Indie pop-rock band Hotel Lights was founded by Darren Jessee in 2003 (approximately) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina -- the city where, not coincidentally, Jessee's previous band, Ben Folds Five, originally formed in 1994. The highly successful Ben Folds Five was a trio consisting of Jessee, songwriter-pianist Ben Folds, and bassist Robert Sledge, along with various songwriting partners. Forming Hotel Lights could be seen as Jessee's attempt to recapture this past glory, only this time as the frontman of the band.

Jessee, the drummer and one of the principal songwriters for Ben Folds Five, initially pursued a solo career as a singer-songwriter in New York City after the band broke up in 2000. However, seeking to flesh out the material that he'd been developing on his own, he then decided to create a full-fledged band, Remover, which was quickly renamed Hotel Lights. A forthright conglomeration has taken place thus far...

On the Hotel Lights website, Jessee obliquely describes the concept behind the band's name by saying, "...when you see hotel lights in the distance you feel like 'yeah, I'm almost there', but when you stand in the bathroom and turn on the hotel lights, they are fluorescent and you see every scar."

The band's original lineup consisted of Jessee on lead vocals and guitar (and sometimes piano), former Archers of Loaf drummer Mark Price on drums, Roger Gupton on bass and vocals, and Chris Badger playing keyboards and guitar. Sound engineer Alan Weatherhead (The Comas, Sparklehorse, Camper Van Beethoven, Mary Timony) recorded the band's first album and their follow-up EP; he also performs pedal steel and guitar with Hotel Lights on occasion. Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) and others have also made sonic contributions.

As of 2005, the band had not been signed by a major label and was distributing their albums primarily through indie music retailer CD Baby, which files the band under the heading of "alt pop songs, acoustic guitar, lush keyboards." The official band website draws comparisons between Hotel Lights and Nick Drake, Court and Spark, and The Band.

I'm drinking. My pizza just arrived, and it was so late that I was daydreaming of saying "Shove it up your ass" and slamming the door on the guy. Lucky for him I'm starving.

you're gonna get banged!

I spent a fantastic evening with myself involving pizza, beer, strawberries, beer, chocolate, the painting of toenails, beer and Scrubs DVDs. And beer.