Pretty Girls Make Graves formed in Seattle in 2001, named after The Smiths song of the same name . Andrea and Derek had played together previously in the Hookers, as well as the Death Wish Kids and Area 51 along with Dann Gallucci, with whom Derek had formed Murder City Devils. Not long before the Murder City Devils disbanded, Derek and Andrea formed Pretty Girls Make Graves along with Jay, Nick and Nathan.
The phrase "pretty make graves" was originally coined by Jack Kerouac in his 1958 book The Dharma Bums in referrence to his then Buddhist lifestyle of celibacy. In short, the first of The Four Nobel Truths in Buddhism is that "all life is suffering." Keroauc reasoned that lust "was the direct cause of birth which was the direct cause of suffering and death." In essence, "pretty girls make graves."
The band released their first EP on Dim Mak before releasing their debut album Good Health on Lookout Records in April 2002. With the departure of Nathan Thelen in March of 2004, Leona Marrs formerly of HintHint joined as the keyboardist.
Current Line-Up Andrea Zollo - Vocals Nick Dewitt - Drums, Samples, Keyboards, Vocals Derek Fudesco - Bass, Vocals Jay Clark - Guitar, Keyboards, Samples Leona Marrs - Keyboards (2004-)
Previous Members Nathan Thelen - Guitar, Vocals (2001-2004)