Brazen perfectionists and part-time fuck-ups, The Situation first emerged in 2001 as rising stars of a Philadelphia music scene starting to create waves nationally thanks to a wealth of extraordinary new talent. The group had its origin in late 1999 when Christopher Tucker -- pumped full of prescription opiates having just been discharged from the hospital after being jumped and beaten -- bumped into an old friend from Delaware, Joe Castro, at a Beck/Oasis show; Tucker had nicknamed him “Joey Marr” because of his agile guitar playing, referring to The Smiths’ renowned guitarist. The two agreed to try to form a band and started working together when Christopher impetuously left for Los Angeles with four hundred dollars at three A.M. in the middle of a blizzard sometime in January 2000.

Tucker wound up in Silver Lake, formed and broke up four different line-ups, feeling “caustically alone” the whole time. Throughout, he was writing material at a feverish pace, recording one tune with his friends The Brian Jonestown Massacre. He also stayed in touch with Castro the whole time, sending him tapes of the new songs. While visiting Delaware for a wedding, he arranged to record with Joe and other local musicians. This gathering wound up being the maiden voyage of a combo that would eventually gestate into The Situation. Those assembled recorded a make-shift version of the anthemic “(What Keeps You) Keepin’ On?” only moments after first meeting one another. Six months later, Christopher moved to Philadelphia and The Situation officially became a band which included bassist “Laz,” known for his cool, rolling, “butterscotch” bass lines, guitarist Castro, and John Paul Travis, the kind of drummer most groups only dream of jamming with let alone having as a full time member.

The Situation performed their very first live show at the now-defunct Upstage in Philadelphia on March 1, 2001. The band’s sound developed quickly as a result of numerous performances at the Khyber and their strong desire to forge a sound all their own, transcending genre and beggaring ready comparisons to any and all other acts. After a handful of CDRs circulated with both “The Greatest Thing” and “The Best Prescription Pill Available,” (the latter was referred as the work of “absolute fucking pop genius” by the Philadelphia Weekly), The Situation began to generate a considerable amount of local attention. Some six months later, working in a variety of studios, the boys finished definitive versions of “(What Keeps You) Keepin’ On?” and the unbelievably raucous “Why I Can’t Relate.” These two songs completed the rest of their debut, “The Reece Nasty EP,” which had its first-run release by their managers. Elephant Stone Records (a Los Angeles-based independent label distributed through Dionysus/Mordam) subsequently picked up the E.P. and will be releasing the record nationally this coming September.