Drowningman

Drowningman
Origin	Burlington, Vermont
Genres	Screamo Emo
Years active	1997–2002 2004–2005
Labels	Hydra Head Records Revelation Records Equal Vision Records ReIgnition Recordings Thorp Records
Past members
Simon Brody Denny Donovan Javin Leonard Dave Barnett Todd Tomlinson Matt Roy Joe Villemaire Zach Martin Josh Parent Frank Smecker Andrew Abromowitz Dave Joyal Brian Curry Hans Olson Jamie Durivage Dan Bushey Mikey Lemieux Daryl Rabidoux

Drowningman was a hardcore punk band from Burlington, Vermont, which was active from 1996 to 2005. Formed in the fall of 1995 by Simon Brody, Denny Donovan, Javin Leonard, Dave Barnett and Todd Tomlinson, the band was heavily influenced by a variety of bands including Deadguy, Unbroken, Shotmaker, Unwound, Sunny Day Real Estate and Promise Ring. This musical amalgamation helped to pioneer the modern metalcore and mathcore musical sub-genres. The band was known for revolving membership and frequent record label changes.

Formation

Drowingman was formed in Burlington, Vermont^[1] and played its first show in a basement at Hungerford Terrace on New Years Eve of 1996. A first demo recording from early 1996 is included on the Learn to Let It Go retrospective released by ReIgnition Recordings in 2004. Hungerford Terrance is famous for its involvement is the Underground Railroad with Harriet Tumbman in the slavery days. ^[2]

Hydra Head Records era

By 1997 the band had begun playing throughout the Northeast. Frequently sharing bills with bands on the Boston-based Hydra Head Records (Converge, Cave In, Cable and Piebald), Drowningman soon joined the roster and their debut 7" EP Weighted and Weighed Down was released in 1997,^[1] and was followed by the LP Busy Signal at the Suicide Hotline in 1998 and a split EP with frequent tour-mates The Dillinger Escape Plan on the same label.^[1]

How They Light Cigarettes In Prison (2000)

By early 1999 the band was being courted by Revelation Records and was also talking to friends at Equal Vision Records. The band returned to the studio soon after the addition of Joe Villemaire, Matt Roy and Zach Martin.^[3] Hydra Head had become concerned with the revolving door policy and when the EP How They Light Cigarettes In Prison was presented to them, the reaction was underwhelming. Revelation Records expressed enthusiasm for the record and went on to release it in early 2000,^[4] initially shipping more copies than any previous Revelation EP.

Simon Brody described the emerging band on the Revelation Records website in the following fashion:

“	Burlington, Vermont might not be known as a hot spot for hardcore. Socialist mayors, monsters in nearby Lake Champlain, Phish, and filthy hippies maybe - but definitely not hardcore. Be that as it may, over the last several years, the aggressive music world has been waking up to Vermont's dirty little secret and most recent addition to the Revelation Records family, Drowningman. Not particularly proud of their backwoods heritage, Drowningman has been content in the common misconception that they were from Boston created by their handful of releases on Hydra Head Records. With each successive release, from 1997's debut 7" Weighted and Weighed Down, to 1998's Busy Signal At The Suicide Hotline LP, and 1999's incendiary split 7" with New Jersey's Dillinger Escape Plan, the band has expanded the parameters of their caustic blend of spastic metal/hardcore blasts and emotional, melodic interludes, and in turn put themselves, and maybe someday their home state, on the hardcore map.	”
—Simon Brody[5]

Rock And Roll Killing Machine (2000)

A first full US tour with The Dillinger Escape Plan was embarked on to support the release.^[6] Soon after returning, production of the Rock And Roll Killing Machine record began in Washington, D.C. at the Salad Days Studio. A great deal of technical difficulty was encountered; Simon Brody had claimed in interviews the stressed work environment caused the tempo of many of the songs to rush and that record lost some of the previous efforts melodic counterpoint. Still, it was well received, earning a 10/10 in respected extreme music magazine Terrorizer and finding its way into many publications' top ten lists for 2001.^[6]

Aside from making regular appearances at Hellfest, Krazy Fest, Monster Fest and The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, Drowningman began touring extensively in support of this latest record. They toured with hardcore and metal bands as varied as Earth Crisis, Glassjaw, Shadows Fall, Darkest Hour and Twelve Tribes. However, projected gigs for early 2001 were curtailed when the group lost its drummer. By May 2001 road action was resumed with regular partners Darkest Hour on the "Bro-Down 2001" tour.

