Although the group formed in San Diego during 1997, no current members reside there.
The original line up: Christopher Sprague, Luis Hermosillo, James LaValle, James Lehner, and Stephen Swesey. This line-up recorded all material that was released through 2003, including the albums "Spine and Sensory (1999)" & "Dream Signals in Full Circles (2000)".
During 2004, they enlisted guitarist Alison Ables and keyboardist Sean Ogilvie to begin writing songs for "A Colores (2005)". This line-up recorded all material that was released during 2005-2006.
At the start of 2007, the core of Tristeza (Sprague, Lehner, and Hermosillo) with the assistance of Ogilvie, began collaborating with various musicians around the Bay Area, including Camaron Stevens on guitar, and released the scarce/disjointed/lo-fi "Fate Unfolds (2009)" mini album.
In 2010, Tristeza recorded their current album "Paisajes (2010)" with Tim Green who recorded the band's first album.
"Paisajes" features the band's current line-up: Christopher Sprague (guitar), Luis Hermosillo (bass), James Lehner (drums), Camaron Stevens (guitar), and Chris Hash (keys), and Josh Lindenfelzer (trumpet/drums/percussions).