When New Yorkers Shawn Christensen, Amanda Tannen and Arthur Kremer met at the Pratt Institute of the Arts in the late 1990s in Brooklyn, the trio couldn't have guessed the tremendous success that would soon follow them out of the ‘90s and into the ‘00s. Through a number of gigs, groups and songs the trio eventually formed the indie rock group stellastarr*, which has earned them tremendous fame and a number of Billboard hits with a new wave rock/pop feel similar to that of the Pixies or Talking Heads.Christensen, Tannen and Kremer formed the group Ghistor in 2000 while still attending the arts school in Brooklyn, but the artists needed more time to hone their musical abilities. After the joke of a music group split up, the three tried their hands at 9-5 type work but were itching to reconvene in the music world. As fate would have it, Kremer discovered the band's future guitarist (and former Charlotte's Funeral member) Michael Jurin living in his old apartment when he went back to get some mail and Jurin almost instantly became the band's new addition. Starting anew with the name stellastarr*, the four musicians embarked on a journey to conquer the indie rock world.Stellastarr* landed a deal with Tiswas and released their first EP Somewhere Across Forever in 2002, followed by the band's full-length self-titled album in 2003. Stellastarr* featured the hit songs "Jenny" and "My Coco," and readied the world for the band's next release, 2005's Harmonies for the Haunted. The album fought for a spot on the Billboard charts, and the quirky yet mysterious single "Sweet Troubled Soul" made it to number 37 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Stellastarr* has since spent time touring the country, attracting a hefty fan base.