Most bands go their entire careers without playing before a crowd of thousands. For 23RAINYDAYS, that chance came in 2004, before the band even had songs or a name, much less a stable line-up. They had all decided to quit music in order to pursue their careers. It was months later that they were offered the opportunity to open for Kill Hannah and the Violent Femmes at Live on Penn. They quickly put a new lineup together and in a matter of weeks they had written 15 new songs and were playing to 10,000 people on the streets of DC.

From such auspicious beginnings, 23RD have not only gone on to prove themselves as great songwriters focused on the national stage (they recently returned from a stint on the road with industrial founding fathers, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult) but also as a prolific recording act. In a little over four years, they’ve managed to record two full-length albums and a handful of EPs, mount three coast-to-coast US tours, get picked up as a MySpace Band of the Week and ink a new deal with Metro area record label, Radioactive Music.

Creating a sound self-described as “Dark Pop Synth Rock,” 23RD balance the doom and gloom perspective of their Goth roots with the consummate pop production that has been garnering them airplay across the Mid Atlantic. Listening to their songs ‘Monster,’ ‘Get a Gun,’ or ‘From Today Until Forever’ you get your fill of guitar but can feel a dance band dying to surface. In the words of singer Ian Kaine MacGregor “The people in our band are absolute music fanatics and we’re all the sort of misfits that liked everything from Depeche Mode to Motley Crue when we were growing up.”

Because of — or perhaps in spite of — that diverse range of influences, 23RD hesitate to be lumped in wholesale with any and all of the scenes their music touches upon. They are not goth and certainly not emo. 23RD’s music owes more to melodic, eyeliner-heavy British acts like Placebo, The Killers and The Cure than any MTV-friendly angst rock by a long shot.

The band — currently comprised of singer/guitarist MacGregor, bassist Bryan Kimes, and keyboardist Jonathan Lim — has big plans for 2009. They’ll be touring extensively in support of Radioactive’s re-release of their first album “From Today Until Forever,” and their newest release “Wonderful Disaster v2.” It promises to be the most ambitious touring schedule the band has ever tackled and they are also exploring the possibility of a trip to the UK. Based on the strength of 23RD’s accomplishments so far, D.C.’s favorite black-on-black-clad sons have alot to look forward to. It's almost a given that widescale recognition awaits 23RAINYDAYS.

Bands We've Shared the Stage With:
Kill Hannah, The 69 Eyes, Katatonia, Thrill Kill Kult, Modern English, Wednesday 13, Hanzel & Gretyl, Violent Femmes, RED, Guided By Voices, Program the Dead, 45 Grave, Bella Morte, Brett Scallions (Fuel)

23RD is:
Ian Kaine MacGregor
Vox, Guitar

Bryan Kimes
Bass, Backing Vox

Jonathan Lim
Synth, Piano