Fil, Mike, Matt and Tim formed a band, then simply called "Flashlight", out of boredom and frustration and quickly moved from the small college town of Guelph to the much larger Toronto, Ontario. At first, they were unable to get the attention of nightclub owners, so they devised a fictitious talent agency, called the Harry Wells Booking Agency, which would "represent" them. With the agency as their intermediate, they quickly gained enough recognition to go on tour. They began touring across Canada in a van, with little to eat and nothing but their dreams keeping them going. ...show more

Fil, Mike, Matt and Tim formed a band, then simply called "Flashlight", out of boredom and frustration and quickly moved from the small college town of Guelph to the much larger Toronto, Ontario. At first, they were unable to get the attention of nightclub owners, so they devised a fictitious talent agency, called the Harry Wells Booking Agency, which would "represent" them. With the agency as their intermediate, they quickly gained enough recognition to go on tour. They began touring across Canada in a van, with little to eat and nothing but their dreams keeping them going.

In 1997, they managed to release a self-titled debut album through the Quebec-based Stomp Records, which they would follow up with the Running Season LP two years later. During this time they also managed to film a video for their song "Sonia Bianchi", which received air time on Much Music. By 2000, the band had established an impressive touring schedule and had added the word "Brown" to their name. They then released another self-titled album (under the new name) through Union 2112 (the new version of Stomp, which had recently merged with 2112 Records).

Midway through their 2002 tour, the band was contacted by Rob Cavallo, a man who was adored by the band members. Rob flew the band to Los Angeles, originally to record a two song demo, but this quickly turned in to a record deal with Hollywood Records. In April 2003, the band released their major label debut, My Degeneration, an album they deemed to be a "culmination of a 6 year career of living on the edge between a dream and despair". The album featured many re-recorded, old favourites along with some new material. ...show less