The Format

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For the AZ album, see The Format (album)

The Format
Background information
Origin	Peoria, Arizona, USA
Genre(s)	Indie Rock, Jangle Pop
Years active	2001 - Present
Label(s)	The Vanity Label
Website	Official site
Members
Sam Means Nate Ruess Mike Schey Don Raymond Marko Buzard Sean McCall

The Format is a rock band formed by Arizona natives Nate Ruess and Sam Means. Their style can be considered a mixture of both pop and alternative, and is difficult to place in any one particular genre due to their use of various stylistic influences. Their diverse mix of sounds and exploration of different musical combinations set them apart from most indie bands. Though Means and Ruess are the foremost members of the band they tour and record with Mike Schey, Mark Buzard, Don Raymond, and Sean McCall. The Format chose their name to make fun of the music industry's inclination towards a cookie-cutter "format" for a hit. Despite some critique from the mainstream music industry, the duo's first single, aptly titled "The First Single," from their five song demo, EP, became locally popular and led to the two signing with Elektra Records in 2002. Their first studio album, Interventions + Lullabies, was released in October 2003 and was very successful around the Phoenix area and sold over 80,000 copies in the US.

After Elektra folded, The Format released a second EP, Snails with sister label Atlantic Records in April 2005. Although this record was not released in stores, it can be purchased at any of their performances, their online store and on iTunes. While preparing to record their second album, The Format were dropped by Atlantic. Upon completing the album, called Dog Problems, Nate and Sam decided to release it themselves through the newly established Vanity Label. Two months prior to the album's release, an MP3 version was leaked to the internet. In response, the entire album was made available digitally for only $7.99 via the Nettwerk Music Store, which led to the sale of over 2,000 digital copies prior to the album's official release. Dog Problems was released in stores on July 11, 2006. The name, in reference to Nate's and his then-girlfriend's idea to get a pet dog every time they broke up, is also the name of the title track. One of the dogs named Nico was the subject of the song "Snails". An earlier version from the EP included the lyrics, "Nico, take it slow," but during the recording of Dog Problems, Nico ran away and thus the line was changed to "Nico, come back home."

Recently, a few of The Format's songs have been used on the hit MTV show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, including "The First Single" and "Wait, Wait, Wait." They also made a quick appearance on the MTV show My Super Sweet 16, on which they performed at a birthday/graduation party for Priya and Divya Kothapalli. The episode first aired on July 11, 2006; the same day Dog Problems was released.

The single "The Compromise" is also featured on The Sims 2, with the words being sung in "simlish".

While the Format's music is not often heard of via radio or large label promotions, the band tours extensively and has gained a large following.

The Japanese edition of Dog Problems, featuring a cover of Jellyfish's "Glutton of Sympathy" as a bonus track, is due out January 24, 2007.

Making their national television debut, the Format appeared as the musical guest on NBCs Last Call with Carson Daly on February 2, 2007. The band played the next single off their record Dog Problems, "She Doesn't Get It".