Originally formed during the autumn of 1996, National Skyline is the brainchild of Jeff Dimpsey. To fill the down time while touring the US in support of Hum's successful major label debut, You'd Prefer An Astronaut, Dimpsey set about writing a 40-plus minute song. At home (Champaign, IL) during a tour break he assembled a live band that included Nick Macri (C-Clamp, Euphone), Derek Niedringhaus (Castor, Sarge), and Dimpsey's eventual full partner in National Skyline, Castor's Jeff Garber. With brilliant chemistry born of friendship and shared influences, the group rehearsed a number of times and successfully completed writing the 45 minute song. National Skyline performed their epic in Champaign and Chicago's premier music venues, and in the spring of 1997 hired Poster Kid/Salaryman Rick Valentin to commit said epic to tape. Though the master tapes still exist, the tracks were not mixed and this incarnation of National Skyline never performed again.
After an aborted line-up in which American Football's Steve Lamos replaced Macri, Dimpsey and Garber retreated to Dimpsey's newly purchased 24-track home studio to proceed as a duo. Employing drum machines, keyboards, and samplers, the duo wrote a collection of songs, seven of which appear on National Skyline's debut mini-album. Fusing Antarctica's '80s revivalist retro-goth-pop genius with Radiohead and the streamlined gospel-empathy of U2's The Unforgettable Fire, National Skyline offers seven tracks full of painstakingly programmed electro-nuance and guitar-dreamscaping.
To further complicate National Skyline's family-tree, Garber and former Milk Magazine Co-Publisher/Compound Red member, Jim Minor, will tour the US during the summer 2000, sans Dimpsey. 2 guitars, one DAT machine, a massive light show, and beautiful male vocals, coming soon to a venue near you.

(Taken from www.parasol.com)

It's been a busy year for National Skyline. Between tours, member re-locations, and two EP releases ("S/T" on Hidden Agenda / "Exit Now"on File 13), Jeff Garber, Jeff Dimpsey, and James Minor came together last October in a Champaign, IL loft to record the ten songs of "This = Everything" (FT36).

Floating on broken beats and tranquil soundscapes, National Skyline's first full-length fills familiar voids with a frigid pop unheard since "Achtung! Baby" and Echo and The Bunnymen's self-titled swan song. These are haunted melodies that fill the empty corners of life.

After a change of plans, Jeff Dimpsey rerouted his move to Seattle, WA to Austin, TX where fellow Skyliner James Minor resides. Jeff Garber is missing in action after driving across country this past weekend to his new home in Los Angeles. Minor is still piecing together a live line-up for their summer tour (tentatively scheduled late-June - mid-July w/ Philadelphia's Aspera).

(Taken from www.file-13.com)