Bio

::Accolades::

Beat-Play
“The tracks are big, they breathe; they swell and fill rooms. The hooks are there, but they’re clever – not the nursery rhyme chants that so many pop-inclined musicians fall back on. It’d be exciting enough to hear this kind of music on the second or third album of an established group, but it’s something special for a debut that was entirely self-produced and recorded.”

The Deli Magazine
“The sweet chimes of the xylophone, the weeping electric guitar, and the lightly crashing cymbals will have you snapping your fingers and swaying side to side.”

Culture Pop
“T h e r e s e e m s t o b e a r e s u r g e n c e o f A l t e r n a t i v e - R o c k - P o p t h a t i s b e i n g p r o d u c e d o u t t h e r e , b u t l i k e t h e e a r l y 9 0’ s , n o t b e i n g e n t i r e l y r e c o g n i z e d y e t . A c t A s I f i s o n e o f t h e s e a r t i s t s. The band is spearheaded by singer/songwriter Peter Verdell, who at one time was a behind-the-scenes record label A&R personality for Drive Thru Records. Fortunately for us, he decided to not continue on that path and instead create & produce tunes for his newly formed band.”

Dyson Sound
“I’m a sucker for tracks that build into the ecstasy inducing, money note giving, tsunami sized swell of awesomeness. ‘There’s a Light’ gives me this, as well as many other tracks on the album.”

Speakers in Code
“No matter how many things we let go, no matter how many things that slip from our hands, there is always the next thing. The next bigger thing. That’s the vision of Verdell’s world.”

Scratch Magazine
“With a vaguely emo/hard-rock alternative style and a truckload of biting hooks, this is music that haunts and inspires. While many young musicians make obvious blunders on debut albums, it's tough to find any fault with this disc.”

Stereokiller
“Musically it's kinda like The Get Up Kids. Midpaced-to-slow rock jams with a lot of pop elements; acoustic guitars and a motherf*cking xylophone. It's a well played and produced pop record.”

::Quick Rundown::
Act As If is an indie/rock band from Los Angeles [influences include Death Cab, Coldplay, Jimmy Eat World]. They self-released their first full-length album in 2010, and have been steadily gaining momentum since. Songs from the album have been featured on Apple.com (OS X Lion promo video), on ABC's Cougar Town, CBS’s Live to Dance, and MTV's Jersey Shore, The Real World, The Buried Life, and 16 and Pregnant. 5 songs are also in rotation on DMX Radio (being played in retail nationwide). FUSE TV named Act As If a Fuse Favorite on their website, and featured a free download of the song "Old Souls." The Deli Magazine recently named them “LA Artist of the Month.” More goodness to come.

::Full Bio::
After self-recording and releasing Act As If’s first EP in 2006, frontman Peter Verdell spent some time running the gamut of singer/songwriter ups and downs.

Needing new breath, he quit his job as A&R assistant at Drive-Thru Records in 2007, began retaking music classes at a community college, and temporarily traded Los Angeles for Chicago in 2008 to drum and tour with friend/musician Andrew Ripp. In the fall of that year, Verdell made the decision to move back to LA and refocus on Act As If.

By the spring of 2009, the band recorded and self-released a limited edition 5-song EP (“More Birds with Fewer Stones”) for a west coast acoustic tour with Stacy Clark (Shangri-La/Vanguard Records). In June, Act As If began tracking 11 new songs that would become their debut full-length album, “There’s a Light”.

The sonic result of “There’s a Light” is most easily described as a mix of Death Cab for Cutie and early Jimmy Eat World. Verdell performed all the drums, guitars, pianos, synths, and vocals, while band mate Derrick Wong performed bass. The album was self-produced, mixed by Nick Baumhardt (of Thousand Foot Krutch [Tooth and Nail], The Class of 98 [The Militia Group], and FM Static [Tooth and Nail]), and mastered by Troy Glessner (Death Cab for Cutie, Pedro the Lion). A full band has since been formed, including drummer Diego De La Rosa, bassist Derrick Wong, and guitarist Chad Hines.

Recent activity has found Act As If playing such notable LA venues as The Troubadour and Silverlake Lounge, and with esteemed bands including The Daylights [Epic/Sony], Everybody Else [The Militia Group], The Higher [Epitaph], Barcelona [Universal], and Stacy Clark [Shangri-La/Vanguard], and Emery [Tooth & Nail]. Fuse TV featured the album as Fuseworthy on their site [along with Silversun Pickups, The Like, and Wolf Parade], as well as a Fuse Favorite [alongside Butch Walker]. Absolutepunk.net has featured the song “Know Your Name” as a free download on their site, and 5 songs from “There’s a Light” have been added to regular rotation on DMX Radio’s Adult Contemporary and Urban Alternative stations—being broadcast nationwide in restaurants and stores such as New York & Company, Tommy Hilfiger, and Champion Sports.

Songs from the album have also been featured on Apple.com (OS X Lion promo video), on ABC’s Cougar Town, CBS’s Live to Dance, and MTV’s Jersey Shore, The Real World, 16 and Pregnant, and The Buried Life.

[For more info, or for booking, contact actasifmusic@gmail.com]