Roadside Monument
Encyclopedia
Roadside Monument was a Christian
math rock
band from Seattle, Washington
who were signed to Tooth & Nail Records
. They were active from 1994–1998 and then again from 2002–2003.
Roadside was signed to Tooth & Nail Records
only about four months after they formed in 1994, because they had good fortune in being discovered by Brandon Ebel
. They released their Tooth & Nail debut, a 7-inch vinyl EP
called My Life Is Green, in 1995.
Roadside Monument followed up their debut with their first full length Beside This Brief Hexagonal
also in 1996. After the release of this album, complications emerged with keeping the band together due to medical issues and other obligations. After the other members departed, Lorig was left to find Matt Johnson (of Blenderhead
) on drums and Johnathan Ford on bass. Lorig, Ford and Johnson became the core of Roadside Monument, and its sole members in all future releases. In 1997, Eight Hours Away from Being a Man
was released, along with a pair of split EP
s (with Puller
and Frodus
). Eight Hours Away from Being a Man
was the album in which they became a prominent band on the Tooth & Nail roster, gaining popularity in the indie rock, emo and Christian underground music scenes.
Roadside Monument broke up after the Cornerstone Festival
in 1998, when Ford moved to Chicago, Illinois. They had already written and recorded another album, called I Am the Day of Current Taste
, which was released several months after their breakup.
In 2002, Ford returned to Seattle, and Roadside Monument reunited as an indie
band. The new incarnation of the band played local shows, toured with Pedro the Lion
and lasted for about one year, when Johnson decided to end the band again because of an inability to be a part of a full-time touring band. During this short time that the band re-united they created several new songs, including "Zzyzx" which was recorded during a live performance at Cornerstone 2002, and subsequently released via the band's official Web site.
Many fans of Roadside Monument like the band because of their creative sound. They are credited as being key contributors to the original emo sub-culture and sound of indie rock which existed in the mid to late nineties. Their songs featured unique structure that was a blatant rejection of the verse/chorus structure followed by many popular songs. In addition, their unusual guitar parts, abnormal rhythms, and abrupt tempo changes, topped off by Lorig's emotional vocals, gained them acclaim and made the band's style almost unable to be labeled. Indeed, reviewers of the band would describe them as emo
, math rock
, or just regular rock
.
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
math rock
Math rock
Math rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage...
band from Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
who were signed to Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
. They were active from 1994–1998 and then again from 2002–2003.
History
Before Roadside Monument began, singer Doug Lorig was involved in other bands. During junior high, high school, and college, he performed in the bands Cow Shrapnel, Waterfront, and Sixth Hour, all of which also featured another future Roadside Monument member, bassist Todd Florence.Roadside was signed to Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
only about four months after they formed in 1994, because they had good fortune in being discovered by Brandon Ebel
Brandon Ebel
Brandon Ebel is the founder, President & CEO of Tooth & Nail Records. He founded the label in 1993 in California, USA. The label has since grown to include sub-labels BEC Recordings, Solid State Records and Uprok Records...
. They released their Tooth & Nail debut, a 7-inch vinyl EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
called My Life Is Green, in 1995.
Roadside Monument followed up their debut with their first full length Beside This Brief Hexagonal
Beside This Brief Hexagonal
Beside This Brief Hexagonal is the debut album by rock band Roadside Monument.-Track listing:# "Oh So Fabled" – 3:45# "Seed" – 2:48# "A Girl Named Actually" – 3:17# "Still" – 3:25# "Prozac Princess" – 5:45# "Lobbyest" – 4:56# "Immersion" – 3:02...
also in 1996. After the release of this album, complications emerged with keeping the band together due to medical issues and other obligations. After the other members departed, Lorig was left to find Matt Johnson (of Blenderhead
Blenderhead
Blenderhead was a punk rock band signed to Tooth & Nail Records. They released three full length albums from 1994 to 2001.-Band members:* - Vocals, Bass* Ed Carrigan - Guitar* - Drums* Paul Henry - Bass* Eben Haase - Vocals, Guitar...
