruited Duane Rakestraw and Mon Agranat to become a full-fledged rock & roll outfit. They continued to play live and write songs, attracting a loyal core of fans. They recorded their first album, “Tomorrow, The Stars,” in the spring of 2005 and a second, “An Empty Space,” in early 2007. Both records were self-produced and brought the band both critical praise and inclusion in several film and television projects, with the latter cracking the top 30 on a number of CMJ reporting radio stations.

Then in January of 2008, the pivotal break the band had been working for presented itself in the most unlikely of ways. On the urging of a friend (and with a decided air of nonchalance), Signal Hill Transmission entered a contest put on by Southern California radio station 98.7FM. Fast-forward through several rounds of online voting and eliminations, and a panel of judges ultimately selected Signal Hill Transmission as the winner. The prize: a recording contract with ATO Records.

That May, the band went into the studio with producer Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Pete Yorn) and emerged three weeks later with a four song EP, “Starting Gun.” The title was pulled from the lyrics of one of the songs, but it also captures the excitement the band feels as it looks forward to its first release under a major independent label. Rolling Stone Contributing Editor David Wild writes, “’Starting Gun’ is not the beginning of the race, but an altogether winning start for Signal Hill Transmission – a new melodic rock band that promises to be around for the long run.”

Seven years after forming, Signal Hill Transmission will release “Starting Gun” on ATO Records on September 23rd. For band members Scott Warren, Scott Schoen, Duane Rakestraw and Mon Agranat, this is looking to be the year that the band that started in the basement finally takes center stage.

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