| Showbread (band) |
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Information AboutShowbread (band) |
Showbread is a Christian Post-hardcore / Alternative band from the Savannah, Georgia area. They are signed to Tooth And Nail Records . Showbread is one of many modern post-hardcore bands that have infused screaming into many different styles of music, but has differentiated itself from the typical post-hardcore band in many ways. The band's vocalist, Ivory Mobley (Who announced his soon departure in 2007) and Josh Dies, trade off in dueling vocals which alternate between yelling, screaming, and singing. This effect, combined with the band's frenetic live shows, have caused the band to occasionally be labeled as a "spazz rock" band. In addition, Showbread is one of the few post-hardcore bands that use a Keytar . Furthermore, they are known for wearing matching outfits when performing, usually in red and black but more recently green replacing red in support of their new album '' Age Of Reptiles ''. For their headlining tour in the summer of 2007, they wore white shirts and blue jeans. In keeping with their campaign for originality in the music scene, the band generally does not refer to their music as a particular genre; instead, they prefer the term "raw rock." In the words of lead guitarist Matt Davis, "No one ever knew what to say when people asked what style of music we were, so rather than come up with some hyphen filled moniker, we just started saying 'raw rock' and turned it into our campaign." HISTORY The band was formed in 1997 by Patrick Porter and Travis Riner. Their purpose was to create a praise and worship group fit to play Sunday mornings at the southern Baptist church they attended. The original lineup of the band that was first called showbread was Josh and Patrick Porter, Casey Belagorska, Travis Riner, and Davy Minor.... It has been mentioned by the band that during this period they worked solely on covering contemporary Christian bands like Third Day , Dc Talk , and Jars Of Clay . When the church they attended was less than thrilled with this approach, Showbread was left with only Patrick and Josh Porter, and Ivory Mobley to pick up the pieces. Deciding to pursue original music, the band adapted a pop-punk sound. They recruited drummer Marvin Reilly and vocalist Eddie Ortiz, moving Josh Dies to guitar and Patrick Porter to bass. The band continued on in this direction for an extended period, playing local and regional shows and garnering the attention of musicians in other Georgia based Christian rock bands. It was through these meetings that the additions of Mike Jensen (guitar) of Rebound, Matt Davis (guitar) of Remembering Johnny, and John Giddens (synthesizer) of (shrug) took place. Ortiz left the group in 2001 but does appear as vocalist on the independently produced and released record "The Dissonance of Discontent" and plays guitars on the album " Goodbye Is Forever ", he returned briefly to tour and run merch for the band in 2004. With their new line-up, Showbread toured independent of management, booking agents or record labels for two years before signing to Tooth And Nail / Solid State Records in 2004. Showbread played at the Cornerstone Festival in summer of that year and quickly gained a strong following. In fall 2004, they released their debut album for Tooth And Nail Records , titled '' No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical ''. ''No Sir'' was produced by Sylvia Massy , who has also worked with Prince , Tool , and Johnny Cash . Showbread's newest album, '' Age Of Reptiles '', was released on August 1 , 2006 . On this album, Showbread departed drastically from the spastic, screeching style of their previous albums. Showbread announced on April 2 , 2007 , that Ivory Mobley would be leaving the band in May, his last show being Cornerstone Florida . {Link without Title} Showbread announced on July 13 , 2007 , that they asked drummer Justin Oblinger to step down from the band. Showbread is also looking forward to recording their new album this fall 2008 ALBUM On 03/04/07, Showbread posted on their official website that they would be writing a new record in spring '07 that they hope to record in the fall and release it in 2008. Later the band mentioned it would be "the biggest, most intricate, involved and important Showbread album we have ever set out to create". On 5/1/07, a blog {Link without Title} hosted by Showbread was announced which became home to bizarre videos and messages filled with codes and hidden messages leading to more clues and hidden messages. Fans have been working together to connect the puzzle pieces they believe coincide with the new album. STRANGE TRAITS Showbread's lyrics are often introspective and inspire many different interpretations from different listeners, sometimes using unusual things to draw analogies to larger topics. For instance, the song "A Llama Eats A Giraffe (And Vice Versa)", the lead track for ''No, Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical'', uses the two animals as symbols to represent conflicting views between Nihilism and Christianity . Showbread is known for being notoriously unreliable in the press. Most interviews, regardless of purpose, vary from light hearted nonsense to outright absurdity, and the band seems to become serious only when answering questions dealing with their faith. Showbread has made many absurd claims, ranging from the accusation that Tooth and Nail Records was holding their family members hostage to guarantee a softer sound in ''Age of Reptiles'' than ''No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical'', to blaming the War In Iraq on Queen Elizabeth , to saying that the members of the band Pillar are made of grass clippings, to admitting to storing of weapons of mass destruction in their tour bus, to the claim that certain members of their band are space aliens and travel the country on mutant Manta Ray s. The infamous uniforms that the band dons while performing have become noticeably more unusual over time. Josh Dies often dresses in outlandish get-ups that include elbow-length latex gloves, fish net stockings, cowboy boots, surgical masks and David Bowie / Mechanical Animals inspired make-up. Very open with their Christianity, the group has even been known to point out that the only serious things they will say during their set are those that deal with their beliefs. Showbread also give whimsical names to their headlining tours like "Kings Of Krunk" and "To'...Fo' Sho'" and even reportedly suggested that their 2006 tour with the band Roses Are Red be titled "Dookie Eaters Anonymous". In multiple interviews, singer Josh Dies and singer Ivory have laughed at the "fact" that Ivory "dookied" in his pants multiple times throughout highschool. CONTROVERSY Despite their open statements concerning their faith, Showbread has endured intense criticism from some Christians who feel certain aspects of their music to be offensive and repugnant in terms of Christian morality. |
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