Austin's
Recover centered around vocalist/guitarist
Dan Keyes, guitarist/vocalist
Robert Mann, bassist
Ross Tweedy, and drummer
Santiago Vela III. The four friends started playing together in middle school (with a repertoire that consisted of
Green Day covers), but it wasn't until around 2000 that the guys became
Recover and started churning out the emo/post-hardcore blend they would become known for. Somewhat sounding like a mixture of
Jimmy Eat World and
Refused,
Recover recorded a four-song demo in the spring of 2000 that they sold copies of at the University of Texas at Austin's student union before their music found its way over to the folks at Fueled by Ramen via the band's friends in
the Impossibles. Hooking up with the label, the guys released their blistering debut full-length,
Rodeo and Picasso, in the summer of 2001.
Their incendiary live show and passionate songs fostered a loyal underground following, and
Recover followed up a year later with the
Brian McTernan-produced EP
Ceci N'Est Pas Recover on Fiddler Records. Touring over the years with acts like
Coheed & Cambria,
Thursday,
Taking Back Sunday,
Bad Religion, and
the Get Up Kids helped to further spread the love, but though respected, the band would never obtain the mainstream success of any of the aforementioned groups. In January 2003 they appeared on the four-way FBR split New. Old. Rare., alongside previously unreleased tracks from
Midtown,
Blueline Medic, and
Silent*Corporation. Meanwhile, the quartet had made the jump to the majors at the tail end of 2002 à la Strummer Recordings (Universal) for their next album. Recorded over an eight-month period with friend and producer
Rory Phillips (of
the Impossibles and
the Stereo fame), the rock-oriented
This May Be the Year I Disappear appeared in October 2004. After some nationwide touring,
Recover eventually went on an indefinite hiatus;
Keyes resurfaced in 2006 on Island Records with his new, danceable act,
Young Love.
–
Corey Apar, Rovi