Bellyfull started as the creation of musicians who have gone full circle. Each member has played in bands with one another throughout their musical career. Todd Miramon has played with John Fleming in Last Generation, David Archuleta has played with Todd in previous bands and studio projects.
Originally started as a studio project by Todd, Bellyfull (originally called Call Box), began in 1997 after Todd (The Silent Kind) began writing new material and wanted different musicians to play on the album. Recruiting John Fleming (Last Generation, Scenic Roots) as producer, musician, and engineer, Todd entered into John's recording studio to start recording a new album. It was then that Todd asked long time friend David Archuleta to play Bass and recruited Gabe Perez on drums.
While asking different musicians to play on the album, the sessions began to get clustered and Todd & John decided to keep it simple. It was then that the four musicians continued to record and rehearse and the Call Box became a band. It was close to releasing their first EP when they learned another band was using the name Callbox. John renamed the band to Bellyfull, and in 1998 their first E.P. called '5 out of 12' was released.
The band started to play shows while the song "Lalenia" (co-written with Todd's friend Amy Morehouse) began to get attention with an entertainment company which lead them getting signed to a startup independent label and interest for an upcoming movie. Unfortunately, neither the movie or record label came to life.
It was then that the band decided to hit the studio once more to record a full length album which would include the 5 songs from their previous E.P. under the RBM Entertainment label. The self-titled album was released in 1999, and the band played more shows in Southern California to promote their new release.
Although labelled 'Adult Alternative' (Toad the Wet Sprocket, Gin Blossoms, etc), critics thought the band had other reminiscent sounds such as bands like The Smiths and The Wondermints.
As 1999 progressed, the band continued on with more shows and promotion but to no avail. David left the band towards the end of the year and a new bass player was sought. Shortly after finding a bass player, Todd decided to take a break from performing and wanted to pursue other things. The group disbanded at the end of 1999.
Bellyfull ended too early and left people wanting more. It would of been interesting to see what would have become of Bellyfull had the group not split.
In 2004, Gabe and Todd started rehearsing with two new members for a new project that could have been the sequel to Bellyfull, but it was clear that the chemistry between the original members was long gone and it quickly folded.
In 2009, RBM Entertainment remastered and released a sort of 'Best of' CD. Each member has gone on to other projects.
