User:Hwmudgett/Amores Vigilantes

Amores Vigilantes is a San Francisco band founded by lead singers and songwriters Delfin Vigil and Kristian Casey Staubach. Vigil and Staubach originally founded the band in 1999 as Love Vigilante in honor of the New Order song, Love Vigilantes, but changed the name after deciding "it just sounded cooler in Spanish." Prior to Amores Vigilantes, Vigil and Staubach had been in several bands together dating back to 1990 when they met during English class at Benicia High School and began cutting classes to buy records, attend concerts and perform gigs throughout the Bay Area. In December 2009, Amores Vigilantes released its debut album West Coast Kingdom on Three Ring Records. Parts of the album were written and recorded in an abandoned room in the basement of the San Francisco Chronicle where Vigil worked as a reporter for many years. Keyboardist Jacob Schroth joined Amores Vigilantes halfway through the recording of West Coast Kingdom. Bassist Jason McCrarey joined the band in 2009. Both Schroth and McCrarey have been friends with Vigil and Staubach since childhood.

Since it's release, nine of the ten songs on West Coast Kingdom have received college and internet radio play. Among the guest musicians on West Coast Kingdom included Caleb Pate, lead singer of Seventeen Evergreen, Mark Gregory of Oakland hip-hop group, Hottub and trumpet-player Stephen Cavoretto of Mellow Drunk.

Three of Amores Vigilantes songs have also been added to the Starbucks in-store music rotation. Reviews have likened the band's sound to the Stone Roses, Lou Reed and Echo and the Bunnymen. In April 2010, the band released a limited edition single on Edition 59, a boutique label based out of Berlin that is known for releasing material associated with Creation Records.