Plow United
Encyclopedia
Plow United is an American
rock group
formed in Wilmington
, Delaware
, The United States of America in 1992. They played fast punk rock
with pop
, thrashcore
and hardcore
influences. Their lyrics are sometimes labelled "emo
" postfact. Band members were Brian McGee (vocals and guitar), Sean Rule (drums) and Joel Tannenbaum (bass).
in 1989. In 1992 they formed a band called Plow and recorded a six-song demo entitled Warped Sense of Humor and included "Pearl Jam." http://www.plowunited.com/unreleased.html In 1994, Joel moved to West Chester, Pennsylvania
where the band had been forming friendships and playing with other local bands, and began working with the newly started Creep Records, whose base was the town of West Chester. They soon began to tour the northeastern United States and eventually took their music as far as Canada
and California.
In 1995 Plow changed its name to Plow United when a band of the same name from Baltimore, Maryland sent them a polite but firm letter claiming rights to the name. A reproduction of the letter can be found inside the cover of their eponymous debut album, which Creep Records
released that same year. With a full-length album under their belts, Plow United's credibility grew and they toured nationally and played with established punk rock acts like Lagwagon
, At the Drive-In
, Buglite, Bouncing Souls and Good Riddance
.
In 1996 the band recorded and released their second record, Goodnight Sellout, and Plow United received attention from major labels. http://www.plowunited.com/ They declined to pursue a career in rock and roll, however, and in 1997 the band broke up at the height of its popularity. In 1998 Creep Records released a posthumous third LP, Narcolepsy, known among fans as a darker take on the band's loose, aggressive pop punk sound. In 2000 Coolidge Records released The Dustbin of History, a compilation of singles and other non-album tracks.
Tannenbaum moved on to indie pop bands – The Skywriters and The Snow Fairies – as well as recording a solo album Music Should Be Seen and Not Heard under the name The Whales on the Best Kept Secret http://www.indiepages.com/bestkeptsecret/ tape label. He left Philadelphia in 2001 for long stints in The United Kingdom and Hawaii
. He returned to Philadelphia in 2008. In 2010 he joined the indie-pop band Glitter
, featuring members of The Skywriters, The Snow Fairies and The 500s.
McGee played in Throttle Jockey and briefly as a second guitarist in Super Hi-5 with Sid Carney, Arik Victor, and Mike Bardzik. Then attended the John C. Campbell Folk School
, Haywood Community College
, and Penland School of Crafts
. He lives in North Carolina
where he has recently been elected president of the North Carolina chapter of the WPA (Werewolf Protection Agency) . Brian now played and recorded with his old school folk/bluegrass/country rock and roll band Brian McGee and the Hollow Speed from 2005 to 2010. After recording his latest album, The Taking Or The Leaving, McGee dropped the Hollow Speed tag and now performs his solo material under Brian McGee. Visit www.brianmcgeemusic.com for more info. http://www.plowunited.com/watn.html
In 2005 Blackout Records
issued remixed and remastered versions of Goodnight Sellout, with the entire self-titled debut album tacked onto the end, and Narcolepsy. The band was unhappy with the sound quality and packaging.
In 2011 the band came to an amicable agreement with Creep Records that allowed them to take control of the master tapes from the albums and seek out a label to re-release old material.
A compilation CD called "Sleepwalk: A Retrospective" was released for sale at Riot Fest East. Composed of remastered material from the first three albums, selected 7" vinyl releases, and an unreleased instrumental track, it will become available on a Double Vinyl in the near future.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock group
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
formed in Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, The United States of America in 1992. They played fast punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
with pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, thrashcore
Thrashcore
Thrashcore is a fast tempo subgenre of hardcore punk that emerged in the early 1980s. Thrashcore is essentially sped-up hardcore punk, with bands often using blast beats. Songs can be very brief, and thrashcore is in many ways a less dissonant, less metallic forerunner of grindcore...
and hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
influences. Their lyrics are sometimes labelled "emo
Emo (music)
Emo is a style of rock music characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics. It originated in the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement of Washington, D.C., where it was known as "emotional hardcore" or "emocore" and pioneered by bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace...
