The Secret Machines

Secret Machines
Secret Machines, performing at Metro, on October 24, 2008. Left to right: Josh Garza, Phil Karnats, Brandon Curtis.
Background information
Origin	Dallas, Texas, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, space rock, new prog
Years active	2000–2010
Labels	Reprise
Associated acts	Interpol (band), Preteen Zenith, School of Seven Bells, Tripping Daisy, UFOFU, Captain Audio, Electric Flower, EmptyMansions
Members	Brandon Curtis Josh Garza Phil Karnats
Past members	Benjamin Curtis

Secret Machines were a three-piece American alternative rock band. Originally from Dallas, Texas, before moving to New York City, they describe their musical style as space rock. The original lineup consisted of two brothers, Brandon (vocals, bass guitar and keyboards) and Benjamin Curtis (guitar and backing vocals), and Josh Garza (drums). In March 2007, Benjamin left the band, and was replaced by Phil Karnats.

Before forming Secret Machines, the members played in various Dallas bands such as UFOFU, Captain Audio, Comet, When Babies Eat Pennies, and Tripping Daisy. Captain Audio was formed by Garza and vocalist/guitarist/chief songwriter Regina Chellew in the late 1990s as a two-piece noise duo. Brandon — and occasionally Ben — Curtis joined soon after as the original duo began to develop a more standard rock sound. In a few months the band was getting regular local press, and in a little over a year they had recorded and released the EP My Ears Are Ringing But My Heart's OK (1999) and the full-length Luxury or Whether It Is Better To Be Loved than Feared (2000) to positive reviews. Shortly after the release of Luxury the band went on extended hiatus and eventually disbanded when Garza and the Curtises moved to New York, leaving Chellew in Dallas to form the band Chao and later join indie pop outfit The Happy Bullets.

Sonically, Captain Audio and Secret Machines are very similar, much more so than any of the members' other former bands. Although Captain Audio employed more experimentation and sound collage and Secret Machines are a more structured indie rock band, the Captain Audio records form the template that the Curtis brothers built upon when they headed for New York. In the liner notes for Captain Audio's Luxury, all of the additional musicians who played on the album are credited simply as "Secret Machines".