After five-plus years building a studio and recording trip-pop under the name Loquat, Kylee Swenson and Earl Otsuka realized they needed to get out of the studio before they developed an allergy to the sun. It was also a good point for Loquat to expand. With some luck, the duo (who both play guitar live) connected with drummer Christopher Lautz, bassist Anthony Gordon and keyboardist Ben Kasman. Armed with harmonies and electronically tinged guitar pop, the band played its first full-band show at San Francisco's Bruno's on Sept. 23, 2001 in San Francisco. Since then, Loquat has played at Great American Music Hall, Slim's, Bottom of the Hill, Café du Nord, The Make Out Room, Spaceland (in Los Angeles) and other Bay Area clubs. Loquat's first EP, The Penny Drop, was released in May 2002 and, although nearly sold out, is available in Bay Area record stores (Virgin Megastore, Aquarius and Amoeba, to name a few) and at various online stores. Orders have also been filled around the world through the band's Web site, www.loquatmusic.com, which has currently experienced more than 500,000 hits from Virginia to Argentina and beyond. The band©ˆs second EP release—on 10-inch vinyl—is one of a four-part seasonal series entitled Fall, and is available from Dreams by Degrees records (www.dreamsbydegrees.com). Various Loquat tracks have also found their way to compilations, including Listen.com©ˆs Listen Picks Vol. II, Amoeba©ˆs Amoeba Music Compilation Vol. IV and Dreams by Degree©ˆs upcoming Orange. Silke Tudor of the SF Weekly wrote about the band, "It's the combination of the superb musicians and their significant restraint that make Loquat so habit-forming." Of guitarist and lead vocalist Swenson, Tudor adds, "[Her] lyrical imagery-consisting of childhood playgrounds and paranoid delusions-matches an elfin voice replete with breathy melancholy and sultry languor." Think Björk, The Cardigans and Stereolab for a start. In 2003, Loquat introduced new keyboardist Ryan Manley. Since then, the band has been hard at work writing new music and aiming for the perfect balance of electronic and organic sounds. Most recently, Loquat took away the trophy for "Best Pop Group" at this year's SF Weekly Music Awards. And in November 2003, Modesto, Calif. label Devil in the Woods released a seven-song sampler of Loquat tracks and a cover of The Smiths' "There is a Light That Never Goes Out." Loquat is currently in the studio working on its debut full-length album, due out in 2004: