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The band, which is now known as Monacy, was initially the brainchild of Drummer Nick Ruffini. While living in Ocean City, Maryland in 2001, Nick had the idea of a studio project that he wanted to create by using some of the finest musicians in the Chester County area. Upon moving back, he made the call to bass player Ryan Snyder. “Ryan and I played for a while and decided it was time to add another element”, says Nick. After auditioning 7-10 guitarists, James McLaughlin, who was an acquaintance of Nick's in high school, came in to try out. “After hearing him play, I knew that he was a good guitar player but I didn't think that he had the sound that we were looking for. That's when he told me that he also plays the piano. Once I heard him play, I told him to leave his guitar at home and to bring his keys with him”, laughs Nick. James was now the full-time pianist for the band. After adding James, it was back to square one…the search for a guitar player. Finally, a break came at a Christmas party at Nick's parent's restaurant when he was introduced to Brian McNally, who was dating one of the waitresses that worked there. “We got together right after New Year's and I remember thinking to myself, ‘finally …we have a guitar player and singer.’” The band was now complete, trading under the name Vehicle. After a few months of playing, the band went into the studio and recorded a brief 2-track EP. Once the EP was done, problems arose with conflicting schedules, and unfortunately Ryan Snyder left the band to pursue other interests. “Once Ryan left, we needed to find a bass player, which is a long process because good bass players are few and far between.” After 6-8 months of looking, Nick met Drew Pritchard at a bar in Kutztown, where they both went to school. Drew came down to check out the scene and was enthused to play. “It was such a breath of fresh air when he came in and played ‘cause it was like, ok, ok here we go…we've got a new bass player…we're back!” Once Drew joined the band, Vehicle became The Reason and the rest is history… The Reason debuted in February 2003 at Rex's in West Chester with The Drones (solo project of The Bloodhound Gang's DJ Q-Ball) and have been playing regularly ever since. In September of 2004 The Reason decided to have guitarist Brian Nash join the band as a full-time member. “We couldn't be happier about the decision…it was a long time coming. We had entertained the notion for while but wanted to wait till the four of us had our stuff together before we added another element”, says Nick. “Once we did, Nash was in and that was that.”