Posted on: September 10, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

On Tour Now:

September 21st – St. Louis, MO – Bluebird w/ Gentleman Auction House

September 22nd – Champaign, IL – Pygmalion Festival w/ Andrew Bird, Okkervil River & More

September 28th – Columbia, MO – Mojo’s w/ Gentleman Auction House

Fresh off a two month tour of the East and West coasts, The Foundry Fields Recordings end the summer with these local festival and club dates, sticking close to home in order to finish their newest, currently untitled, album for release in Spring 2008.

Spin.com “… these CMJ favorites bring an orange molten glow to their music.”

CMJ Music Monthly “The Columbia, MO foursome and producer Barry Hibdon tirelessly trick out each catchy track.”

The Tripwire “…could be the sleeper you won’t want to miss out on.”

The Foundry Field Recordings’ latest full-length release, prompts/miscues, released in June 2006, evolved over three years of intense collaboration and input from all four members of the band, also resulting in a companion EP, Fallout Stations EP.

This is the follow-up release to Fathers as Robots, the debut EP put out in late 2003, and their Spring 2005 7-inch, Battle Brigades. The production, general recording, and mixing of prompts/miscues, took over a year and a half at and was done at Barry Hibdon’s Red Boots Recording Studio, in Columbia, with Barry Hibdon serving as chief engineer. (The album was eventually mastered at Catamount Studios.) The end result is a visceral concept record that ranges from shoegaze-folk to psycho-fuzz-rock with an indie-dance-pop heart. The entire record is built around an apocalyptic daydream with sounds as diverse as a subway, a fountain, or the flipping of radio stations incorporated into the album.

It prompts/miscues focuses on society’s increasing demand for time and technology, compounded by the debilitating political and social climate currently polarizing massive groups of people around the world. The music takes shape in straight ahead pop songs like, “assembled hazardly,” and “clones were made for them but not for us,” as well as the infectious dance beats of “holding the pilots/holding the facts” and the sentimental sorrow-pop of “broken strings.” The Foundry Field Recordings are enjoying regional success, having taken advantage of offered opening sets for national touring acts such as, Spoon, Super Furry Animals, Dressy Bessy, Aqueduct, The Rosebuds, Songs:Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co., and Deerhoof. The Foundry’s debut release, Fathers as Robots EP, fostered airplay on over 200 college and non-commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada in 2003/2004.

The Foundry Field Recordings is a testament to the evolution and perseverance of a band originating from a rather simple, “NEENAH FOUNDRY CO.,” name cast upon manhole covers and various other public works plaques around the town of Columbia, MO. At the time when frontman and founder, Billy Schuh was headed off to the University of Missouri, Columbia, Schuh began to teach himself guitar. The persistent nameless faceless foundry company logo in his freshly explored new college town sparked a grand idea for a transient musical collaboration project, one where songwriter Schuh could feature his
songs with a revolving door of musicians who would represent a new institution. This clandestine group of artists was known simply as, “The Foundry.” At some undeterminable point in late 2001, “Billy Schuh and The Foundry … ,” shows began popping up at local music clubs. The first show found Billy Schuh and The Foundry … Conspirators. Then continuing on through The Foundry … Local Union Workers, Standard, Wizards, Exterminators, Frankenfish, Archivists, Optimist Club, Time Travelers,
Law Firm, Go-Bots, Field Study, Savings and Loan, Hacktivists, Fornicators, Judiciary Committee, Maternity Ward, Petting Zoo and so on. Benjamin Hook, who Billy started one of his random side-projects with, ended up becoming the first main co- conspirator of The Foundry. Soon after Becky Baxter and Daniel Stegall, founding members of another popular Emergency Umbrella Records band, The Kingdom Flying Club, defected from that musical unit and became part of the permanent
Foundry line-up with Billy and Benjamin.

Benjamin Hook, who heads up percussion duties, string and horn arrangements, as well as the editing of the actual field recordings, grew up around music, as his parents happen to both be high school music teachers. Daniel Stegall also picked up playing the guitar at home from his mother who plays the instrument, yet his love for music is established more out of a personal hobby than any Partridge Family- type environment. With a similar story is his long-time fiancée bassist Becky Baxter, who grew up in Farmington, MO listening to the likes of Iron Maiden and Queensryche … before discovering the joys of clubs in Saint Louis and the 90’s alternative-pop dance nights they hosted.

www.myspace.com/thefoundryfieldrecordings

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