The Pickups (www.thepickups.ca) are a four-piece from Toronto, Canada that blends raucous power pop, introspection and twang. The Pickups formed in 2003 when Sarah Greene (songwriter, vocals and guitar) joined forces with her roommate Signe Miranda (percussion and vocals) and her friend Martin Crawford (songwriter, vocals, guitar, lap steel). After a few impromptu shows around Toronto, Owen Keenan (songwriter, bass and vocals), who worked with Sarah at a local bookstore, rounded out harmonies and rhythm. The quartet crafted a sound from a diverse range of influences including Cowboy Junkies sweetness, Beatlesque pop and Yo La Tengo fuzzery. Bringing together ten songs full of everyday poetry, the band started recording their self-titled album in the summer of 2004. It was a low-key process, mostly using a single microphone on a portable 8-track digital studio in various apartments around Toronto. Produced by Owen Keenan and Martin Crawford and mastered by Jeff McMurrich, the album was released in September 2005, and The Pickups toured the album in Ontario and Quebec. It received airplay on college radio stations across the country. The Pickups are currently recording a follow-up release to be produced and engineered by Don Kerr (Ron Sexsmith, The Rheostatics). There are other bands in the world named The Pickups: indie band formed in sheffield. ben beatie on drums, joe mcdonnel on bass and backing vocals, ryan archer on rhythem guitar and jon wright on lead vocals and lead guitar. first gig played on the 8th of november 2006 in the cricketers arms along with JPE and VAN. There is also a band of the same name that come from Christchurch, New Zealand comprising of William Daymond (Guitar / Vocals) Jared Kelly(Bass)and Isaac Mawson (Drums). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.