Pitchfork was an American
post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...
band formed in 1986 in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
and disbanded in 1990. They are most well known as the first "real" band (after high school effort Conservative Itch/Coitus Interruptus) of guitarist
John Reis
John Reis, also known by the pseudonyms Speedo, Slasher, and the Swami is an American musician, singer, guitarist, record label owner, and disc jockey. He is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Rocket from the Crypt, which ...
, who would later gain fame as the frontman in
Rocket from the Crypt, and as the first collaboration between Reis and singer
Rick Froberg
Eric "Rick" Froberg (born January 1968, also known by the pseudonyms Rick Fork and Rick Farr) is an American musician and visual artist. He was born in Los Angeles, lived in Encinitas, California, and currently resides in Brooklyn. In his mus ...
(the two would later form
Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. It was formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy an ...
and
Hot Snakes
Hot Snakes are an American post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis had found internatio ...
). As an aspiring visual artist and illustrator, Froberg provided most of the band's artwork while Reis developed his studio skills by acting as producer on their records.
Band history
Pitchfork formed in 1986 in San Diego. The initial lineup consisted of John Reis on
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
and
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
, Don Ankrom on
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gu ...
and Joey Piro on
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
. Rick Froberg (who would sometimes use the stage name Rick Farr or Rick Fork) soon joined on vocals. Their musical influences included
Mission of Burma
Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group formed in 1979 with Roger Miller on guitar, Clint Conley on bass, Peter Prescott on drums, and Martin Swope contributing audiotape manipulation and acting as ...
,
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of th ...
and others. In 1988 they recorded their first and only vinyl 7", ''
Saturn Outhouse'', consisting of three songs and released the following year.
In 1989 Ankrom left the band and was replaced by Nick Frederick. They entered
Radio Tokyo
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestri ...
studios and recorded their only album, ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of Flowering plant, flowering trees, shrubs or Mallee (habit), mallees in the Myrtaceae, myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the Tribe (biology) ...
'', which was released the following year on local label
Nemesis Records
Nemesis Records was an American independent record label which released the Offspring's debut studio album, ''The Offspring'', in 1989 as well as their 1991 EP ''Baghdad''. Nemesis was founded by Frank Harrison, distributed by Cargo Records from ...
. Froberg provided artwork for the album while Reis acted as producer. The band broke up shortly thereafter.
Following the breakup of Pitchfork Reis and Froberg formed
Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. It was formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy an ...
, in which they performed until 1995. Reis simultaneously formed
Rocket from the Crypt, which he performed in until 2005. During the 1990s he also released a solo effort under the name
Back Off Cupids, and from 2000-2007 performed in the
Sultans
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
. From 1999-2005 Reis and Froberg again reunited as the
Hot Snakes
Hot Snakes are an American post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis had found internatio ...
.
In 2003 Reis re-released ''Eucalyptus'' and ''Saturn Outhouse'' as a single
CD through his record label
Swami Records
Swami Records is a San Diego-based independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized e ...
.
After Frobits joined
Obits
Obits was an American rock band formed in 2006 in Brooklyn, New York. The band members are veterans of other independent rock bands: Guitarist/vocalist Rick Froberg was previously a member of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, and Hot Snakes, and g ...
from 2006 to 2015, Reis formed
The Night Marchers
The Night Marchers are an American alternative rock band formed in 2007 in San Diego, California, United States. The band is composed of singer/guitarist John Reis, guitarist Gar Wood, bassist Tommy Kitsos, and drummer Jason Kourkounis. Reis, Wo ...
in 2007. The Hot Snakes now continue after a 2011 reunion.
Band members
*
Rick Froberg
Eric "Rick" Froberg (born January 1968, also known by the pseudonyms Rick Fork and Rick Farr) is an American musician and visual artist. He was born in Los Angeles, lived in Encinitas, California, and currently resides in Brooklyn. In his mus ...
(aka Rick Farr, Rick Fork) – vocals
*
John Reis
John Reis, also known by the pseudonyms Speedo, Slasher, and the Swami is an American musician, singer, guitarist, record label owner, and disc jockey. He is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Rocket from the Crypt, which ...
–
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
,
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
*Don Ankrom –
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gu ...
(1986–1989)
*Nick Frederick –
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gu ...
(1989–1990)
*Joey Piro –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
Discography
Albums
EPs
External links
Pitchfork band page at Swami Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitchfork
American post-hardcore musical groups
Musical groups from San Diego
Swami Records artists