The Prids

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The Prids
The Prids - photo by Kristin Neuschwander
Background information
Origin	Portland, Oregon, United States
Genres	Post-Punk New Wave Indie rock
Years active	1998–present
Labels	five03 Luminal This-A-Way
Website	theprids.com
Members
David Frederickson - guitar, vocals Mistina Keith - bass, vocals Joey Maas - drums Maile Arruda - keyboards
Former members
Eric Hold - keyboards (2004-2007) Lee Zeman - drums (2002-2005) Jairus Smith - drums, keyboards (1998-2003) Trenor Rapkins (Trenor Rapki) - keyboards (1998-2001)

The Prids are a band from Portland, Oregon. The quartet's music can be categorized as a blend of indie pop and post-punk, influenced by Sonic Youth, Built to Spill, (solo) Morrissey, My Bloody Valentine and Wire.

Founded in Saint Joseph, Missouri in 1995 by David Frederickson and Mistina Keith, they continued to develop in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, where they befriended and were influenced by 1980s post-punk band For Against, whose guitarist Harry Dingman III created the artwork for their EP Duracraft, before relocating to Portland in November 1999.

The Prids follow a strong DIY ethic similar to that of Fugazi, including the home recording of several of their records. In addition, former Prids drummer Lee Zeman screenprints all of the band's T-shirts and stickers and the band books their own tours, prints their own buttons, and drives their own van around the country.

Biography

The members live a strict vegan lifestyle and hold strong political beliefs, which influence their writing style. The Prids take a stance on animal rights,^[1]peta2 // peta2 Daily Blog Archives</ref>. The Prids often perform at benefits for animal rights groups such as SHAC7^[2] and shops such as Food Fight (a vegan grocery).^[3] Additionally, local Portland artists design their record covers such as Mike Scheer,^[4] who has also done covers for Built to Spill, Treepeople and Steve Fisk.

Frederickson and Keith are one of the famous "former couples" bands in rock history, like X and Fleetwood Mac, and the two continue to write and record together. In fact, the name, "The Prids" comes from a pet name that the two had for each other.

The Prids have toured the U.S. over 15 times^[5] and supported international acts such as The Faint, TV on the Radio, The Rapture, Jarboe (formerly of Swans) and Built to Spill.^[6] Their music is played on dozens of college radio stations as well as national stations, and they have been interviewed on Joey Reynolds' show on WOR Radio^[7] as well as KPSU^[8][9] in Portland and other local stations. The Prids have received national and local press praising their work in publications such as Spin.com,^[10] Punk Planet, L.A. Weekly and Seattle Stranger.

On July 20, 2008, The Prids were involved in a serious highway accident, while driving south from San Francisco to Los Angeles.^[11] All four members and two of their significant others were injured to varying degrees, and their van and gear were destroyed. In the aftermath of the accident, fans and friends worldwide have donated over $16,000 to help The Prids with medical bills and equipment costs.

Discography

Albums

• Love Zero (2003) This-A-Way Records/Luminal Records
• Until the World Is Beautiful (2006) five03 Records

EPs

• Duracraft (2000)
• Glide, Screamer (2002)
• Something Difficult (2007) five03 Records

7" Singles

• "Let It Go" (2004) Luminal Records
• "Shadow and Shadow" (2004) Luminal Records
• "Something Difficult/OneThousandFive" (2008) Catastrophe Ballet Records

Compilations

• New Dark Age Vol. 2 (2004) Strobelight Records
• Dark Awakening Vol. 5 (2006) COP International

Soundtracks

• Alien 51 (2004)

References

External links

• The official site for The Prids
• The Prids on MySpace

Reviews/interviews

• StarNewsOnline
• Oh My Rockness
• Pop Matters
• Synthesis Radio
• Weekly Dig (Boston)
• Artvoice (Buffalo)
• The Portland Mercury
• VH1.com