The Format

About The Format

The Format started in 2002 when Nate Ruess and Sam Means decided Arizona wasn't giving them what they needed musically. They'd been in a band called This Past Year, watched it fall apart, and figured they'd try something different. They recruited Mike Schey, Don Raymond, and Marko Novelozo, and suddenly had a proper indie pop band that could actually pull off the theatrical arrangements Ruess kept hearing in his head.

Their first EP, the aptly titled "EP," came out in 2003 on Elektra Records, which seemed like a big deal until you remember how many bands got dropped by major labels in the mid-2000s. But before that particular disaster struck, they managed to release "Interventions + Lullabies" in 2003. The album had this scrappy, ambitious quality that made college radio stations pay attention. "The First Single" became exactly what its title promised, and "Wait, Wait, Wait" showed they could do earnest without tipping into maudlin.

The major label thing didn't work out. Elektra dropped them in 2005, which is probably the least surprising sentence you'll read today. They landed at The Vanity Label and started working on what would become "Dog Problems" in 2006. This one had a bigger sound, more confident arrangements, and songs that suggested they'd been listening to a lot of Queen and ELO. "Dog Problems" and "She Doesn't Get It" got them onto alternative radio, and "The Compromise" showed they could write a genuine heartbreaker when they wanted to.

The album did well enough that they could tour relentlessly, opening for bands like Motion City Soundtrack and Jimmy Eat World. They built a dedicated following, the kind that actually bought albums and showed up to club shows. But by 2008, something had shifted. Means wanted to stay in Arizona and focus on other projects. Ruess was getting restless, feeling like they'd taken The Format as far as it could go.

They announced their breakup in February 2008, played a handful of farewell shows, and that was it. Ruess went on to form fun., which became exponentially more famous than The Format ever was. "We Are Young" was everywhere in 2012, which must have been weird for people who remembered him singing about dog problems in half-empty venues.

Means kept making music in Arizona, producing and playing in various projects. The Format's two albums remained beloved by people who came of age in the mid-2000s indie scene, the kind of band that never got huge but meant everything to the people who found them.

In 2020, they quietly reunited to reissue their albums on vinyl. No big announcement, no reunion tour, just an acknowledgment that the work still held up. As of now, that's where things stand.

Shows are intimate despite modest crowd sizes. People actually listen instead of just standing there. The band plays tight and economical, no filler. Audience skews devoted rather than casual.

Known for The First Single, On Your Porch, Everything We Had, The First Single

See The Format Live