An indie rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997, Death Cab for
Cutie is led by multi-instrumentalist and principal composer Ben Gibbard. A
student sound engineer at the University of Washington, Gibbard was the original
member of power pop band Pinwheel, which fell by the wayside when he began work
on a solo album, meeting producer Chris Walla in the process. For the tour that
followed the release of their 1997 cassette You Can Play This Songs with Chords,
they recruited musicians Nick Harmer (bass) and Nathan Good (drums). Named Death
Cab for Cutie after a song by t...