The Telegenic is Tom Petty in a drunken fist fight with Bruce Springsteen at a party thrown by The Clash where the News is on the TV full blast but no one sees it because everyone is watching the fight. The Telegenic as such became a band in 1999, but Heath and Etz have been playing in bands together since high school and this is the core and foundation of The Telegenic's identity. In fact the musical relationship of Heath and Etz predates their ability to play any instruments at all. Heath and Etz decided to start a band because they felt a need to convey something. And then they started playing guitar and drums. Etz and Heath played in several different groups over the years, recording two independent records, the latter of which contained tracks produced by Dennis Herring (Counting Crowes, Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker, etc), and mixed by Nick Didia (Pearl Jam, STP, Bruce Springsteen, etc). Around this time, Etz met Matt Johnson while they were playing in a side project together with Tom Morello (Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine) and asked Johnson to play guitar on a few songs that he and Heath were recording. The chemistry between the three was instantaneous and shortly thereafter The Telegenic was formed. Adding Scot Falkenstien on Bass, Jason Federici (Son of Danny Federici, ... the E Street Band) on Organ and Tiffany Hamilton on Back up Vocals, The Telegenic was complete. Telegenic's approach to songwriting assumes that the band itself lies exactly in the middle of the greater rock timeline and it takes a sudden but penetrating glance in both directions every time it writes a note. When the group plays one of their songs you can hear them looking all the way back to Elvis and asking, "Ok, what have we learned?" and looking forward asking, "Where will we take this?" This timelessness of their music complements the universality of Heath's lyrics. They reflect each other perfectly. The Telegenic is rocks synthesis springing forward. The Telegenic is a rock multivitamin. It is the Rosetta Rock. The Telegenic is the type of rock that comes through the car stereo and turns itself up. It is the rock that plunges you into the explosion of life, where you can feel the flames, but endure them. Where someone knows you, sees you, is you..
