michael krassner grew up in wisconsin and moved to arizona when he was a teenager. he began writing music at the age of fourteen after hearing the velvet underground. in 1991, krasner formed the boxhead ensemble in los angeles to record a soundtrack for braden king. after relocating to chicago, the ensemble comprised charles kim, ken vandermark and members of the post-rock group gastr del sol. under his direction, the group recorded the soundtrack for the film "dutch harbor". the line-up for the group has constantly changed, with krassner being the only consist member. after the release of his debut solo album in 1999, krassner formed the lofty pillars with singer-songwriter wil hendricks, with whom he had been writing songs since 1993.