Although the radio-friendly Italian rock of La Differenza didn't appear until February 2004 with the release of their debut single, "In un Istante," the members of the band had been friends for a while, and the idea of the band had been in existence since the mid-'90s, when the guys were all growing up in the same Abruzzan town of Vasto. After scattering across the country to go to school, in 2001 singer Fabio Falcone, bassist Giuseppe "Gio" Martinelli, and keyboardist Simone "Jakka" Zaccagna reconvened in Bologna, where Falcone was located, starting the NonHaSenso studio, a place where the early songs of La Differenza were developed and recorded. With the addition of guitarist Fabio Tumini and drummer Davide Marcone, the band released "In un Istante" in 2004, and the following year competed in the annual Sanremo Festival, placing fourth in the "Giovani" (or "New Artists") section with their song "Che Faró." La Differenza issued their full-length debut, Preso, in March, and following a nationwide summer tour and an expedition around Europe, returned to the studio for their sophomore follow-up, Un Posto Tranquillo, released in the summer of 2007. ~ Marisa Brown