Upcoming show:
July 26 2008
Jon Ashley and Scott Ritcher
The Rudyard Kipling, 422 W Oak St, Louisville
10:00 pm, $3.00
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The Metroschifter released five full-length albums and several EPs between 1994 and 2000. In its early years, the band included a succession of members from hardcore and indie rock heavyweights such as Rodan, Endpoint, 411, Sunspring, the Rachel's, Falling Forward, Shipping News, Transcend, Eleven Eleven, and Chamberlain.
The Metroschifter has operated in innovative ways starting with their very first record. The band is from Louisville, Kentucky, but their members originally lived in different cities across the United States. Because of this, they learned their first set of songs from demo tapes that singer/songwriter Scott Ritcher mailed out to the other members. As a result, their first tour in 1994 was booked before they had even played together. Regardless, a few intensive practice sessions before the trip solidified their sound and their debut album was recorded the following week.
In a similar fashion, that album, "The Metroschifter Capsule," went on sale before it was even finished. The band members and Ritcher's label, Slamdek, ran advertisements announcing the new group was releasing a record that could be ordered in advance. Fans purchased the album before it was completed, then each copy was personalized with the buyer's name on the cover and home-delivered.
The Metroschifter's sound is loud, distorted, thunderous, and blazing, yet sometimes stops on impossible points to become complete silence, before diving headlong back into a mathematical, emotional storm.
Reviewing the "Fort Saint Metroschifter" album, Toledo Entertainment magazine said the Metroschifter put "more curveball dynamics in 1/3 of an hour than most of their contemporaries would put in a friggin’ box set." Impact Press describes a sound that can "fly from rage to softness to downright discordant... both spacious and gracious." Mega Music said "they almost never look or sound the same way twice" and Over The Shoulder called them "so damn inventive." A reviewer at Ignition chimed, "like nothing I’ve heard before," and Outback Magazine echoed, "One of the most unique and interesting bands." Maybe Punk Planet made Metroschifter proudest: "There are very few bands that are putting out such challenging albums. It's incredible. Three cheers for the Metroschifter!"
Early on, the band decided to stretch their sound, to never make the same record twice, and to make a conscious effort to test their audience. In 1996, they briefly departed from their ultra-distorted, full-throttle sound, and released an even more demanding record, the all-acoustic, country album "Generation Rx." Teleport City observed, "I've always admired Metroschifter's willingness to fuck with people," but Second Nature wasn't as smitten and barked, "After this record, Metroschifter should rename their band to something more suiting, like for instance, Crap!"
Metroschifter released "Encapsulated" in 2000 which pushed the band deeper into uncharted territory. On this unique record, they assembled a cast of some of their favorite bands who each learned and recorded a new, unreleased Metroschifter song. The result was an album of new Metroschifter songs on which each song was performed by a different artist. Participants included Elliott, The Get Up Kids, Ink & Dagger, The Promise Ring, Refused, Burning Airlines, and Rye Coalition. Manatee Bound announced, "this has never been done before," while Pitchfork comically wondered if the aging members of Metroschifter were too lazy to play their own songs.
All three members of Metroschifter have collaborated with each other on a variety of other projects in the time since the band was regularly active. And all members are also currently in other groups; Chris Reinstatler performs in Brett Ralph's Kentucky Chrome Revue and Verktum; Scott Ritcher is in the group Best Actress; Pat McClimans leads Lafayette, Indiana's the PMG. Ritcher also ran in the 1998 election for Louisville mayor and is a 2008 candidate for Kentucky's state senate.
After taking about six years off between 1999 and 2005, they returned to the stage for a series of exciting sold-out shows in Louisville. Always trying to keep it interesting, the opening act for the first return performance was a spelling bee in which audience members competed against bassist Pat McClimans. He lost. Since their return, they have picked tiny, ridiculous ticket prices ranging from $1.79 to $2.44 in their hometown to dispel rumors they were reuniting to make money. They tried to start a new band, but it didn't feel right, so they decided to just be the Metroschifter.
The Metroschifter played 200 shows between their first on May 4, 1994, in Paducah, Kentucky, and their last tour date on Dec. 6, 1999, in Rotterdam, Holland. Those performances were spread across 14 countries, and included four tours of Europe and five tours in the United States. Scott Ritcher also recorded and toured as a solo artist in the US and Europe.
The bulk of Metroschifter's and Scott Ritcher's music was issued on Doghouse Records and is available from that label or from the Apple iTunes Music Store.
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The Metroschifter's first album was released by the Slamdek Record Company in 1994, then re-issued in 1995 by Conversion Records. It has been out of print since Conversion went out of business nearly ten years ago.
Now you can download it and several other releases from our website at www.metroschifter.com .
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The Metroschifter began in 1994 as a solo project for Louisville designer Scott Ritcher. Backed by members of Endpoint and Falling Forward, the Metroschifter would produce a gentle blend of melodic indie rock and complex hardcore. This sound was first captured on their 1994 debut album, The Metroschifter Capsule.
With the help of Doghouse Records, Ritcher and company would release three additional albums as well as a number of single and splits with various labels. Amidst the hefty discography of the Metroschifter and his 1999 solo record, Ritcher would also run for mayor of Louisville as a Reform Party candidate in the 1998 election.
- by Mike DaRonco, allmusic.com
Other bands:
Pat McClimans is in the Pat McClimans Group:
myspace.com/patmcclimansgroup and patmcclimansgroup.com
Chris Reinstatler is in VRKTM:
myspace.com/verktum
Scott Ritcher is in Best Actress:
myspace.com/bestactress and bestactress.org
Join us on EggFly! www.eggfly.com/profiles/metroschifter
Read much more about us at metroschifter.com and slamdek.com .
