Foxhole

This article is about the band Foxhole. For the method of combat, see Defensive fighting position

Foxhole is a post-rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Members

Derek Holt - Bass
Greg Leppert - Brass, Keyboards
Adam Moore - Guitar
R. Justin Shepherd - Guitar
Brian Toppenberg - Samples, Keyboards
Chris Vicari - Drums

Former Members & Participants
Nathan McBroom (Founding Member) - Guitar, Bass
Matthew Wilson (Founding Member) - Drums
Alex O'Nan - Drums
Adam Tanaka - Drums
Joey Wilcox - Percussion
Jason Torrence - Drums

History

Foxhole 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.

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 on good terms in preparation for mission work in Asia. 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, 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. Later that year, they joined the roster of Burnt Toast Vinyl, a label based in Philadelphia, PA. The band members currently reside in Bowling Green, Nashville, and Vienna (Austria), and are working on a full-length due for release in late 2007. BTV also plans to release a third pressing of We the Wintering Tree in both CD and vinyl format.

Releases

• EP1 (2002)
• EP2:X (2003)
• We the Wintering Tree (Burnt Toast Vinyl, 2004)
• Push/Pull EP (Burnt Toast, 2006)

Trivia

• The Foxhole song "The End of Dying" can be heard on a 2006 promotional BMX DVD distributed by the major skate shoe company etnies.
• "The End of Dying" was also featured (though shortened) on Mono Vs. Stereo Records' national release "The Revolution Will Begin In The Blink Of An Eye", along with House of Heroes, Anathallo, Aireline, and Matthew Thiessen of Relient K.
• Foxhole's first van was named after Gomer, the adulterous wife of the Biblical prophet Hosea, and was named and given to Foxhole by Anathallo free of charge.
• Foxhole's second van was named "Clementine" after the Elliott Smith song of the same name.
• Paul Hinojos of the band Sparta chose Foxhole's We the Wintering Tree as one of his ten favorite albums of 2004.
• Videographer Mat Thorne makes consistent use of Foxhole songs in his work.
• Foxhole's album We the Wintering Tree was recommended by several independent record review sites, including Decoy Music and The Silent Ballet^[1], as one of the 10 best instrumental records of 2004.

References

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

External links

• Official Foxhole website
• Official Foxhole Myspace page
• Reviews
  • The Silent Ballet Review
  • Buzzgrinder Review: Push/Pull
  • Colossians 3:16 Review
  • The Indie Workshop Review
  • Splendid Review
  • Decoy Music write up
  • Derives (in French) Review
  • Decapolis Concert Review at Cornerstone Festival
  • Japanese Review
• Videos
  • "X" collaboration with Timbre
  • "End of Dying" with Alex O'Nan
  • "At Right Angles" with Alex O'Nan