- Frodus
Infobox musical artist
Name = Frodus
Img_capt = Picture of Frodus in Sweden whilst on tour with Refused in 1998 by Pat Graham.
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Origin =Washington, D.C. , USA
Genre =Indie rock ,Math rock ,Post-hardcore
Years_active =1993 -1999
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Notable_instruments =Frodus (a.k.a. Frodus Conglomerate International, Frodus Sound Laboratories, FCI) was a 1990s Washington, D.C.-based
post-hardcore band, described by critics as a mixture ofmath rock , hardcore punk, andindie rock . Their songs were frequently dark and dissonant.Frodus' first releases were self-distributed cassettes and 7 inches, such as "Babe", "Tzo-Boy", and "Molotov Cocktail Party". Two other releases ("Fireflies" and "F-Letter"), on now defunct indies, followed. Frodus later signed with
Tooth and Nail Records , an independent label out ofSeattle , with which they released "Conglomerate International" in1998 . Most of Frodus' recognition was due to their epic swan song, the1999 recorded and2001 released LP onFueled by Ramen entitled "And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea", considered by band members their best recorded work.On Wednesday October 8, 2008, Gilead Media formally announced that they would be re-releasing Frodus' work on a 2xLP package with full gatefold artwork and an exclusive, unreleased bonus track titled "Attention:Remove." The release is tentatively set for January 27, 2009.
The name Frodus came from the last episode of TV series
The Monkees called "Mijacogeo" (aka "The Frodis Caper").Members
*
Shelby Cinca - Guitar, Vocals
*Jason Hamacher - Drums
*Nathan Burke - Bass Guitar, VocalsEx-Members:
*Jim Cooper - Bass Guitar, Vocals (1993-1995)
*Kyle Bacon - Relief Bassist (1993-1994)
*Andy Duncan - Bass Guitar, Vocals (1995)
*Dana Wachs - Bass Guitar, Vocals (1995)
*Howard Pyle - Bass Guitar, Vocals (1995-1997)
*R Mason - Bass Guitar, Vocals (1997-1999)The Frodus Head
The Frodus "Head" was co-opted from obscure marketing materials of the mid-20th century
mentalist –magicianJoseph Dunninger , a man who maintained an enigmatic image all of his life. Publicly, he stayed away from magicians and seemed apart from their interests; personally, he loved magic tricks and to root around in magic shops.This intitial allure of mystery and mental manipulation was a theme that spoke to the band and was adopted on flyers as early as
1993 and later resurfaced in1997 as an official Frodusicon upon the debut of their musical ode to corporate America, entitled "Conglomerate International" (Tooth & Nail Records). It is to be noted a link to mentalism and massmanipulation is referenced upon thecompact disc itself of said release with the words "mind-control disc" subtly placed under band and album name. Numerous t-shirts containing the "head" logo and phrases were also printed during this time. Such phrases included: "Control is always automatic", "Suspicion breeds confidence" (a reference to the film "Brazil"), and "Success in paranoia". Coincidentally, the record-label itself also took a turn to corporation-parody with its website and advertising designs at this time.Aftermath
After Frodus broke up in
1999 it took two years to find a label to release their final album. The first label, MIA Records, shut down due to the owner (also a Texas oil-tycoon) having to settle a long-standing lawsuit. Afterwards, long-time Frodus friend, Tony Weinbender, then of Fueled by Ramen Records offered to release Frodus' final opus thus saving the album from obscurity.The members of Frodus went separate ways and partially converged again for a short time. In
