Cardboard Room started their musical journey at a young age in a band known as Diversity. The line up consisted of Jeff, Bill, and Tim along with Patty (Jones) Wente. Diversity lasted throughout their high school and college years, from 1982-1989. They played all of the female rocker hits of that time. In the beginning, they were too young to get into the clubs on their own, so their parents had to be at all of the gigs. The bands parents supported them completely from day one, buying their guitars and amplifiers, sound system and even booking all of the gigs. Nights were scheduled out of the house so the band could transform the living room into a practice area. Diversity played venues ranging from roller-skating rinks and swimming pools, to bars on the landing and in the metro-east area. As they started to come of age, and responsibilities increased for them, the band called it quits after seven years.

This is where Mark came into the picture. Mark worked with Tim and Bill's mom, and played in a couple of bands in the Belleville area. Mark, Tim, Bill & Jeff started rehearsing in Mark's garage in 1989. The new band took on a new musical style and sounded completely different. They played the pop metal of the late eighties combined with some dance oriented songs and went under the name of FAKE I.D. The majority of the band was now old enough to actually be in the clubs, except Bill. Mark took on the keyboard duties, and Fake I.D. was off and running with a heavier and new sound and a burning desire to succeed. Fake I.D. played many of the clubs that were popular at the time. They played clubs like Pop's, both Granny's Rocker locations, The Bikini Club and many others in the St. Louis area. The line up consisted of Mark McCullough, Bill and Tim Brendley and Jeff Carrico until 1990, when Jeff bowed out and was replaced by Bubba Edwards. Fake I.D. played the St Louis metro area until 1991.

From 1991 through 1993, Bubba and Mark played in 'Fraid Not and Bill, Tim and Jeff played in Peacefrog. At the time, Mark lived an apartment in Collinsville above the Scissor Shack Hair Salon on Main Street. The apartment had a large extra room that made a great practice room. It was only a matter of days before the police were called due to the excessive volume of rehearsals. The officers showed up at a few real inopportune times! This misfortune motivated the band to soundproof their practice room. They completely covered the walls, ceiling and floor with multiple layers of cardboard, and it became known as "The Cardboard Room."

The band needed a new name since the club owners didn't care for ''Fake I.D'' very much, especially since they had a nineteen-year-old bass player. Inspired by their new practice room, they decided to go with the name "Cardboard Room", and a new chapter of the band began. With testosterone pumping the band started writing songs and pursuing the rock and roll dream. Cardboard Room concentrated on booking only the best clubs in the area. They played on K-SHE 95's morning show, maintained a heavy schedule of practices and shows, and developed a good following. Eventually, life and increased personal responsibilities caused their demise after a two-year stint. This time the band all went their separate ways with absolutely no intentions of playing together again but remained the best of friends.

Over the course of five or six years, the guys from Cardboard Room played a handful of sets at benefit shows. In 2001, the former members of Cardboard Room were together for the holidays and decided to give it another whirl.

The current lineup consists of Mark McCullough (acoustic guitar and lead vocals), Tim Brendley (electric guitar), Bill Brendley (bass) and Jeff Carrico (drums). This time they took a completely different approach. Everyone had grown up and settled down a little bit. The band decided this time that it would be better to play the songs that other people wanted to hear, rather than playing to suit themselves. What a concept! The schedule is now intentionally much lighter than it was in the past. This allows the guys to take care of their personal lives and maintain their musical family at the same time. The lighter schedule seems to keep things fresh and fun. Cardboard Room's main goal is to make sure that everyone who comes out has a good time. An extremely diverse song list allows the band to adapt to varying circumstances. The band has achieved a great balance of dance songs and straight up rock that keeps the guys and gals happy.

Cardboard Room is currently writing new material for their debut album, which should be ready by the summer of 2005. Check the website regularly for upcoming details.