Detachment Kit is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band formed in 1999.

History

Detachment Kit was started in Chicago, IL in 1999, by Toddrick Spalding (drums), Josh Hight (bass guitar), and Ian Menard (vocals, guitar, previously of Caesar's Glass Box). Toddrick met Charlie Davis III through his roommates and the band was completed. They were all art school students,DePasquale, Ron " Detachment Kit Biography,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, retrieved 2010-06-08 Hight (video/film) and Spalding (graphic design) attended Columbia College and Menard (painting/photography) and Charlie H. Davis III (lead guitar/painting/drawing) attended Art Institute of Chicago. The band recorded a demo soon after the line up congealed which was released as the ''Attacks On Bright America'' EP in 2001 on limited 10" vinyl on Chris Newmyer's Self-Starter Foundation label. The follow-up full-length album ''They Raging. Quiet Army'' was recorded in two days at

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...

's Electrical Audio by engineer Greg Norman and also released on Self-Starter Foundation (it was subsequently re-released on

spinArt Records SpinART Records was a New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Frank Black, and Michael Penn. The label was started by Joel Morowitz and Jeff Price in 1991. SpinART filed for ban ...

and Bad News Records in Japan). The album was a hit on college radio. The band toured relentlessly and built a loyal fanbase. Spalding and Hight left the band during the writing of their second album, so Davis and Menard continued on to make the record ''Of This Blood...'', recorded by Greg Norman, on which Menard played guitar and drums and Davis played bass and guitar. The band relocated to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, and recruited the rhythm section of Michael Hamilton (drums) and Bryan Mayer (bass guitar) for live performances. In 2005, Nick Davis replaced Michael Hamilton on drums.Detachment Kit Profile
", Frenchkiss Records, retrieved 2010-06-08 Original Detachment Kit bass player Josh Hight later went on to form IRONS. In January 2010, Menard and Charlie Davis started a new band with Jess Birch (of Watchers) called BRONZE, releasing their self-titled debut EP in May 2010. Detachment Kit toured extensively, playing on the same bill as bands such as

Les Savy Fav Les Savy Fav ( ) is an American indie rock band based in New York City. Their style is influenced by art punk and post-hardcore. The group is known for the stage presence of lead singer Tim Harrington. The band is signed to Frenchkiss Record ...

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name ''Se ...

My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster. The ...

, Burning Brides,

The Walkmen The Walkmen is an American indie rock band. Active from 2000 to 2013, they are known as part of the 2000s-era post-punk revival in New York City, particularly for their critically acclaimed single " The Rat." The band is made up of drummer Matt ...

Hot Hot Heat Hot Hot Heat is a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, formed in 1999. The band was signed by Seattle label Sub Pop in 2001 and released its first EP, ''Knock Knock Knock'', and first full-length album, '' Make Up the Break ...

Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), ...

, Cursive, Guided by Voices,

The Dismemberment Plan The Dismemberment Plan was a Washington, D.C. based indie rock band formed on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or The Plan, the name was derived from an industry phrase used by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the popular comedy '' Ground ...

, and Jimmy Eat World.

Musical style

The band's sound is influenced by

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

bands, with Gang of Four and

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

identified as influences, and their sound described as "peppered with smart references to post-punk and indie's hallowed past".Garrett, Jon Jay (2002)
This Is It: The Detachment Kit
,

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

, June 11, 2002, retrieved 2010-06-08 Some tracks on ''Of This Blood'' were described as "a sort of post-punk blues"."Detachment Kit "Of This Blood"", ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', September 3, 2004 The band has drawn comparisons with

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

,D'Angelo, Peter J. " ''They Raging. Quiet Army'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-06-08 Built To Spill and Modest Mouse.Guarino, Mark (2002) "Around Hear: These Chicago bands are worth your investment", ''

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights) The ''Daily Herald'' is a daily newspaper based in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The newspaper is distributed in the northern, northwestern and western suburbs of Chicago. It is the namesake of the Daily Herald Media Group, a ...

'', January 18, 2002

Discography

Albums

*''They Raging Quiet Army'' (2002), Self-Starter *''Of This Blood'' (2004), Frenchkiss *''Live at Cat's Cradle 16 September 2004'' - download only *''Plus'' (2006) - Self-released

EPs

*''Attacks on Bright America'' (2001), Self-Starter

References

External links

The Detachment Kit
on Myspace
Bronze website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Detachment Kit, The Musical groups from Illinois American post-hardcore musical groups Frenchkiss Records artists SpinART Records artists