) on drums and Johnathan Ford on bass. Lorig, Ford and Johnson became the core of Roadside Monument, and its sole members in all future releases. In 1997, Eight Hours Away from Being a Man
Eight Hours Away from Being a Man
Eight Hours Away from Being a Man is the second album from math rock band Roadside Monument.-Track listing:# "Sperm Ridden Burden" – 1:45# "Eight Hours Away From Being A Man" – 4:10# "John Wayne Marina" – 4:50# "Sunken Anchor" – 3:02...
was released, along with a pair of split EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s (with Puller
Puller (band)
Puller was a post-grunge band formed in the mid-1990s. They released three full-length albums and one EP for Tooth & Nail Records and disbanded in 2001....
and Frodus
Frodus
Frodus was a 1990s Washington, D.C.-based post-hardcore band, described by critics as a mixture of math rock, hardcore punk, and alternative rock. Their songs were frequently dark and dissonant...
). Eight Hours Away from Being a Man
Eight Hours Away from Being a Man
Eight Hours Away from Being a Man is the second album from math rock band Roadside Monument.-Track listing:# "Sperm Ridden Burden" – 1:45# "Eight Hours Away From Being A Man" – 4:10# "John Wayne Marina" – 4:50# "Sunken Anchor" – 3:02...
was the album in which they became a prominent band on the Tooth & Nail roster, gaining popularity in the indie rock, emo and Christian underground music scenes.
Roadside Monument broke up after the Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
in 1998, when Ford moved to Chicago, Illinois. They had already written and recorded another album, called I Am the Day of Current Taste
I Am the Day of Current Taste
I Am the Day of Current Taste is the final album from math rock band Roadside Monument.-Track listing:# "I Am The Day Of Current Taste" – 7:01# "OJ Simpson House Auction" – 6:29# "Taxiriding As An Artform" – 3:50...
, which was released several months after their breakup.
In 2002, Ford returned to Seattle, and Roadside Monument reunited as an indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
band. The new incarnation of the band played local shows, toured with Pedro the Lion
Pedro the Lion
Pedro the Lion was an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. Singer-songwriter David Bazan formed the band in 1995 and represented its main creative force, backed by a varying rotation of collaborating musicians. T. W. Walsh is considered to be the sole official band member besides Bazan. In...
and lasted for about one year, when Johnson decided to end the band again because of an inability to be a part of a full-time touring band. During this short time that the band re-united they created several new songs, including "Zzyzx" which was recorded during a live performance at Cornerstone 2002, and subsequently released via the band's official Web site.
Side projects
Since their breakup, Roadside Monument's members have participated in a variety of bands:- Suffering and the Hideous Thieves is an experimental band founded by Jeff "Suffering" Bettger of another former Tooth & Nail band, Ninety Pound WussNinety Pound WussNinety Pound Wuss was an experimental punk rock band from Port Angeles, Washington, USA that released three studio albums on Tooth & Nail Records...
. Bettger writes most of the songs, but Ford and Johnson have also played in the band. - Lorig was in the final lineup for Raft of Dead MonkeysRaft of Dead MonkeysRaft of Dead Monkeys was a rock band from Seattle, WA, USA, known for their controversy within the Christian punk scene. Described as a hypothetical band mocking rock culture, their early stage shows consisted of vulgar lyrics, male strippers and bloody nurses...
, another band that Bettger fronted after Ninety Pound Wuss. Ford and Johnson also played in Raft of Dead Monkeys, a controversial band that broke up in 2001. - Lorig has since played in the space rockSpace rockSpace rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
band Black Eagle and currently fronts the grunge band Patrol. - Ford was a founding member of the "doom hardcore" band WarlordWarlord (band)Warlord was an American heavy metal band, formed in 1980 and based in Los Angeles, CA. This 'Warlord' should not to be confused with the '70s English punk rock group Warlord UK, the '90s death metal group Warlord UK, or any later groups by the same name...
and filled in on bass for them during live shows. He left Warlord before they recorded their lone full-length album, Rock the Foe Hammer, which came out in 1999. http://www.roadsidemonument.com/band/warlord.html - Ford filled in on bass for Pedro the LionPedro the LionPedro the Lion was an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. Singer-songwriter David Bazan formed the band in 1995 and represented its main creative force, backed by a varying rotation of collaborating musicians. T. W. Walsh is considered to be the sole official band member besides Bazan. In...
from time to time after Roadside Monument's first breakup.http://www.roadsidemonument.com/band/pedrothelion.html - Ford is the core member of Unwed SailorUnwed SailorUnwed Sailor is a mostly instrumental band formed in 1998 by Johnathon Ford. Unwed Sailor's recordings range from instrumental rock to ambient drones. The band's touring and recording line-ups have largely been in rotation over the years, with the core member being the band's founder, Johnathon Ford...
