12 Rods

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Originally called Ryan'z Bihg Hed, 12 Rods was an indie rock band from Oxford, Ohio, US that formed in 1992 while the members were in high school, moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1995, and ended in 2004.

History

12 Rods was formed by Ryan Olcott, Christopher McGuire, Matt Flynn, and Daniel Perlin at Talawanda High School in Oxford, Ohio, in May 1992. At this time the band were known as Ryan'z Bihg Hed. A cassette recording of their performance at a local high school graduation party named "Field Fest 3" early in the summer of 1992 became their first release, named Helikopter Hundrid Dolurz.

They self-released an album called Bliss in 1993 and the gay? EP in 1996, one year after moving to Minneapolis. It was one of Pitchfork Media's few albums given a rating of 10.0, bringing the band much-needed publicity. Former Pitchfork columnist Jason Josephes spoke of gay? favorably in his "Three Blocks from Groove Street" column after he and Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber saw 12 Rods' first Minneapolis concert and bought the EP.

12 Rods signed with V2 in 1996 and re-released gay? while they recorded a new album. Split Personalities, was released in 1998. Pitchfork Media named it in their first list of the best albums of the 1990s (although it was absent in the second version).

Despite the departure of drummer Christopher McGuire, 12 Rods released its next album, the Todd Rundgren-produced Separation Anxieties. The album failed miserably, both critically and commercially, and 12 Rods were dropped by V2.

They recorded and released one more album, 2002's self-released Lost Time, then broke up in 2004.

After 12 Rods

Following the band's break-up, Ryan went on to perform solo as Foodteam, and with a band as Mystery Palace. Ev went on to play in Halloween, Alaska and The Few Nice Words. Christopher McGuire went on to play with Kid Dakota, John Vanderslice, The Mountain Goats, Quruli and has been involved in giving drumming lessons . Bill Shaw re-formed Post Mortem Grinner and also plays in The Few Nice Words. Dave King plays actively with Happy Apple, The Bad Plus and Halloween, Alaska.

Discography

• Helikopter Hundrid Dolurz (1992 - as Ryan'z Bihg Hed)
• Bliss (1993)
• A Very Special Christmas (1995)
• Gay? EP (1996)
• Split Personalities (1998)
• Separation Anxieties (2000)
• Lost Time (2002)
• Gay? remixed and remastered (2003)
• Unreleased Vol. 1-6 (2004)
• Last Show: First Avenue (2004)

Line-up

• Ryan Olcott – vocals, guitar, synths
• Christopher McGuire – drums (1992 – 1999)
• Ev (Olcott) – synths, guitar, vocals

• William Shaw – bass (1998 – 2004)
• Matt Foust – bass (1994 – 1996)
• Matt Flynn – bass (1992 – 1994)
• David King – drums (2000 – 2004)
• Jacob Hanson – guitar (2003 – 2004)

External links

• 12 Rods official site
• Great Citypages Interview

References

• Pitchfork Media [1]
• 12 Rods. Allmusic.