Bandmates Adam Brandt and Jeffrey Earl came up with the name "National Barks" to honor their first demo recordings as a newly created Cincinnati band. Each track unintentionally included Brandt's dogs barking in the background as pedestrians passed their practice space. Fortunately, the music matched the hounds' haunting howls, so the name stuck. With a retro, spooky vibe, National Barks explores a side of rock that will make you feel like you're riding along with the gang solving mysteries or watching a closeup shot of Uma Thurman's Feet. National Barks features Adam Brandt on guitar and vocals; Jeffery Earl on drums and vocals; and Joe Memory on bass.

Brandt and Earl met in 2010 while sharing margaritas with mutual friends in a greasy chicken wing diner on High Street in Columbus. As the friends discussed upcoming dates for Earl's post-punk band, Brandt - who had just started playing solo shows for small groups of friends - was asked to open their next show and warm up the crowd. He agreed but only if he could have part of the band back him up. With a few margaritas down the hatch, Brandt joined Earl in his damp basement practice space to plan their set.

Brandt and Earl quickly formed a strong friendship and a new band - The Helionauts. The Helionauts played alternative, poppy, progressive, funky rock throughout the Columbus area for five years until the band reached a crossroads. Brandt had completed school, Earl wanted to go back to school, and both felt trapped in mind-numbing corporate jobs. They decided to disband The Helionauts to get a fresh start on life and music.

In Cincinnati, Brandt and Earl wanted to strip away the old sounds they were used to - punk, progressive, rock - and add a new vibe to their music. Through a year of songwriting, they found inspiration in classic 1950s and 1960s pop and rock songs which brought Earl back to the summers of family road trips in his mom's car. They released their first EP National Barks in 2016 with little success, but continued, through trial-and-error, playing new songs at local shows and festivals, and found that listeners resonated with the band's spooky vibe and retro hooks. The band focused on these elements in the second EP PUPCAKE released in 2018. The band created a trilogy of music videos to accompany three songs from the EP. After local success with PUPCAKE, the band continued exploring the spooky retro vibes writing for their third release. After years of roster changes, bassist Joe Memory joined the band as it prepared for its 2020 EP—Something I Can't Shake Off. Though new to the band, Memory greatly influenced the sound and themes of this new set of songs - creating tight and dynamic bass grooves as well as arranging synth, organ, and guitar melodies. Something I Can't Shake Off comes out Friday 10/2/20. The EP will be available through all digital and streaming platforms.