The Spring of 1997 brought about the end of San Francisco's local pop-punk sensation, the Cinnamon Imperials. Guitarist Trixie and bassist Mikel Delgado decided to continue playing music together, writing songs with the help of a drum machine. That summer, they convinced their friend Scott Bradley (guitarist and vocalist for the Moons) to get behind a drum kit and play with them. They continued to flesh out their song ideas, and put up a flyer seeking a vocalist. The Little Deaths officially began in October 1997, when Detroit-via-Olympia import, Aaron Detroit, responded to the flyer and had an audition with the group. At that point, they began to bring new life to the San Francisco music scene with their dark punk sound. They played their first show in December of 1997, and from then on kept busy with a constant stream of shows in the Bay Area with local and touring bands.

A year later Trixie left the band due to musical differences. The remaining band members were friends with and fans of local duo, Fighter D, which featured Whitney Skillcorn on guitar and vocals, and Claire Walsh on drums and vocals. Claire had previously played guitar in Fighter D so the two seemed like the perfect match for The Little Deaths. After The Little Deaths last show with Trixie, Aaron popped the question to Claire & Whitney. They were interested, so they came and played some music with the band. After just one practice it was obvious that, musically and personally, this was a good idea.

With the charismatic performance of singer Aaron Detroit, the solid rhythms of Mikel and Scott, and the heavy and melodic trade-off of rhythm and lead guitars between Claire and Whitney, the band was more powerful than ever.

The Little Deaths embarked on a brief west coast tour in December of 1998 with their friends, Clone. They played shows in Portland and Olympia over the course of a long weekend. Bad weather, van breakdowns and general bad luck caused cancelled shows, and a 3 day trip home on Greyhound for some members. Although it was a discouraging end to 1998, 1999 could only get better.

In 1999 The Little Deaths played several shows and prepared to record their first full length LP. Their friend Clint Roth (who has engineered for everyone from Orgy to En Vogue to Third Eye Blind) was chosen to produce and engineer the record.

A 5 day session in the studio resulted in 10 powerful, melodic songs in the punk/rock vein.

"Destination: Sexy" came out on November 2nd, the day before The Little Deaths embarked on their first U.S. tour. They spent three weeks on the road, traveling through the southwest, midwest and to the east coast for a special show at DUMBA in NYC at a Heartcore Records showcase. On the way back to California, they went down the east coast and through the south again, returning to San Francisco in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

Their tour introduced The Little Deaths to tons of cool people and bands. They played shows with the Manchurian Candidates, Shutthefuckup, Fuyu, Star Death, Queen Bee, Squab, Ovary Action, Kitty Pryde and the Shadowcats, The Crowns, Fighter D, Myles of Destruction, V for Vendetta, Boys of Now, Rubeo, The Automaticans, and Port Vale among others. The second half of the tour was accompanying fellow Heartcore band, The Haggard. The Little Deaths became fast friends with Emily and sts, who played furious hardcore. Their roadie Kirsten even joined The Little Deaths on stage, playing guitar for a song ("Drama Control") at their show in Austin, TX. The tour was generally successful (i.e. we didn't lose too much money- and take note: A tour diary with photos is in the works for the website!), but the band decided a short break was necessary upon returning to San Francisco. Whitney left the band, and The Little Deaths have decided to continue as a four-piece.

In January of 2000, The Little Deaths started writing new songs and booking more shows. Our plans are to play out a lot, do a brief tour of the west coast, and record our second album sometime near the end of the year. Hopefully 2001 will bring another U.S. tour.

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