originally conceived as a side project

The band was originally conceived as a side project. The Weiss brothers, Aaron and Michael, together with guitarist Christopher Kleinberg, were playing together in another band, called the Operation, with bassist Greg Jehanian. Aaron wanted to start another project, to experiment with new sounds. With the help of Ricky Mazzotta, Ray Taddeo, and his brother Mike, Aaron formed what is now formally known as mewithoutYou. At first, the band was a four-piece, with Aaron on both bass and vocals. However, in only a few months, Chris Kleinberg joined to play third guitar. The band released their first EP, I Never Said That I Was Brave , in 2001 and shortly thereafter signed to Tooth & Nail Records after a show at Cornerstone Festival the same year. Around this time, Taddeo had moved on, and Daniel Pishock was recruited to be the first official bass player of the band. The Operation disbanded soon after, and mewithoutYou’s debut full-length album, [A→B] Life , was released in 2002. The band garnered more attention for their second release, 2004’s Catch for Us the Foxes , which was produced by Brad Wood . In December 2004, Pishock had made the decision to retire bass duties in order to pursue a career in teaching and explore other musical ventures, and former Operation frontman, Greg Jehanian, was selected to replace him. In 2005, they won mtvU ‘s Left Field award for most original artist, for their song “January 1979”. Their third album, Brother, Sister , again produced by Wood, was released on September 26, 2006. In late 2007, Kleinberg left the band to pursue a degree in medicine. Pete Syoum filled in on guitar in the fall of 2007, but later, Kleinberg returned to play with the band on their 2008 summer tour.