Showbread (band)

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Template:Infobox 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 two vocalists, Josh Dies and Ivory Mobley, 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. 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."Showbread is also the greatest band, and puts on a spectacular show when you see them live.

History

The band was formed in 1997 by Patrick Porter and Travis Riner. There 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 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.

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 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 rays.

The infamous uniforms that the band dons while performing have become noticably 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.

In 2006, a fan made video for the song “Dead By Dawn” featured on You Tube was seen by the band and posted on their own site. In turn, this video was misinterpreted by some as an actual Showbread music video which brought attention to the subject matter and lyrics of “Dead By Dawn”. Certain Christian groups retaliated on web forums calling the band “satanic” and insisting that “the only reason these degenerates should be allowed in a church is if it is to get them saved”.

The album featuring the song in question, No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical, was even briefly pulled from some Christian music retailers in the wake of the backlash. However, upon further investigation of the accusations and those that made them, the album was restocked and the controversy dismissed.

After a period of silence, on September 7th, 2006 the band reposted (after their website crashed) a Statement on their site discussing the debate between Christian morality and secular media in defence of their music and the beliefs they stand for. From the Statement, Josh Porter concluded with:

"Showbread is a Christian band. As I tell you from the stage in dark musty concert venues each night, dressed in silly outfits, covered in sweat and in a tired voice. This means that we as a band believe in Jesus Christ, we believe the Bible to be the living word of God, we believe in love."

Trivia

  • The band's name comes from the Old Testament of the Bible, and refers to a continual grain offering that was made to God in the temple of Israel.
  • The members of Showbread have created and maintained many slang words such as Raw (positive) and Shame (negative). Their catch-phrase "Raw Rock Kills" can sometimes be seen on the front head of their bass drum.
  • Literary references are another common trait on Showbread records. Songs like "The Bell Jar", "Samsa Meets Kafka", and "Naked Lunch" all reference well-known novels.
  • Almost all of the songwriting (lyrically and musically) on Showbread's records are credited to singer Josh Dies. Exceptions include the song "Diary Of A Failure" from Goodbye Is Forever featuring music written by Mike Jensen, and "Girls Torture Guys Cause They Can" from The Dissonance Of Discontent which has lyrics and music written by Eddie Ortiz. On the same record, Ivory Mobley co-wrote the lyrics to a song called "Kaboom".
  • On the News section of their website last year, there was an entry describing a showdown at a P.O.D. concert. Being a long-time P.O.D. fan, Ivory rushed the stage during the song "Southtown" and started singing into bassist Traa's mic. The song went on as a security guard wrestled Ivory from the stage.

Remembering Johnny/Rebound/Ithica

Before joining Showbread, lead guitarist Matt Davis cut his teeth as lead singer/guitarist for Savannah-based musical group, Remembering Johnny (originally Johnny Angel), Mike Jensen fronted Jock Punk group Rebound, and John Giddens sang in the hardcore band Ithica. It was while playing with these bands that Mike, Matt and John met the raw-rockers in Showbread (the groups shared the card for a number of shows around the Low Country area).

Members

Former members

Discography

External links

W8MD

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