Based in Encinitas and Carlsbad, the Paragraphs were founded in early 2009 by Mike Hunt (drums) and Jesse Lee Hofbauer (vocals, guitar). After two EPs (2009’s Gallows EP and 2010’s Hey! EP) and a couple of tours, they were joined by the mutual friend who introduced them, Abel Perez (bass). They released a split 7-inch with Trouble in the Wind in 2011, with second guitarist Adam Feilmeier joining in 2012. Later, Kyle Areford manned the guitar and his brother Jason Areford played bass.
The band’s debut full-length +/-, recorded at White Horse Recorders and engineered by Aaron Swanton, was released October 7, 2012, with its first single “There is Nothing You Can Do.” Two other new songs, “Gone Away Bluebird” and “Turns to Dust,” were recorded at Lost Ark for the Lost Ark Studio Compilation Volume 4. The studio has also recorded singles with Blackout Party and others.
January 2013 was spent touring the California coastline for a series of dates Trouble in the Wind and Broken Bridge Collective. Their next tour took them through Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, wrapping up in San Diego at the Palace Ballroom on April 20, 2013, with occasional tourmates Family Wagon.
In September 2014, they were named Best Rock at the San Diego Music Awards. The next few years saw multiple lineup changes and several recording sessions that would remain unreleased. Five years after their debut album, their sophomore full-length dropped in 2017, It's Always Never.
May 2019 saw the release of a ten-song self-titled full-length, with a lineup featuring co-founders Jesse Lee Hofbauer and Mike Hunt backed by Jason and Kyle Areford.