My Favorite Highway are headquartered in northern Virginia, where cousins Dave and Will Cook formed the pop/rock combo in January 2006. Musicians cycled in and out of the lineup for several years, including guitarists Andrew Goldstein (who left later that year to front his own band, Friday Night Boys) and Brian Morgenthaler (whose brother Bobby handles drums for the group). With permanent guitarist Pat Jenkins on board, the band began crafting songs culled from a number of influences, from the punky energy of All-American Rejects to the smooth pop/rock of the Fray. Sales from the bands 2006 EP, Anywhere But Here, helped finance a second recording, which they released independently in July 2008. How to Call a Bluff furthered the bands career by attracting the attention of Virgin Records, which signed the group in November and reissued the album in early 2009. ~ Andrew Leahey