Roadside Monument is Doug Lorig (guitar/vocals), Johnathon Ford (bass/vocals), and Matt Johnson (drums). Other members have included Mike Dente (guitar/vocals), Todd Florence (bass), and Joel Metzger (drums) who were all on the first and second release of Roadside Monument (My Life is Green 7" and Beside This Brief Hexagonal) with the only original member, Doug Lorig (who did guitars and vocals at the time). The band has put out a total of six releases on Tooth&Nail Records, a live bootleg tape on Casa Recording Company, and numerous songs on samplers and compilations on T&N, Crank!, and Glue Factory.
The first release from the original members was the My Life is Green 7". The vinyl showed a humble beginning for Roadside. They pumped out three Seattle-rock (almost grunge) songs with some emo and punk mixed in. The structure followed the verse-chorus-verse pattern, but little did they know what they were starting.
Beside This Brief Hexagonal had more of an "emo" sound with punk energy. Poppy at times, Roadside delivered a "beautiful mess" of songs onto this record (as Doug Lorig put it in HM Magazine). There were times on the record when Doug Lorig did his first trademark chaotic screams on songs such as "Seed." I am still touched by "Still" every time I hear it. "Who am I?/That you take interest in me?/The hour is late/Stop and realize/I'm in the prescence of a King." The intelligent lyrics would later become a little harder to decifer as Doug would become the the principle lyricist.
The Puller/Roadside Monument split EP brought about a new line-up to Roadside. Mike Dente, Todd Florence, and Joel Metzger left to persue other interests while Doug Lorig saw the deconstruction and reconstruction of RM. In the process of constant line-up changes, it finally came down to three (and the most-noted): Doug Lorig, Johnathon Ford, and Matt Johnson. The EP also showed a new element to the ever innovating style of Roadside. Chaos. "On Molasses Lake" starts off with pop sensibilities, but after a few minutes it explodes into a chaotic and beautiful mess that completely takes the listener by surprise. This journey into chaos would set up fans for the most amazing album they ever put out.
Eight Hours Away from Being a Man is possibly one of the most innovative albums ever to come out Roadside (and the underground, for that matter). The disc first explodes with the eerie "Sperm Ridden Burden" in a little over two minutes of chaos and fury as Johnathon screams "It will survive." Throughout the album, Roadside hints a little at it's early pop-like beginnings, but takes a more indie-rock and hardcore approach (while not really fitting into either genre). The beautiful and intricate instrumentals trascend the air, then the chaotic distortion blasts without warning. "Iowa Backroads," "Apartments over the Peninsula" and "Crop Circles" (which has one lyric line) shows the true talent of the band, especially in the guitar area. Doug Lorig never has ceased to amaze me on this record. I am still clueless on how to even begin to tab out most of the songs. The song that has meant the most to me is "Crop Circles." The song begins with a two-string picking and evolves into a beautiful melody. It repeats a few times as the distortion makes way. Amidst all the noise, you hear the plea, "Where are all my friends?" No person's collection is complete without this journey into loneliness, chaos, and beauty.
The Roadside Monument/Frodus Split EP again prepares for another innovation in Roadside's music. With one new song ("Nothing Short of a Comfortable Situation"), they take on a more indie/math-rock sound with vocal harmonies and enlongated improvisation.
The latest venture for Roadside Monument is I Am the Day of Current Taste. As pre-cursered on the split EP with Frodus, the CD takes a more melodic and indie/math-rock approach. Doug Lorig's guitar work on this record has indeed improved in a way I can't really describe. The singing is more limited on this album and the band seems to focus more on the instrumental aspect. Another element that changed since Eight Hours was the lack of unexpected chaos (which is really only heard in "This City is Ruthless and So Are You"). Some personal favorites on this record are "OJ Simpson House Auction," "The Lifevest," and "Taxi Riding as an Art Form."
In 1998, Johnathon Ford moved to Chicago. Various bands came from the three members (including Johnathon's critically acclaimed Unwed Sailor), but in early 2002, Johnathon moved back to Seattle and after four years, Roadside Monument reformed.
Roadside Monument, in truth, cannot be put into a music category. So many have tried to pigeon-hole their sound into make-believe genres (I once heard the term "prog-core" used), but Roadside's complicated song structures, mind-blowing drumming, incredible bass lines, and beautifully incoherent guitar work births music beyond categorization. Creating a song is easy, creating a work of art with instrumentation is harder.