Drowningman Still Loves You (2002)

The band then recorded an EP for Equal Vision Records which was released in 2002 entitled Drowningman Still Loves You. To be sure the band had not gone soft the spine of the CD release read "even if no one else ever will."^[1]

Several tours followed, first with Thursday and Waterdown, later with Atreyu and Vaux. By September the group announced they were to hook up with Converge and Playing Enemy for East Coast and Midwest gigs, but backed out to prioritise songwriting.

Embroiled in contract disputes with Revelation Records the band went into God City Studios in early 2002 and recorded a series of improvised tracks for a final Revelation release tentatively and sarcastically entitled Best Record Ever. The instrumental tracks briefly circulated minus a 20 minute "meditation on a single riff" (a homage to the emerging and burgeoning stoner rock trend) and according to band members was never actually intended to be released.

Break up

Shortly after a particularly rowdy final performance at Krazy Fest in Louisville, the members of Drowningman parted ways.

Brief revival

Denny Donovan and Simon Brody revived Drowningman briefly, beginning with a 2005 trek with The Dillinger Escape Plan, Misery Signals, Every Time I Die and Zao.^[6]

Don't Push Us When We're Hot (2005)

Drowningman announced a Summer 2005 nationwide US trek partnered with The Number Twelve Looks Like You and The Minor Times to promote the album Don't Push Us When We're Hot.^[7] A promotional video for the track White People Are Stupid was directed by Joseph Patisall. Simon Brody had lost all interest in the band and MTV airing the video with the abbreviated title WPAS was the beginning of the actual end.

In early October 2005 Drowningman re-inducted former members guitarist Frank Smecker and drummer Dave Joyal, the later having prior involvement during the Still Loves You EP. The band broke up permanently after recording a version of Black Flag's Loose Nut for the Reignition Records re-issue of the tribute album Black On Black.

Band life excess

Simon Brody now lives in the Kansas City area and attributes much of the band's difficulty to the excesses of band life which he spoke candidly about on former a former tour-mates band advice website.^[8]

Simon Brody now claims that last record was incredibly ill-advised and should not have been a Drowningman record.^[3] In a 10th anniversary retrospective spotlighting the bands first Hydra Head release, the frontman spoke freely about his retirement from "the rock and roll lifestyle" and legal studies.^[3]

A review of the band's retrospective release on ReIgnition by long-time friend of the band, Kevin Stewart-Panko summed up the final round the best:

“	Drowningman was nearly as renowned for vocalist Simon Brody’s legendary antics and larger-than-life personality as his distinctive voice, the band’s use of angular and off-the-mark “metal-emo” melodies, and the craziest guitar duels hardcore has ever spawned.	”
—Kevin Stewart-Panko[9]

Discography

• 1997: Weighted and Weighed Down (7" single)
• 1998: Busy Signal at the Suicide Hotline
• 2000: How They Light Cigarettes In Prison (EP)
• 2000: Rock and Roll Killing Machine
• 2002: Drowningman Still Loves You (EP)
• 2004: Learn to Let It Go: The Demos
• 2005: Don't Push Us When We're Hot

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Drowningman Bio at Equal Vision Records". http://www.equalvision.com/artists/show/41. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 
2. ^ "ReIgnition releases: Drowningman Learn To Let It Go (2004)". http://www.reignition.com/releases/view.asp?AlbumID=125&BandID=24. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Rediscovered Steel - Drowningman's Busy Signal at the Suicide Hotline". Noise Creep website. http://www.noisecreep.com/2009/09/07/rediscovered-steel-drowningmans-busy-signal-at-the-suicide-h/. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 
4. ^ "Revelation Records: Drowningman How They Light Cigarettes In Prison (2000)". http://www.revelationrecords.com/releases/show/96. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
5. ^ "Drowningman Bio at Revelation Records". http://www.revelationrecords.com/bands/show/108. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Drowningman Bio at Thorp Records". http://www.thorprecords.com/bands/drowningman.php. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 
7. ^ Decibel Magazine "Ebony and ivory living in perfect harsh-mony - Simon Brody and Vermont’s finest keep Drowningman still drowning after all these years". Decibel Magazine. http://decibelmagazine.com/Content.aspx?ncid=100006 Decibel Magazine. Retrieved 2009-12-01. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "The Party Police". Askthedude.net. http://askthedude.net/?p=109. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 
9. ^ "Drowningman - Learn to Let It Go: The Demos. Odds and sods collection from Vermont’s finest". Decibel Magazine. http://decibelmagazine.com/Content.aspx?ncid=100490. Retrieved 2009-12-01. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Simon Brody's blog, including postings of The Scheme's unreleased tracks
• MTV videos of Drowningman tracks