FOUR MINUTES TIL MIDNIGHT's story began around 2004, when the vocalist Eli Taylor and bassist Jonathan Green moved to California to attend Musicians Institute. There they met with guitarist Kenta Hayashi and drummer Joshua Vore, but after only one show in May 2005 the bassist Jonathan Green decided to leave the band. Green sadly passed away later in September 2009.
Following from Green's departure, Andre Davis joined the band. The band played in venues such as House of Blues, The Viper Room and Canes in 2005, but finally gained recognition when they won The Battle of the Bands in Los Angeles later in 2006. Soon thereafter they released their first album, Oak Tree, which sold over 10,000 copies. After the release they did their first Japan tour with eleven shows visiting cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
The band changed their base to San Diego around 2007, where they opened concerts for bands like Common Sense, The Expendables and Greyboy Allstars. In 2008 their bassist Davis decided to leave and was subsequently replaced with U-Kay. In June 2009 they released their second album, Find My Way. They then visited Japan again, where they played 64 shows in just 90 days, gaining a lot of fans and refreshing the Japanese music scene.
By the end of 2011, both albums had sold over 20,000 copies in the US and Japan. Their first single, Cold Lonely Train, reached Japanese radio chart ”Usen” soon after its release at 2010. In 2012, FOUR MINUTES TIL MIDNIGHT was selected to cover Nirvana's Lounge Act for the Nevermind Tribute album alongside bands such as ONE OK ROCK, 10FEET and 9mm Parabellum Bullet. After their successful cover they were signed to the label Universal Music Japan, where they released their first major debut album on May 16th of 2012, which carries the band name as its title.
Right now the band is writing and recording their next album, which is due to come out in 2014. Their goal is to connect with each individual; from the first-time listener to the die-hard fan, through the love and art that is their music, as told by guitarist Hayashi.
