No one will accuse The Extraordinaires of lacking ambition. In the three years since the band's inception, they've toured relentlessly, released two hand-bound hard-cover book/albums, and staged a touring musical theater production. The Extraordinaires' success has grown largely out of an unwillingness to conform to the known standards of the indie-rock scene. "Rock shows have become predictable and passe," says lead singer Jay Purdy, and the Extraordinaires are out to buck the trend. "We never, ever, ever want to do a normal live show."

The band debuted as an acoustic duo (Matt Gibson and Jay Purdy) in the summer of '04. With a handful of songs under their belt, the pair decided it was finally time to make their existence truly official by minting some new band buttons. That's when they were introduced to Frede Zimmer of Punk Rock Payroll. Jay and Matt hiked through a brutal South Philly blizzard that winter to meet Frede and commission their first 100 buttons. What neither they nor Frede knew was that a strong friendship was about to be formed, Punk Rock Payroll was about to become a label, and The Extraordinaires were about to be its first band.

Early in 2005, with the addition of keyboardist Jacob Wolf, The Extraordinaires began composing their debut album, Ribbons of War. The concept and story, about the disasterous romance of a sea-captain and an aviatrix, is proving to stand the test of time, being spun-off last fall into a theater production and now a forth-coming graphic novel by Jim Callahan (Rotting in Dirtville, Strange Detective Tales).

PRP played a vital role in the releases of both Ribbons of War and the following album, Short Stories. Short Sories is just as it sounds--a collection of short vignettes about everything from living in warehouses to desert dramas. Both albums are striking in their unique physical appearance, largely thanks to the efforts of Frede, who helped the band realize their vision of releasing both albums as illustrated storybooks.

The Extraordinaires have continued to progress, finally enlisting a full-time drummer, Peter 'The Hammer' Hurd. In 2008, the band plans to release a split 7" with labelmates Kill You In the Face, later in the year a new full-length album, and in the spring they can be found on tour once again with their super-high-energy Philadelphia comrades, Man Man.