The Black Marshmallows formed as a Southern Rock-inspired band in 2010 after singer and guitarist David Knowles returned to California after a 10-year stint in New York, where he played with such bands as Champale, Clem Snide and Luna. Knowles teamed up with drummer Roderick Wyllie, who he’d played with in bands since the two went to high school together in San Francisco, including MJB, Raining House, Clutch Cargo and Black Swans. The latter band, in which Wyllie still plays clarinet, is led by Black Marshmallows lead guitarist Roland Kniese, who also founded the experimental project Exquisite Corpse in the 1980s. Elliot Warren, a friend of Knowles’ from college, rounds out the group on bass, having played in a number of groups in the past few years, including Evening Post.