From French bar circuit to soundtrack sensations (Created February 6, 2013)

From the early confines of a garage in the suburbs of Paris to the bright lights and big stages played worldwide, alternative rock band Phoenix got its touring start on the French bar circuit and never looked back.

Comprised of vocalist Thomas Mars, bassist Deck d'Arcy, guitarist Christian Mazzalai and his older brother Branco, Phoenix not only pressed 500 copies of its first single, but distributed them under the guise of their own label, Ghettoblaster. With an eclectic sound of rock and electronic music, they landed with Paris-based Source Records and became a backing band for labelmates Air on several television appearances.

The first single Phoenix released under its new label was "Heatwave," which held the sound of 70's disco. It was followed by "If I Ever Feel Better" and "Too Young," leading into the release of the debut album, "United" in 2000. It was the first of four major studio projects for the band, the latest being 2009's "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix." That album became a rich source of material for TV and movie soundtracks, with "1901" used for the trailer of the film "New York, I Love You," and the song "Lisztomania" featured in trailers for "Alice in Wonderland," as well as the season premiere of the then-ABC show "Cougar Town" and in episodes of USA's "Royal Pains," CW's "Gossip Girl" and "Vampire Diaries," HBO's "Entourage," and in the NBC series "Outsourced." An excerpt from "Love Like a Sunset" was also played on the CBS series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and the season 7 premiere of the CW's "One Tree Hill."

Phoenix won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album for "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," and appeared at a number of major music festivals in 2009 and 2010. Their fifth studio album is due for an April 2013 release, with a tour in support of the new album to include headlining spots at Coachella and a number of huge European events.