Foxhole (band)

Foxhole
Origin United States
Genres Post-rock
Years active 2000–present
Labels Burnt Toast Vinyl
Members Derek Holt
Adam Moore
Greg Leppert
R. Justin Shepherd
Brian Toppenberg
Chris Vicari

Foxhole is a post-rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky. They first began regular rehearsals in November 2000. The brainchild of founding members Adam Moore and Nathan Mcbroom, and finding practice space in various places on Western Kentucky University's campus, Foxhole was heavily influenced by other Kentucky bands such as Slint and June of '44. The first performance featured Nathan on guitar and bass, Adam on guitar, Matthew and Joey on drums and percussion, Justin playing glockenspiel, and two of the bandmates' girlfriends providing sparse vocals. The second performance featured the aforementioned players together with Derek on bass, Greg improvising on trumpet and sans girlfriends. By their third performance, the lineup had solidified to Nathan, Adam, Justin, Derek, Matt, and Greg.

About

The band initially focused on melding experimental sounds with melody. A staple of early performances was a fully improvised song (designated "X") randomly inserted into the set list, and which often featured several homemade instruments, including the "juggophone", "shatterophone", "topophone", and "pyrophone", which utilized the sounds of beating water jugs, breaking bottles, clinking pot tops, and micing fireworks, respectively. They also made frequent use of the sounds of a signal generator. Gradually, Foxhole integrated slightly more traditional song structures and held to typical instruments, dispensing mostly with the use of gimmick instrumentation. Songs typically featured a gradual build in intensity, and featured rare and unaugmented vocals.

2002 brought EP1, the debut Foxhole release. 500 CDs were pressed and packaged in hand-stitched canvas and embossed cardstock. That summer, the band embarked on a two-week tour across the Eastern half of the United States. In spring 2003 Foxhole released a second EP, EP2:X, a compilation of "X" improvisations recorded mostly during the previous summer's tour. It too was hand packaged and screenprinted.

As Foxhole continued to change musically, the lineup also changed. Founding member Nathan McBroom left the band in December 2003; 2004 brought on a partnership with Selah Records, from Lansing, MI. Selah funded the release of the Foxhole's first full length. Recorded by Greg at the church which doubled as the band's rehearsal space, We The Wintering Tree was a monumental undertaking for the band. Tim Bushong of T-Bush Record Plant mixed the album, and it was mastered at John Golden Mastering. 1000 copies of We the Wintering Tree were released in late 2004 and packaged in letterpress-printed white cardstock. Shortly after the album's release, Matt Wilson left the band, also on good terms. Alex O'Nan, drummer for Louisville "math-rock" band, Of Asaph, filled in for several shows, as did Adam Tanaka, formerly of the hardcore band With Blood Comes Beauty. In January 2005 the band found a permanent replacement in Jason Torrence, drummer for Nashville Americana act God's Lonely Man.

As writing for another EP began, Foxhole also increased the frequency of its live performances. In May 2006 they released Push/Pull on Philadelphia's Burnt Toast Vinyl, after roughly 18 months of recording and pre-production. Recorded by Torrence and Leppert and mixed and mastered by Torrence, the album was thematically inspired by videographer and band friend Aaron Marrs' death at sea. The complexity and additional production on Push/Pull prompted the band to add a sixth member, Brian Toppenberg, to augment live shows.

In early 2010 Foxhole announced plans to return from their 4-year long hiatus and record a new album. The majority of the album was recorded in the fall of 2010 in Nashville, though secondary recording remains in flux and the album has not yet seen release.

Members

Former members and participants

Releases

Trivia

Vans

Foxhole owns two vans, one of which was named after Gomer, the adulterous wife of the Biblical prophet Hosea, and was named and given to Foxhole by Anathallo free of charge and the other one was named "Clementine" after the Elliott Smith song of the same name.

References

  1. ↑ The Silent Ballet's top 50 of 2004

External links

Reviews

Videos

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