2000 Nathan went on to formThe Out Circuit andNight Is Invisible (both of which released records onLujo Records ) and Jason went on to drum forCombat Wounded Veteran . In2003 the founding members Shelby Cinca and Jason Hamacher along with bassistJoe Lally of Fugazi joined to form The Black Sea. They later changed their name to Decahedron. Lally left shortly after the completion of their debut album and was replaced by Jonathan Ford (Unwed Sailor ,Roadside Monument ). Continually plagued by bassist fluctuation anomalies Jonathan quit in2004 and was later replaced by Jake Brown (Moments In Grace ). In2005 they suspended operations after the release of their EP entitled "2005 ." Shelby Cinca then focused on his Swedish projectFrantic Mantis with Håkan Johansson and Per Stålberg ofDivision Of Laura Lee and completed the 3rd album byThe Cassettes (Buddyhead Records 2006). In2006 , Jason Hamacher started a project with Mike Schliebaum of Darkest Hour called Zealot and Shelby began releasing IDM Music made on a Game Boy (Game Boy music ) with the Nanoloop software under his own name.2006 also saw the relaunch of the Frodus web-presence and consolidation of its MySpace entities with the help of two Canadian fans/supporters, Stu Hood of SHZINE and Jason Nicholas, who both wear the mark of the Frodus "head" tattooed on their upper arms. The new focus being an organized ongoing project of archiving all known interviews, previous website designs, press clippings, and digital transfers for new media content. Founder Shelby Cinca also began remastering out-of-print releases and adding them into the iTunes library and other digital music services through his partnership withCarcrash Records .Experimental Rock group
Thrice have released a Frodus cover track on their new album "". "The Earth Isn't Humming" was originally released on "And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea ".Discography
Full Lengths
* "
Left for Dead in Halmstad! " (Live In Sweden, April 14th, 1998) iTunes Only (2006Carcrash Records ) / Mastered Soundboard Tape
* "Live at Black Cat 1999 " iTunes Only (2005Lovitt Records ) / Engineer: Juan Carerra
* "Radio-Activity" (Live Radio Recordings @ WMUC, WHFS, KXLU) (2002Magic Bullet Records ) / Engineers: Mike Davis, Harry Evans
* "And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea " (2001Fueled by Ramen ) / Produced by:Brian McTernan
* "Conglomerate International " (1998 Tooth and Nail) / Producer:Jonathan Kreinik , Engineer: Bruce Kane
* "22-D10 " (Live @WMUC Radio + Formula 7" Sessions) (1997 No Looking Back) Mixing Engineer: Mike Davis
* "F-Letter " (1996 Double Deuce / 2003Magic Bullet Records ) / Producer/Engineer:Brian McTernan
* "Fireflies" (1995 Level/2006Carcrash Records iTunes) / Engineers: Don Zientara, Ken Olden
* "Molotov Cocktail Party " (1994 Gnome/2006Carcrash Records iTunes) / Producer/Engineer: Don Zientara7"/EPs
* "Suspicion Breeds Confidence (Jason Vocals)" b/w "G. Gordon Liddy Show Call" (2006
Carcrash Records iTunes Only)
* Frodus/Atomic Fireball split (1999 Lovitt / Japan: Flatree Records) / Engineer:Jonathan Kreinik
* Muddle Magazine Promo Flexi (1997 Tooth and Nail / Muddle) / Engineer:Jonathan Kreinik
* Frodus/Roadside Monument split (1997 Tooth and Nail) / Engineer:Jonathan Kreinik
* "Explosions" (1997 Day After Records) / Engineer:Jonathan Kreinik
* Frodus/Trans-Megetti split (1996 Art Monk Construction) / Engineer: Don Zientara
* "Formula" (1996 Lovitt / Shute) / Engineer: Ken Olden
* "Treasure Chest" (1994 Gnome / Level) / Engineer: Ken Olden, Don Zientara
* "Tzo Boy" (1993 Gnome) / Engineer: Charles Bennington
* "Babe" (1993 Gnome) / Engineer: Charles BenningtonCompilations
* "Torch Benefit" (2001 Under Radar) - Track: "Suspicion Breeds Confidence (Jason Vocal Take)"
* "It Goes Without Saying" (1999 Sign Language) - Track: "Dec. 21,2012 "
* "Absolut..." (1999 B-Core) - Track: "There Will Be No More Scum" (demo)
* "Can't Stop This Train" (1999 Team Player) - Track: "Extinguished"
* "Songs From the Penalty Box 3" (1999 Tooth and Nail) - Track: "There WIll Be No More Scum" (demo)
* "Songs From the Penalty Box 2" (1998 Tooth and Nail) - Track: "Conditioned"
* "Tooth and Nail 4th Anniversary Box Set" (1997 Tooth and Nail) - Track: "Lights On For Safety"
* "The Tie That Binds" (1996 Nevermore) - Track: "Factory 6" (Formula 7" Sessions Take)
* "The Lovitt Empire" (1996 Lovitt) - Track: "Cha-Chi" (English version)
* "Give Me The Cure" (1995 Radiopaque) - Track: "Killing An Arab" (Cover ofThe Cure 's song)
* "The Art of Rocketry" (1995 Supernova) - Track: "Malcontent" (alt. mix)
* "Squirrel" (1995 Level) - Track: "22-d10"External links
* [http://www.frodus.com Frodus.com] Official website
* [http://www.shzine.com/frodus/ Rock and Roll is War] Frodus Documentation
* [http://www.shzine.com/interview-shelby.php "SHZine" interview with Shelby Cinca (November 2000)]
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