Tom Higgenson

Plain White T's
Plain White T's performing in 2015; from left to right: Tim Lopez, De'Mar Hamilton, Tom Higgenson, Mike Retondo.
Background information
Origin	Lombard, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Pop punk pop rock emo alternative rock indie rock
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Fearless Hollywood
Website	plainwhitets.com
Members	Tom Higgenson Dave Tirio Tim Lopez Mike Retondo De'Mar Hamilton
Past members	Steve Mast Ken Fletcher

Plain White T's (read as "plain white tees") is an American rock band from Lombard, Illinois, formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson (Who wrote a song for a girl in a relationship to try to win her over, and make her leave her boyfriend to be with him), Dave Tirio, and Ken Fletcher. They were joined a short time later by Steve Mast. The group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs and bars in its early years.

The band is best known in the USA for the number-one hit song "Hey There Delilah", which achieved platinum status in 2007 and earned two Grammy nominations, as well as "1234" and "Rhythm of Love", which were certified platinum in 2009 and 2011.

The Plain White T's was formed in Lombard in early 1997. The group began as a trio, with Higgenson as singer and guitarist, Fletcher on bass guitar and Tirio on drums. The group played mostly local punk shows in Chicago's suburbs, eventually having gigs at the Metro in Chicago's Wrigleyville neighborhood. As the band began to establish itself in the local scene, a fourth member was recruited, Steve Mast, who joined playing lead guitar and sang backing vocals.

Higgenson broke several vertebrae in a car crash in 1999 while driving the band's van. He was in a back brace for three months and had to learn to walk again. Higgenson changed his song-writing process, choosing songs that were more meaningful to him, and the band began taking its music career more seriously.

In 2000, the band recorded its first album, titled Come on Over. In 2002, the band self-financed the recording of Stop, a full-length album that attracted the attention of Fearless Records. While the band toured in support for the album, both Fletcher and Mast left and were replaced by Tim Lopez and Mike Retondo. Shortly after in 2003, Tirio decided to switch from drumming to rhythm guitar and a new drummer named De'Mar Hamilton was added to the line-up.