" postfact. Band members were Brian McGee (vocals and guitar), Sean Rule (drums) and Joel Tannenbaum (bass).
Biography
McGee, Rule and Tannenbaum met at a private high school in Wilmington, DelawareWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
in 1989. In 1992 they formed a band called Plow and recorded a six-song demo entitled Warped Sense of Humor and included "Pearl Jam." http://www.plowunited.com/unreleased.html In 1994, Joel moved to West Chester, Pennsylvania
West Chester, Pennsylvania
The Borough of West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Marsh Creek State Park, and other historical attractions are near West Chester...
where the band had been forming friendships and playing with other local bands, and began working with the newly started Creep Records, whose base was the town of West Chester. They soon began to tour the northeastern United States and eventually took their music as far as Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and California.
In 1995 Plow changed its name to Plow United when a band of the same name from Baltimore, Maryland sent them a polite but firm letter claiming rights to the name. A reproduction of the letter can be found inside the cover of their eponymous debut album, which Creep Records
Creep Records
Creep Records is a long-running DIY record label based out West Chester, Pennsylvania. It was started by Arik Victor in 1993. Though generally a punk rock label, the catalog has also come to include some hardcore and hip hop bands as well....
released that same year. With a full-length album under their belts, Plow United's credibility grew and they toured nationally and played with established punk rock acts like Lagwagon
Lagwagon
Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years...
, At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In was an American rock band from El Paso, Texas, considered part of the post-hardcore genre and active from 1993 to 2001. They were known for their extremely energetic stage shows which hearkened back to the 1980s hardcore scene...
, Buglite, Bouncing Souls and Good Riddance
Good Riddance
Good Riddance was a punk rock band from Santa Cruz, California. They released seven full-length studio albums on Fat Wreck Chords, and their final album was a live recording of their farewell concert in 2007. Led by vocalist Russ Rankin, the band's longtime lineup included guitarist Luke Pabich,...
.
In 1996 the band recorded and released their second record, Goodnight Sellout, and Plow United received attention from major labels. http://www.plowunited.com/ They declined to pursue a career in rock and roll, however, and in 1997 the band broke up at the height of its popularity. In 1998 Creep Records released a posthumous third LP, Narcolepsy, known among fans as a darker take on the band's loose, aggressive pop punk sound. In 2000 Coolidge Records released The Dustbin of History, a compilation of singles and other non-album tracks.
Hiatus
Rule began teaching high school math in 1997 at Salesianum School and later became a professor at Central Oregon Community College. He also plays drums in Necktie Killer, a Redmond, Oregon based band (http://www.necktiekiller.com). Sean maintains a personal website at http://www.seanrule.com/Tannenbaum moved on to indie pop bands – The Skywriters and The Snow Fairies – as well as recording a solo album Music Should Be Seen and Not Heard under the name The Whales on the Best Kept Secret http://www.indiepages.com/bestkeptsecret/ tape label. He left Philadelphia in 2001 for long stints in The United Kingdom and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. He returned to Philadelphia in 2008. In 2010 he joined the indie-pop band Glitter
Glitter
Glitter describes an assortment of very small pieces of copolymer plastics, aluminum foil, titanium dioxide, iron oxides, bismuth oxychloride or other materials painted in metallic, neon and iridescent colors to reflect light in a sparkling spectrum...
, featuring members of The Skywriters, The Snow Fairies and The 500s.
McGee played in Throttle Jockey and briefly as a second guitarist in Super Hi-5 with Sid Carney, Arik Victor, and Mike Bardzik. Then attended the John C. Campbell Folk School
John C. Campbell Folk School
John C. Campbell Folk School, also referred to as "The Folk School" is located in Brasstown, North Carolina. The School was founded to nurture and preserve the folk arts of the Appalachian Mountains, it is an non-profit adult educational organization based on non-competitive learning...
