back to the basics....

i've not done a very good job of keeping up with the stated purpose of this blog, of sharing the new music that i find along with the music that i found eons ago that got me here in the first place... so in this one post i will take care of all of the above by following one band from the "good ol' days" through the present as it's members went on to different projects and expanded and contracted their musical tastes... Chritie Front Drive was born in Denver, CO in 1993 and consisted of Eric Richter » vocals, guitar: Jason Begin » guitar, vocals: Kerry McDonald » bass, vocals : Ron Marschall » percussion. they put out some 7"s and songs on compilations and 2 LP's, one of which was a compilation of a 12" and most of the 7"s. they hung around for 3 years until disbanding in 1996. during this time they put out some of the most beautiful and emotional music i have ever encountered. the breathy vocals recorded down in the mix exist soley as another instrument and pull you into the songs as your mind stops trying to separate the words from the drenched guitars. the quiet screaming in the background pulls you further in, and as the sound washes over you the instruments no longer exist...it's just a wave that starts in a place that you never talk about and ends when you open your eyes and realize that you had completely forgotten that the world around you existed (that was probably the most emo thing i have ever written). the song "Field" on the (don't forget to) breathe compilation on Crank! Records is, at 3:13, one of the shortest and most completely astounding songs ever to be recorded...unfortunately, something else i can't find a link for... Dirt About Two Days Valentine as far as i can tell The Blue Ontario consisted of ron and jason from CFD, but even though i own the EP that they put out, i'm not convinced that they actually existed. there is barely any information available on the interweb as far as this project goes: this is old, and so is this and definitely no mp3's avaialble...sad. however, i can say that there are 2 original songs on the EP that definitely bring nostalgia for CFD screaming back and some remixes of songs done by local CO folk. look, if you can find it get it, if not figure out how... also defunct. information on Antarctica is just barely more accessible than it is for The Blue Ontario. this project boasted eric of CFD and played slow, mellow, electronically-tinged, space slo-core (i'm particularly proud of that descriptor)....and is also really good. i found some stuff about them here and here and, luckily for all of us, some tracks to listen to: Absence Full Crescent Crusade ...unfortunately also now defunct, but the EP and LP are still both available at your friendly neighborhood independent record store. as far as i can tell, the bands from now on are still going... after The Blue Ontario, ron played drums for ...and guppies eat their young for a little while....here is a song i think he sang back up on: Parking Garage kerry now plays in a band called The Mighty Rime. this project is more indie sounding than any other CFD offshoot. a little folky and acoustic, but overall good song structure and writing. not my favorite of the branches of the CFD tree, but definitely worth checking out...look here and here: Albatross vs. All Most Drones Die Virgins after Antarctica, eric went on to form the incredible post-emo pop-core band (now i'm just having fun) the 101. aside from the fun i like to poke at genre labeling, these guys really rock and i enjoy this stuff immensely. maybe because it brings the branches of the tree back toward the CFD sound that i fell in love with in the first place while bearing all new fruit. whatever it is, this is definitely worth the listen and time: 6/8 Never In enough for now... another great site for research and music.