A theory can be described as "a set of principles on which the
practice of an activity is based,” but, in the case of Parker Theory,
it is more like a collection of songs that reflect an on-going journey
through life … always moving forward, never satisfied to stay in one
place, determined to experience life to the fullest. Almost like
musical Polaroid snapshots through the window of a moving vehicle.

“It’s as if I had all these pictures, experiences and emotions in my
mind and wanted to bring them to life through music,” says Jesse
Pruett, lead singer and guitarist. “I had been writing songs at home
and knew it was time for a new beginning musically. I decided to start
the band because I wanted it to be something I could believe in and be
passionate about.”

Pruett asked his good friend Jeff Forrest, who owns Doubletime
Studio, to jump in on drums, and brought in two other friends for
guitar and bass.

Interest in the independent pop-rock band began shortly after Pruett
formed it in the summer of 2000. Their first recording, a self-titled
EP, impressed Steven Harwell, the lead singer of Smash Mouth and opened
the door for the band to begin playing some of the “cool venues” in
California with the novelty rock band, including Ventura Theatre, Coors
Amphitheatre, and Biola University. This immediately exposed the band’s
infectious melodies to a wide audience.

After a few years of growing recognition in San Diego, playing many
shows and enthusiastic local radio station airplay, Parker Theory
returned to the studio and recorded their debut album Can Anybody Hear
Me in late 2003. “We had a lot of songs written at the time, so we
decided to go into the studio and record a full length album” says
Pruett, who describes Can Anybody Hear Me as “full of life experiences
and relationships.” After finishing the album, Pruett asked Jeff to
move to keyboards and step in to sing more harmonies. “You don’t see
keyboards too often at shows in our genre,” he says.

The album quickly gained attention from radio, labels and fans, and
was nominated in the Orange County music awards, and the San Diego
music awards alongside some of the biggest names in the San Diego music
scene—Switchfoot, Unwritten Law, Jason Mraz, and Slightly Stoopid. The
first track “She Said” topped mp3.com’s pop rock chart and led to
Fabtone Records releasing a twenty-song, two-disc recording in Japan,
which included Can Anybody Hear Me and songs from the band’s following
EP, One Purpose, One Destination, which they wrote and recorded in
2005. “She Said” was also the top pick in a University of Columbia
research project featured in the National Geographic news where 14,000
participants chose their favorite song without knowing who the bands
were.

The following year Pruett decided to write a new album at home on
acoustic guitar. “I wanted to try and just write what was coming out
naturally and what I was feeling or thinking about at the time and
focus on the basics,” he says. After months of writing, he got back
together with Forrest and his bass player Jon Upson, and asked his
friends—drummer Jarrod Alexander, and guitarists Nick Maybury of Future
of Forestry and Rob Fikse—to play on the album. The album was produced
by Pruett and recorded at Doubletime Studio with Forrest (Blink 182, As
I Lay Dying, Incubus).

Leaving California is a package of cleverly penned alt-pop-rock
songs. With strong melodies ala Crowded House, it sonically covers
ground somewhere between Jimmy eat World and Snow Patrol. The strong
singles on the album, “In the End,” “Shoe Song,” “I Believe,” and
“Build You a House,” would not be amiss on movie soundtracks,
advertisements, and television shows such as WB’s Smallville, Grey’s
Anatomy, and One Tree Hill. “I think musically we have a lot of
different feels on this new record,” says Pruett. “I like so many
different styles of music that I think that comes out in the record.”

The stories, experiences, and passions on Parker Theory’s eclectic
sophomore release share the universal laughter, sadness, joy and hope
of the adventure of life. Pruett says he hopes “people find strength,
healing, vision for their life, and happiness” in listening to the
album. “I feel like there is so much out there to experience. That is
why I decided to name it “Leaving California.” We are on a journey and
I don’t want to stay in one place. This goes for all aspects of my
life. I want to always be moving forward and enjoying life to the
fullest.”

Following the success of the band’s first album in Japan, Fabtone
Records also released Leaving California in Japan in early April, and
the band toured there for the first time in May.

Parker Theory released Leaving California in the U.S. on May 15
through Rescue Records (Mri/Sony Red Distribution), which is owned by
Noah Bernardo—the father of Noah “Wuv” Bernardo Jnr. of San Diego-based
band P.O.D, and the uncle of Sonny Sandoval, the band’s front man.