[4] Malbec was made of friends Pablo Signori, Nick Ruth, and Samantha Barbera, who met at Indiana University, in addition to Sid Miller and Mark Pontius.
[8] In 2007, they signed a publishing deal with Songs Music Publishing[9] and were heard on a number of television shows and movie soundtracks, including One Tree Hill, Flight of the Phoenix, Long Way Round, The Omen, Palo Alto and in the episode "Chuck vs. the Colonel" in NBC's Chuck.
[10][11] They are also featured on Fox's show VIP Passport, Kyle XY, Dirty Sexy Money,[12] My Best Friend's Girl.
Malbec toured with Mutemath, Mat Kearney, OneRepublic,[15] Under the Influence of Giants, Phantom Planet, Rock Kills Kid, Copeland, The Knux, and Tally Hall.
[16][17] In December 2009, Malbec parted ways with their original drummer, Mark Pontius, who left to found the indie pop band Foster the People.