became a staple of the New York hardcore scene, performing in Mind Over Matter, Inside, Clockwise and the Movielife. After leaving the Movielife, he started a new project, Runner-Up, which lasted briefly. He then contacted friends Antonio Longo (of One True Thing) and Steven DeJoseph. Longo suggested his childhood friend, John Nolan, as a second guitarist. Longo treated Nolan as family and was adamant he be included. After several bassists, Longo and Nolan brought childhood friend Jesse Lacey (of the Rookie Lot) into the fold. This marked the formation of Taking Back Sunday in Amityville, New York, in November 1999. DeJoseph was unable to tour extensively because of personal issues and was waiting until the band had another drummer before leaving the group. At a party, Nolan reportedly romanced Lacey's girlfriend, after which Lacey left the band having been a member for three to four months, and later formed Brand New. Guitarist Phil Hanratty of Errortype:11, who had played previously with Reyes in Clockwise, stood in temporarily on bass. Hanratty was friends with Lazzara and introduced him to the rest of Taking Back Sunday after a performance. Lazzara asked if they needed a permanent bassist, and drove from his hometown of High Point, North Carolina to Long Island to practice with them on one occasion. A month later, Reyes called him and asked him to join the band and move in with him. Mark O'Connell, who was friends with Reyes, had a practice session with them, after which Reyes and Longo asked him to join the band. After recording their self-titled EP, Longo left the band; Reyes stated that the main complaint that led to Longo's removal was his lack of ability as a singer and a lyricist. In December 2000, Lazzara switched from bass to lead vocals, he commented: "I remember getting into [Reyes'] Windstar with that [EP] and just driving around singing those songs, just to make myself actually do it." O'Connell suggested that the group needed a bassist and brought in Shaun Cooper, though the rest of the band needed convincing since they did not know him. Cooper, who had played with O'Connell in various bands throughout school, auditioned for Taking Back Sunday at the end of December 2000, playing his first show on New Year's Eve. In February 2001, the band released a five-track demo The Tell All Your Friends Demo; copies were given to anyone