blogs, blogs, blogs

Welcome home... me?

My prolonged absence is over, and, finally, my post on Man Holding Briefcase is now live!

Sunday, October 15, 2023

The Remington

Do You Feel At Home? #11

The Remington


Consider this "Part II" of the LDOA post.
This will also be relatively short- more info on that at the end of this post.

    The Remington, also known simply as Remington, was an emo/indie-rock band from southern Michigan (I believe Detroit) that existed briefly during the tail end of the last century. The bands lineup consisted of Ryan Allen on guitar and vocals, Robert Byrd on drums, Adam Kempa on bass (as well as finger cymbals), and Martin D "MD" Smith also on guitar (and tambourine). Members of Remington, namely Ryan Allen and MD Smith, would go on to join/form Thunderbirds Are Now! and Red Shirt Brigade. Kempa would move on to The Pop Project, and he also hosts his own website that details many things he's been a part of, as well as general history regarding him and a plethora of other things.

    While info and history regarding the projects proceeding Remington are pretty abundant, comparatively at least, info regarding Remington themselves is sparse, as there's pretty much none. What I do know, however, is that the band played shows with the likes of Stillwell, Notaword, The Ivy Crown, and Last Days Of August.

    The Remington play a tried and true style of emo/indie-rock, with vocals that remind me of Recess Theory (who are also another amazing band). Since The Remington were only around for so long, it's understandable that their output is very limited, consisting of a self-titled CD EP, a split with Long Island's very own Last Days Of August, and a singular compilation contribution.

    For starters, we have their self-titled CD EP, released in 1998 on Deco Recordings International, which I speculate was a one-off label made solely for the release of this EP. My description of their sound just earlier basically describes the meat & potatoes of their recorded works. For this being the bands first release, it's quite a decent offering, and though Ryan Allen's vocals on here aren't fully ironed out yet, they're more than serviceable, and lend to this record a certain "teenage punk-rock charm" that is always more than welcome. I'd say give it a listen!







Remington.

1. Cancer By X-mas
2. Toledo Opera
3. B.C. Two-Hander
4. Set The Curve
5. Matrix


    Next, we have their split 7" with Last Days Of August, released in 1999 on Eudora Records. I recently made a post regarding LDOA, (see post Do You Feel At Home? #09) so as to avoid repeating myself, I will keep this note short, though I do suggest you give that post a read if you'd like. The bands sound has noticeably developed on this song, and is pretty darn great all around- and seeing as their sound had quickly matured between releases, it certainly gives them a spot on my long, long list of "Bands I wish put out a full-length". Though, maybe there is a full-length floating around somewhere, and I just haven't found it... I doubt, but I definitely hope that I'm wrong!



Split 7" w/ Last Days Of August

Side A:

Last Days Of August - Six Ways From Sunday

Side B:

The Remington - Our Founder Saves The Day


(Thank you to Beginners for helping with this one on the LDOA post while my turntable is broken.)



    As for other material by this band, there's just two more things- one being the track "I'm A Violent Person (In Theory)" which was a part of the compilation CD "Reveal The Character", released by Elkion Records at the start of another lousy millennium. (Also known as the year 2000) I believe this was either just before the band broke up/moved onto new projects, but there's a good chance it was put out well after that. Either way, it rips, so I recommend checking it out via the embedded link below. Oh, and one last thank you to Beginners, you rock, dude!

    Lastly we have this 5-song cassette, or "Woodshed '98". I missed this tape the first time around writing this as I didn't think to check Bandcamp for any remnants of them, so for that I apologize! When I said I hoped for a full-length from these boys, this definitely gets close, as it rocks! It features the "I'm A Violent Person" track, as well as "Our Founder Saves The Day", but the other three tracks on here are the real stars of the show. Probably some of their best material, and it's a shame they seemingly ended after this, though that's just about how it typically goes, eh? You can give it a listen/download for free via the Bandcamp link below.



Woodshed '98

1. Set My Hand On Fire
2. I'm A Violent Person (In Theory)
3. Our Founder Saves The Day
4. Arthur Miller
5. Head On Into The Door Of A Moving Car


My next post will likely be the biggest one so far, so I'm pretty excited to share it. It will include direct notes from band members, as I went ahead and did a little mini-interview, so to speak. No ETA on when that post will be finished, but I hope to have it out within the next few weeks to a month. See you soon!

No comments:

Post a Comment