. - Johnson is the drummer for The Out CircuitThe Out CircuitThe Out Circuit is an indie rock/post-hardcore band/project by former Frodus co-frontman Nathan Burke currently signed to Lujo Records. The Out Circuit was originally based in Washington, DC but now resides in Seattle, Washington.-History:...
Critical response
Throughout their history, Roadside Monument has had several clashes with some Christian bookstore chains, who cited their songs as being "controversial". Examples of such songs included "Sperm Ridden Burden" (which Lorig said Ford wrote about seeing a child on a bus who was being raised by a single mother) and "O.J. Simpson House Auction" (the news on television when Lorig was looking for the title to the song he was working on). The band members did not mind that their music was not being sold in Christian bookstores, because they preferred to think of themselves as a "band" rather than as a "Christian band". In an interview with HM Magazine soon after their breakup, drummer Matt Johnson said, "... I think the problem comes in when you start using the word 'Christian' as an adjective. And when I start hearing talk like that, my first inclination is to run totally in the opposite direction.... It's just a debate that I've been over and over with people so much, that I'm not even sure what to say anymore. It's like, I'm a Christian and I play music, and if that means my band is a 'Christian band', then whatever."Many fans of Roadside Monument like the band because of their creative sound. They are credited as being key contributors to the original emo sub-culture and sound of indie rock which existed in the mid to late nineties. Their songs featured unique structure that was a blatant rejection of the verse/chorus structure followed by many popular songs. In addition, their unusual guitar parts, abnormal rhythms, and abrupt tempo changes, topped off by Lorig's emotional vocals, gained them acclaim and made the band's style almost unable to be labeled. Indeed, reviewers of the band would describe them as 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...
, math rock
Math rock
Math rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage...
, or just regular rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
.
Current members
- Doug Lorig: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Matt Johnson: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Johnathon Ford: bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Founding Members
- Todd Florence - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Mike Dente - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Joel Metzger - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Doug Lorig - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Discography
- My Life is Green (7-inch, 1996, Tooth & Nail RecordsTooth & Nail RecordsTooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
) - Beside This Brief HexagonalBeside This Brief HexagonalBeside This Brief Hexagonal is the debut album by rock band Roadside Monument.-Track listing:# "Oh So Fabled" – 3:45# "Seed" – 2:48# "A Girl Named Actually" – 3:17# "Still" – 3:25# "Prozac Princess" – 5:45# "Lobbyest" – 4:56# "Immersion" – 3:02...
(1996, Tooth & Nail RecordsTooth & Nail RecordsTooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
) - Roadside Monument/Puller SplitRoadside Monument/Puller SplitRoadside Monument/Puller Split is a split EP from Roadside Monument and Puller.-Track listing:# "Nothing To Prove" – 4:19 Puller# "Lobbyest" – 3:42 Puller# "On Molasses Lake" – 4:34 Roadside Monument...
EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
(1997, Tooth & Nail Records) - Eight Hours Away from Being a ManEight Hours Away from Being a ManEight Hours Away from Being a Man is the second album from math rock band Roadside Monument.-Track listing:# "Sperm Ridden Burden" – 1:45# "Eight Hours Away From Being A Man" – 4:10# "John Wayne Marina" – 4:50# "Sunken Anchor" – 3:02...
(1997, Tooth & Nail Records) - Roadside Monument / Frodus Split EP (1997, Tooth & Nail Records)
- I Am the Day of Current TasteI Am the Day of Current TasteI Am the Day of Current Taste is the final album from math rock band Roadside Monument.-Track listing:# "I Am The Day Of Current Taste" – 7:01# "OJ Simpson House Auction" – 6:29# "Taxiriding As An Artform" – 3:50...
(1998, Tooth & Nail Records)
External links
- Official homepage
- Band members page from official website - gives details about the band members' current musical projects
- SHZine interview with Matt Johnson (April 2002)