Exit Drills
From The Secret History of the Cedar Valley
Contents |
History
Also known as: Exit Drills in the Home, E.D.I.T.H.
One of the more "successful" acts to come out of the Ragman scene, comparable to No Consensus in longevity, number of gigs played, and general reach and influence.
Formation
Originally conceived as a "fire safety rock" band, E.D.I.T.H. (the original band name) grew out of the short-lived [[My Mentor Al]] in 1999. After Joe Riehle and Steve Wilson quit My Mentor Al, Chuck Hoffman, Stacy Peck, and Matt McGuire were at the Ragman house jamming on a few riffs and plotting their next move. Josh Schneiderman happened by and ended up joining in on drums, despite the fact that the kit's cymbals were not present as [[Steve Wilson]] had removed them for cleaning. The remaining My Mentor Alsters liked what they heard however, and asked Scheiderman to join their new band.
Origin of band name
The band took their name from a sign outside the Cedar Falls fire station which read "Remember E.D.I.T.H.: Exit Drills In The Home." The band saw this sign while taking a break during practice, and had been working on a song, written by Peck, called "Ah! There's a Fire!" The "fire safety rock" concept was born at this moment, and the band would continue to work this theme into their graphics and between-song stage chatter even as their songs explored a wider range of topics.
Early history
In the band's early days, Hoffman and McGuire shared lead vocal duties, and songwriting was a highly collaborative affair between Hoffman, McGuire, and Peck. McGuire or Peck would usually start with a riff, Peck would rattle off a phrase to use as a title, and Hoffman would begin writing lyrics based around whatever that title brought to mind.
E.D.I.T.H. made their debut opening for the industrial band Luxt at Stebs in 1999. Though Steb's was closed not long after, this would not be the last time the band performed on the Stebs' stage, as they became a favorite at The Question Mark, which was an attempt to keep the venue intermittently open under a new name. The band caught the ears of Dave Deibler and Barb Schilf of House Of Large Sizes, who secured the band opening slots on a couple of very memorable local gigs, and also of Brian Cox of The Slats, who offered to record them at his home studio in Cedar Rapids.
Matt leaves, name changes, band records
Before E.D.I.T.H. could make it to Cox's studio however, McGuire moved out of the area, and the rest of the band elected to continue as a trio. In part to mark the inevitable stylistic changes brought on by this shift in personnel, and in part because of annoyances with the band's original moniker (venues and show-bookers consistently failed to write it as an acronym, and Hoffman was tired of people associating it with <title>All In The Family</title> character Edith Bunker), the group changed its name to Exit Drills, and began a very productive period.
The musical style the band would become known for, a kind of nervy postpunk-influenced indie rock with a lot of emoting and some weird humor, began to gel around the time of the recording sessions with Brian Cox. It was hoped that The Tyros Label, operated by Cox and Dana Lechtenberg, might release the product of the recording sessions on CD, but no offer to do so came about because of a miscommunication, so the group released the recordings themselves on CD-R with cover design by Schneiderman.
Stacy Peck leaves
Over the next couple of years, Exit Drills gained a following by playing out in Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, and Ottumwa, before Peck left the band and moved to Seattle. Hoffman placed flyers seeking a new bassist, and was contacted by Airen McNally, a local poet and musician formerly of [[Shooting Hollywood]]. This lineup was among the first bands to play at the newly opened Cedar Falls venue The Reverb, and played perhaps one of the lengthiest sets ever done at that venue by a single band, incorporating improvisations and taped sounds. Airen left the band soon after, but fate brought in longtime Ragman Records co-conspirator Peter Vanderwall to take up the bass spot in early 2002. Vanderwall's meandering, melodic playing gave the band's music another interesting new element, and this incarnation of the group also did quite well, playing shows in Iowa City, Des Moines, and Minneapolis as well as Cedar Falls.
the end of Exit Drills
In the late spring of 2003 however, Schneiderman was beginning to lose interest. Working long hours at his graphic design job to save up for his approaching wedding, Schneiderman decided he would prefer to do without the additional stress of practices and shows and was beginning to see himself more in the role of family man than rock musician. After receiving a poor ranking (in spite of one of their finest performances) at The Reverb Battle Of The Bands, Schneiderman left Exit Drills in April of 2003. Kevin Geist was brought in to replace him, his intricate and hard-charging playing a stark contrast from that of Schneiderman. The band only lasted another two months or so after that however, playing two more shows, including a very memorable appearance at the Punc Roc Prom event organized by The Slats's Mark Langgin at The Reverb.
After Vanderwall moved to the Ukraine in June 2003, Hoffman decided to hang up the Exit Drills concept and began working on a solo recording project in which he re-made a number of Exit Drills songs with new arrangements.
Band Members
- Chuck Hoffman – Guitar, Vocals
- Josh Schneiderman – Drums
- Stacy Peck – Bass
- Peter Vanderwall -- bass later on
- Matt McGuire -- Guitar in early lineup
- Airen McNally -- bass for a brief period between Peck and Vanderall
- Kevin Geist -- drums for the last month or two of the band's existence
Discography
 Ragman Records (RR-15432-4) 2001 |
 2002 |
- How To Decompose: The Story of Exit Drills (forthcoming)
Memories/Anecdotes
- Blake Badker:
"There was this summer 2002 Exit Drills show me and Chris and Jay and Jim went to. Looking back on it now it was definetly a Marky Mark and the Sunshine Kids moment for us. I know Chuck would probably not want to mention it as a standout, being an indie purist, but the performance of "Toaster Takes Too Long" was one of the most heavenly things I account in my mind-body complex and I'm not being sarcastic. Chris and I took computer programming and we know the pains of technology meeting flesh and eyeball. It was also the summer sweat and the beers we were drinking, but it was mostly that song and that performance. Top 5 I've ever seen."
