rock. I think it's just as much of a dick as it is a savior. I love Bad Religion and Rancid and Green Day, but I'm not gonna throw my fist up in the air for the institution of punk rock." In late 2002 the group was contacted by a Chicago band also called the Locals, led by frontwoman Yvonne Doll, threatening a copyright infringement lawsuit if they did not change their name. They complied, renaming themselves the Matches. E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals (2003–2005) The Matches recorded their debut album, E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals, in a series of basements and living rooms and self-released it in February 2003. The title was a tongue-in-cheek reference to Yvonne Doll and the band's forced name change. Harris and San Souci created the album's artwork (Harris also co-designed the artwork for Earlimart's 2004 album Treble & Tremble). Through self-promotion and performances with bands including Reel Big Fish, Lit, and Zebrahead, the Matches gained attention for their energetic live shows and sold over 4,000 copies of the album without the support of a record label. A show at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California on October 21, 2003 was filmed, and released the following July as part of Kung Fu Records' live concert DVD series The Show Must Go Off! The band contributed the song "December Is for Cynics" to the compilation A Santa Cause: It's a Punk Rock Christmas, released in November 2003. By year's end, the Matches had signed to Epitaph Records. The label had E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals re-mixed by Joe Barresi and re-released it in May 2004 with a slightly altered track list. The Matches performed on that summer's Warped Tour, which they would repeat in the three subsequent years. They appeared, along with the A.K.A.s, as guests on the Dwarves track "Kids Today" on the compilation Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2, released in August 2004. That November, a music video was released for the song "Chain Me Free", and the band went on tour opening for Yellowcard. At this time, the Matches' music was rooted in pop punk. Reviewing the re-release of E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals, Rolling Stone remarked that the band "join the long list of punk-pop bands that have made their clichéd mark on today's music scene" and "wear the influences of Green Day and Rancid proudly." The Dallas