http://www.southern.net/southern/band/karat/

At the heart of it all, Karate is three intelligent guys, formally trained in music, eyes wide open to the world, with a respect for punk rock. Geoff Farina (guitar, vocals), Gavin McCarthy (drums) and Jeff Goddard (bass) met in Boston in 1993. Geoff and Gavin were attending Boston University, Jeff the New England Conservatory of Music.

Karate's one of those 'smart bands,' the kind that makes truly dumb musicians look even stupider. Geoff designs guitar amplifiers and is also involved in other bands, like The Secret Stars and some solo recordings. Gavin is still a scholar, earning a degree and looking forward to becoming a Ph.D. Jeff studies classical music and also plays with Come, The Ivory Coast and the Push Kings. [ed note: once upon a time, there was a fourth member of Karate, Eamonn Vitt. He quit a few years ago to give more time to his medical practice.]

Karate has traveled across the U.S. at least eight times, releasing three full-length records along the way. Their latest is Unsolved.