Los Angeles shoegaze/indie rock band Foreign Born actually began a few hundred miles north, when singer Matt Popieluch moved in with friend and guitarist Lewis Pesacov after they graduated from San Francisco State University together in 2003. A jam session going-away party for a friend spawned the idea of starting the group, and a few well-received performances around town convinced them that it was a good idea. Soon they added drummer Garrett Ray and Pesacov's high school friend and bassist Ariel Rechtshaid (who had also worked as a vocalist, guitarist, and producer for various bands) and moved down to Los Angeles in the spring of 2004. In 2005 their EP In the Remote Woods came out on Star Time Records, followed in 2006 by a self-released limited edition (only 300 copies were pressed) tour-only EP, Loud Times in the Valley. In August 2007, signed to Dim Mak Records, Foreign Born released their full-length debut, On the Wing Now, which had actually been self-released in 2006 (limited to 500 copies) but with a different track order.