The Cardinal Sin

Becky Hanten - Drums
Jon Ness - Bass
James Russell - Guitar & Voice
Mark Shaw - Guitar

People say things get better with age. The Cardinal Sin is no exception to this rule. Formerly of Cadillac Blindside (Fueled By Ramen), Song of Zarathustra (Troubleman Unlimited), and The Crush (Adeline Records), the members of The Cardinal Sin are experienced band members. After forming in 2003, The Cardinal Sin took off where their former bands left off: touring. Within months of the new band, The Cardinal Sin followed Motion City Soundtrack and Limbeck around the Midwest, then The Lawrence Arms out East, with only a demo in hand.

Later that year, The Lawrence Arms asked the band to accompany them again, this time out to the West coast. It was at the Los Angeles show that The Cardinal Sin got acquainted with Grey Flight Records and plans were set in motion for The Cardinal Sin's debut release. In December of 2004, The Cardinal Sin went into The Hideaway studio to work with Grant Cutler for the Grey Flight release. The following March, Grey Flight released the "Oil and Water" EP featuring five originals and a brilliant cover of The Replacements' "Bastards of Young."

The Cardinal Sin have a sharp, catchy sensibility accompanied by an energized live show that enables them to share bills and tours with a variety of bands. They have played with the likes of Against Me!, Motion City Soundtrack, Dillinger Four, The Lawrence Arms, Limbeck, The Supersuckers, A Wilhelm Scream, Hot Hot Heat, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Reputation, and Small Towns Burn A Little Slower.

Since the release of "Oil and Water," The Cardinal Sin has been busy. In support of "Oil and Water", they toured the West, the South, and have frequented the Midwestern cities surrounding them. The band also found themselves busy writing songs at a prolific speed. Meanwhile, "Oil and Water" was received well and left critics wanting more. In August of the same year, the band released a split 7"/CD EP with local friends, Small Towns Burn A Little Slower. This release features one original and one cover track from each band.

In January 2006, only a year after recording their debut EP, The Cardinal Sin found themselves armed with enough new material to record a full-length record. They entered Chicago's Atlas Studios with producer Matt Allison (Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms) and Neil Hennessy (The Lawrence Arms, Colossal). Twelve tracks were recorded over a 3-week period as well as 3 acoustic tracks with Chris Carr at Blackbox Studios. The new recordings show how much the band has grown with a mix of arena-rock jabs offset by ballads that will make anyone contemplate their next birthday.

All the members express a sort of satisfied disbelief over how well the lineup works, musically and personally. They are finally proud to say that their efforts to release a near perfect full-length have been achieved. The plans for the future are simple and clear: keep putting out records and touring as much as possible. The van waits.