Formed in Los Angeles in 1991,
the Wondermints slowly built a reputation as a cornerstone in the city's pop underground. While the band's status grew, several members individually made names for themselves as expert sidemen, eventually elevating
the Wondermints to a sort of underground supergroup. Big names in the industry, such as
Eric Carmen and former
Dramarama member Chris Carter (who subsequently became the band's manager), started to take note, finally paying off when
Brian Wilson recruited them as part of his backing band for his comeback to the stage in 1999.
Beginning as a collaboration between keyboardist
Darian Sahanaja and guitarist
Nick Walusko,
the Wondermints released a series of home-recorded cassettes and by 1992 enlisted the talents of bassist Brian Kassan. Drummer Mike D'Amico entered the fold a year later and the quartet continued to release homemade recordings. Toy's Factory Records of Japan found interest in the band and in 1995 released their first official album, the contents of which were compiled from the home recordings, but right around the time of this release, Kassan chose to leave the ranks.
Regardless, given the greater exposure,
the Wondermints secured places on several tribute and compilation albums. Multi-instrumentalist
Probyn Gregory agreed to fill the slot Kassan had vacated, and in the fall of 1996 the group released The Wonderful World of the Wondermints, a record entirely of covers -- something of an abnormality for a group's second outing. They followed The Wonderful World of the Wondermints with a track for the immensely successful
Mike Myers film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Penned by
Sahanaja, the track opened up the doors to
the Wondermints' first stateside distribution deal, with EMI, and in 1998 the group finally released their first official non-compilation all-original album, Bali, to fantastic reviews. A year later,
the Wondermints released the EP Cellophane.
When
Brian Wilson enlisted the band for his surprising resurgence as a live performer,
the Wondermints were exposed to the masses as the meat of his backing band. The collaboration proved so successful that
Wilson brought the band out in 2000 to perform the classic
Pet Sounds live in its entirety, then again on world tours in 2001 and 2002. The group found time amidst this heavy touring to record Mind If We Make Love to You, released in 2002, which featured, naturally, a guest appearance from
Wilson. The Wondermints and
Wilson took 2003 off from touring and
Darian Sahanaja joined
Heart for their summer tour before work on
Wilson's 2004 solo release, Gettin' in Over My Head, began.
Wilson again took
the Wondermints out on tour in early 2004, debuting the lost
Beach Boys masterpiece
SMiLE over 30 years after the project was initially abandoned, and was so invigorated with the performances that he announced plans to release a re-recorded version of
SMiLE with
the Wondermints. This time he made due on this promise, as the album was released on Nonesuch in the fall of 2004, officially rocketing
the Wondermints to sizable importance in the history of rock & roll. Kaleidoscopin': Exploring Prisms of the Past appeared in 2009. ~ Gregory McIntosh