Frodus (a.k.a. Frodus Conglomerate International, Frodus Sound Laboratories, FCI, Frodus Escape Plan, Frodus Deposit Insurance Corporation) was an American post-hardcore band formed in 1993 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist/guitarist Shelby Cinca and drummer Jason Hamacher. The band went through numerous bassists over the course of their career. Their mixture of math rock and hardcore punk plus their lyrical themes, frequently dark and dissonant and seen as esoteric for the time, led them to be described by critics as one of the most influential post-hardcore bands of the 1990s.
The name "Frodus" came from the last episode of TV series The Monkees called "Mijacogeo" (a.k.a. "The Frodis Caper").
Post-breakup (2000–2008)
After Frodus broke up in 1999, it took two years to find a label to release their final album. The first label, MIA Records, shut down due to the owner (also a Texas oil-tycoon) having to settle a long-standing lawsuit. Afterwards, long-time Frodus friend Tony Weinbender (then of Fueled by Ramen Records) offered to release Frodus' final album.
Shelby Cinca briefly joined the band Bluebird as a second guitarist following the breakup of Frodus, but left before recording any material with them. In 2000, Nathan went on to form The Out Circuit and Night Is Invisible (both of which released records on Lujo Records), and Hamacher went on to drum for Combatwoundedveteran. In 2003, the founding members Shelby Cinca and Jason Hamacher along with bassist Joe Lally of Fugazi joined to form The Black Sea. They later changed their name to Decahedron. Lally left shortly after the completion of their debut album and was replaced by Jonathan Ford (Unwed Sailor, Roadside Monument). Continually plagued by bassist fluctuation anomalies, Ford quit in 2004 and was later replaced by Jake Brown (formerly of Moments in Grace and Twothirtyeight). In 2005, they suspended operations after the release of their EP entitled 2005. Shelby Cinca then focused on his Swedish project Frantic Mantis with Håkan Johansson and Per Stålberg of Division of Laura Lee, and completed the third album by The Cassettes (Buddyhead Records, 2006). In 2006, Jason Hamacher started a project with Mike Schliebaum of Darkest Hour called Zealot. Cinca began releasing IDM, made on a Game Boy (Game Boy music) with the Nanoloop software, under his own name.
2006 also saw the relaunch of the Frodus web-presence and consolidation of its MySpace entities. The site was an attempt to archive all known interviews, previous website designs, press clippings, and digital transfers for media content. Shelby Cinca also began remastering out-of-print releases and adding them to the iTunes library and other digital music services through his partnership with Carcrash Records.
Reunion (2009–2010)
2009 saw Frodus reunite as the Frodus Escape Plan/Frodus Conglomerate International/FDIC (Frodus Despotic (or Deposit) Insurance Corporation) with Liam Wilson from The Dillinger Escape Plan on bass, and Jake Brown also on bass for select appearances.[1] The reunion was organized in commemoration of the re-release of the Conglomerate International double-vinyl LP on Gilead Media, and as a statement in response to the bank-bailouts and the uncovering of corporate corruption in the financial sector.[2]
In 2010, Frodus released a new 7″ of material, Soundlab 1, recorded in 2009 with Liam Wilson on bass, as a limited edition 7″ vinyl on Lovitt Records.
A reissue of the band's final album, And We Washed Our Weapons In the Sea, was released on Lovitt Records in 2015.[2]
