 Motion City Soundtrack formed in 1997 in Minneapolis , Minnesota . The band signed to Epitaph Records in 2003 after recording I Am the Movie , their debut , independently and selling copies of it out of the back of their tour van for a year . Motion City became part of a slew of Epitaph signings , including Matchbook Romance , Scatter the Ashes and From First To Last , amid concerns the Southern California label had strayed too far from its roots , and seemed " a little too emo . " By the time the band began production on their sophomore record , I Am the Movie had sold nearly 62 @,@ 000 copies . The group had accumulated significant buzz , and were regarded as a " must @-@ see " act on the Warped Tour 2004 . 