, Haywood Community College
Haywood Community College
Haywood Community College is a community college located in Clyde, a town in the western part of North Carolina. Established in 1965, the college offers associate's degree programs and online courses in programs such as forestry, fish and wildlife management, and professional crafts...
, and Penland School of Crafts
Penland School of Crafts
The Penland School of Crafts is a center for craft education located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, about 50 miles from Asheville....
. He lives in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
where he has recently been elected president of the North Carolina chapter of the WPA (Werewolf Protection Agency) . Brian now played and recorded with his old school folk/bluegrass/country rock and roll band Brian McGee and the Hollow Speed from 2005 to 2010. After recording his latest album, The Taking Or The Leaving, McGee dropped the Hollow Speed tag and now performs his solo material under Brian McGee. Visit www.brianmcgeemusic.com for more info. http://www.plowunited.com/watn.html
In 2005 Blackout Records
Blackout Records
Blackout! Records was an independent record label which specialized in the hardcore punk genre.It was formed in 1988 by Bill Wilson – now forever known as "Bill Blackout" – and, together with friend Jim Gibson, the label released its first record – a New York hardcore compilation...
issued remixed and remastered versions of Goodnight Sellout, with the entire self-titled debut album tacked onto the end, and Narcolepsy. The band was unhappy with the sound quality and packaging.
In 2011 the band came to an amicable agreement with Creep Records that allowed them to take control of the master tapes from the albums and seek out a label to re-release old material.
A compilation CD called "Sleepwalk: A Retrospective" was released for sale at Riot Fest East. Composed of remastered material from the first three albums, selected 7" vinyl releases, and an unreleased instrumental track, it will become available on a Double Vinyl in the near future.
Reunion
Plow United played their first show after an almost 13 year hiatus at the inaugural Riot Fest East at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, PA, on September 24, 2011. Recent postings on their Facebook page include announcements of a forthcoming album of new material, as well as a New Year's Eve Show. They also have launched a band website, http://plowunited.netAlbums
- Plow United CD/12" LP (Creep RecordsCreep RecordsCreep Records is a long-running DIY record label based out West Chester, Pennsylvania. It was started by Arik Victor in 1993. Though generally a punk rock label, the catalog has also come to include some hardcore and hip hop bands as well....
10, 1995) - Goodnight Sellout CD/12" LP (Creep Records 26, 1996)
- Narcolepsy CD (Creep Records 40, 1998)
- The Dustbin of History compilation CD (Coolidge Records 32, 2000)
- Goodnight Sellout (Remastered) CD (Blackout RecordsBlackout RecordsBlackout! Records was an independent record label which specialized in the hardcore punk genre.It was formed in 1988 by Bill Wilson – now forever known as "Bill Blackout" – and, together with friend Jim Gibson, the label released its first record – a New York hardcore compilation...
077, 2005)- (Includes all songs from the first two albums)
- Narcolepsy (Remastered) CD (Blackout Records 078, 2005)
- Sleepwalk: A Retrospective CD (Paper + Plastic Records, 2011)
- Compilation of remastered tracks and the previously unreleased "Monte."
Singles
- Dance/Timmy Is an Arsonist
- Sadi/Break My Heart/Plow Beach COOLIDGE 18
- West Chester Rock City/Comeback/The Beat Fades Quickly/No Parole
- Transcend 7" EP (FOE Records 1998) with Christopher Neumann as Texas Criffer and the Bunny Humpers
- Selling Pretty Poisons/Bottled Up/Road Less Traveled/Routine (Pot) http://www.fistolo.com/ChristopherNeumann.html
Split releases
- Tallman - Reason/Sorority Girl/Firedogs Are Deaf
- WestonWeston (band)Weston are a punk rock band hailing from Bethlehem, PA. Founded in 1990, they took their name from singer Dave Weston's family, since his parents allowed them to practice in their basement. The band never found mainstream success but their energetic and irreverent live shows earned them legendary...
- Christoph/Could You? COOLIDGE 11 - Stressboy - Yes, Sir!/Fuck Up
- Throttle Jockey - Backslider/Universal Ball/9MM
- The Ick - Last Call/Love Comes in Spurts