Noise Ratchet was a rock group that got started in April 1999 in the city of San Diego, Cailfornia. Their sound incorporated pop punk and power pop influences that helped them participate in some great tours, though it all didn't last long. The band's most prominent line-up was made up of Joel Hosler (bass/vocals), Roger Molina (guitar), and Brandon Young (drums). Their energy-filled shows meant that the group quickly began to gain local support.

Becoming a four-piece with Danny Lothspeich coming in, the band had a bunch of their own tunes soon ready, and they independently released their first EP, titled 'Why We Cry', only a few months before their very formation. Noise Ratchet's work gained much recognition, selling over 3,000 copies of the release and climbing to the top of mp3.com download charts. The year 2000 brought them a bunch of touring spots across California and even a few shows going off into the Midwest. Reviewers stated that 'Why We Cry' featured a riff-heavy sound coming across something like a Christian rock take on The Getup Kids and Jimmy Eat World, being sincerely spiritual as well as energetic.

Then, in January 2001, with Joel thinking of leaving the band, he asked the guys to bring in Jon Jameson to play bass. The band decided to give it a shot as they had already been talking about getting a new bassist; but little did they know that some of Joel's reasoning was to try to soften the blow if he left. However, after a few amazing shows with Jon, Joel decided to stay with the band and re-focus. The shows had been some of the best they had ever had in his opinion and brought him new inspiration.

Finally, in March 2001, despite offers from larger companies such as tooth and nail, Noise Ratchet opted for a more personal label and signed with The Militia Group. Soon after they began recording their first full-length release entitled "Till we have faces."

After the release of "Till we have faces" on April 2nd, 2002 Noise Ratchet began their first nationwide tour in May touring with the likes of Dashboard Confessional, The Juliana Theory, Switchfoot, Cool Hand Luke, and others throughout the year.

By the time 2003 came about Noise Ratchet was ready to hit it big. The year started with a tour with Switchfoot which upon returning to their hometown of San Diego they drew an incredible crowd of 2,000 fans singing along to every song. Later that year their final album for The Militia Group, a self titled EP, was released in May, and showed that Noise Ratchet was adequately prepared to rock with the big boys as they signed on with the major label American Recordings.

Immediately after signing with American Recordings Noise Ratchet started working on writing their major label debut and had dozens of demos recorded. The next several months were spent smoothing out the edges of the demos with the help of Rick Rubin while still touring across the country.

Yet it was not to be. As the band members faced conflicts with their label, everything seemed to collapse, and the album was shelved. The group itself folded in December 2004. Brandon Young went on to play in the band Delta Spirit. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.