This article is about the band Foxhole. For the method of combat, see Defensive_fighting_position There are many types of defensive fighting positions (DFPs), more commonly known in U.S. military slang as foxholes. ...

Foxhole is a post-rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky. The term post-rock was coined by Simon Reynolds in issue 123 of The Wire (May 1994) to describe a sort of music using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbres and textures rather than riffs and powerchords. ...

Members

Derek Holt - Bass
Greg Leppert - Brass, Keyboards
Adam Moore - Guitar
R. Justin Shepherd - Guitar
Brian Toppenberg - Samples, Keyboards
Jason Torrence - Drums

Former Members & Participants
Nathan McBroom (Founding Member) - Guitar, Bass
Matthew Wilson (Founding Member) - Drums
Alex O'Nan - Drums
Adam Tanaka - Drums
Joey Wilcox - Percussion

History

Foxhole first began regular rehearsals in November 2000. The brainchild of founding members Adam Moore and Nathan Mcbroom, and finding practice space in various places on Western Kentucky University's campus, Foxhole was heavily influenced by other Kentucky bands such as Slint and June of '44. The first performance featured Nathan on guitar and bass, Adam on guitar, Matthew and Joey on drums and percussion, Justin playing glockenspiel, and two of the bandmates' girlfriends providing sparse vocals. The second performance featured the aforementioned players together with Derek on bass, Greg improvising on trumpet and sans girlfriends. By their third performance, the lineup had solidified to Nathan, Adam, Justin, Derek, Matt, and Greg. Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. ... Slint was a rock/math rock band consisting of Brian McMahan (guitar and vocals), David Pajo (guitar), Britt Walford (drums), Todd Brashear (bass on Spiderland) and Ethan Buckler (bass on Tweez). ... June of 44 was an American rock band which was formed in 1994 from ex-members of Rodan, Lungfish, Codeine, Rex, Crownhate Ruin and Hoover. ...

The band initially focused on melding experimental sounds with melody. A staple of early performances was a fully improvised song (designated "X") randomly inserted into the set list, and which often featured several homemade intruments, including the "juggophone", "shatterophone", "topophone", and "pyrophone", which utilized the sounds of beating water jugs, breaking bottles, clinking pot tops, and micing fireworks, respectively. They also made frequent use of the sounds of a signal generator. Gradually, Foxhole integrated slightly more traditional song structures and held to typical instruments, dispensing mostly with the use of gimmick instrumentation. Songs typically featured a gradual build in intensity, and featured rare and unaugmented vocals.

2002 brought EP1, the debut Foxhole release. 500 CDs were pressed and packaged in hand-stitched canvas and embossed cardstock. That summer band embarked on a two-week tour across the Eastern half of the United States. In spring 2003, Foxhole released a second EP, EP2:X, a compilation of "X" improvisations recorded mostly during the previous summer's tour. It too was hand packaged and screenprinted.

As Foxhole continued to change musically, the lineup also changed. Founding member Nathan McBroom left the band in December 2003 on good terms in preparation for mission work in Asia. 2004 brought on a partnership with Selah Records, from Lansing, MI. Selah funded the release of the Foxhole's first full length. Recorded by Greg at the church which doubled as the band's rehearsal space, We The Wintering Tree was a monumental undertaking for the band. Tim Bushong of T-Bush Record Plant mixed the album, and it was mastered by at John Golden Mastering. 1000 copies of We the Wintering Tree were released in late 2004, packaged in letter-pressed white cardstock. Shortly after the album's release, Matt Wilson left the band, also on good terms. Alex O'Nan, drummer for Louisville "math-rock" band, Of Asaph, filled in for several shows, as did Adam Tanaka, formerly of the hardcore band With Blood Comes Beauty. In January 2005, the band found a permanent replacement in Jason Torrence, drummer for Nashville Americana act God's Lonely Man.

As writing for another EP began, Foxhole also increased the frequency of its live performances. In May of 2006, they released Push/Pull, after roughly 18 months of recording and pre-production. Recorded by Torrence and Leppert and mixed and mastered by Torrence, the album was thematically inspired by videographer and band friend Aaron Marrs' death at sea. The complexity and additional production on Push/Pull prompted the band to add a sixth member, Brian Toppenberg, to augment live shows. Later that year, they joined the roster of Burnt Toast Vinyl, a label based in Philadelphia, PA. The band members currently reside in Bowling Green, Nashville, and Vienna (Austria), and are working on a full-length due for release in late 2007. BTV also plans to release a third pressing of We the Wintering Tree in both CD and vinyl format. Aaron Marrs worked with the Christian music label Gotee Records, which is owned by Toby McKeehan, and he owned his own company called Paper Jack Films. Aaron is well-known for being featured on the cover of the Employee of the Month EP by Relient K, a band that he...

Releases

EP1 (2002)
EP2:X (2003)
We the Wintering Tree (2004)
Push/Pull (2006)

Trivia

• The Foxhole song "The End of Dying" can be heard on a 2006 promotional BMX DVD distributed by the major skate shoe company etnies.
• The same song was featured (though shortened) on Mono Vs. Stereo Records' national release "The Revolution Will Begin In The Blink Of An Eye", along with House of Heroes, Anathallo, Aireline, and Matthew Thiessen of Relient K.
• Foxhole's first van was named after Gomer, the adulterous wife of the Biblical prophet Hosea, and was named and given to Foxhole by Anathallo free of charge.
• Foxhole's second van was named Clementine.
• Paul Hinojos of Mars Volta chose Foxhole's We the Wintering Tree as one of his ten favorite albums of 2004.
• Videographer Mat Thorne makes consistent use of Foxhole songs in his work.
• Foxhole's album We the Wintering Tree was recommended by several independent record review sites, including Decoy Music and the Silent Ballet, as one of the 10 best intrumental records of 2004.

etnies is an American footwear brand based in Lake Forest, California owned by Sole Technology, Inc. ... House of Heroes is a Christian rock band from Columbus, Ohio. ... Anathallo is an indie band from Mt. ... Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born on August 12, 1980 in St. ... Relient K is a Christian rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio and named after guitarist Matt Hoopess Plymouth Reliant K car. ... Gomer can refer to several things: Gomer, eldest son of Japheth, mentioned in the Old Testament Books of Genesis and Ezekiel; often equated with the Cimmerians (Gimirru), and identified by Flavius Josephus with the Galatians. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Book of Hosea. ... Anathallo is an indie band from Mt. ... Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), better known as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and musician. ... Paul Hinojos (born on July 17, 1975 in Los Angeles, California) was first introduced to the mainstream music scene as the bassist of the highly influential band At the Drive-In from El Paso, Texas. ... The Mars Volta onstage at the 2004 Big Day Out, Melbourne, Australia. ...

External Links

• Official Foxhole website
• Official Foxhole Myspace page
• Reviews
  • The Silent Ballet Review
  • Colossians 3:16 Review
  • The Indie Workshop Review
  • Splendid Review
  • Decoy Music write up
  • Derives (in French) Review
  • Decapolis Concert Review at Cornerstone Festival
  • Japanese Review
• Videos
  • "X" collaboration with Timbre
  • "End of Dying" with Alex O'Nan
  • "At Right Angles" with Alex O'Nan