Absentees are a punk rock band out of Detroit’s “Downriver” regions. Formed in the fall of 2009, when friends and old band mates Matt Gawne and John Quillen decided to have a jam session with their friend Tony Dunn. They began writing songs immediately and decided to become a band. Knowing they would need a name, Matt suggested Absentees because “it made sense”. On January 8, 2010 they played their first show. In the summer of 2010, they submitted a demo version of "Skate or Die" to Blondie's. The owner asked what show they would be interested in. On August 14, 2010 Absentees would open up for Vanilla Ice and were met with great success. They outsold every act, including the Ice Man himself. On June 16, 2011 Absentees set out to Woodshed Studios to record their first full length album “Anywhere but here”.
