Drive Like Jehu

Drive Like Jehu were an American post-punk/post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1990 i

Drive Like Jehu were an American post-punk/post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1990 in San Diego, California and disbanded in 1995. Their music combines elements of rock and punk with complex time signature changes and complicated interweaving guitar rhythms, sometimes described as noise rock, math rock or sludge rock. They released two full-length albums before disbanding in 1995, partly due to Reis' increased involvement with his other band, Rocket From the Crypt. The success of Rocket From the Crypt and of Reis and Froberg's later band Hot Snakes has drawn increased attention to their work in Drive Like Jehu and led to a re-release of their influential album Yank Crime. Posthumously, Drive Like Jehu's music has been cited as a catalyst for the reemergence of emocore and for the prolific San Diego music scene of the 1990s.

As youths growing up in San Diego, guitarist John Reis and singer Rick Froberg had played together in the post-hardcore band Pitchfork from 1986 to 1990. After Pitchfork's demise the pair were joined by Mike Kennedy on bass and Mark Trombino on drums to form Drive Like Jehu. The band shared musical similarities with Pitchfork but also exhibited significant changes: Froberg would now play guitar as well as sing, adding a second guitar to Reis' lead. Kennedy and Trombino also brought with them a progressive rock influence from their previous band Night Soil Man. The members were also influenced by underground American rock bands such as Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Mission of Burma, Slint, The Wipers, Black Flag, and the Honor Role. They also cited non-American influences such as the Krautrock bands Can and Neu!, as well as the soundtracks of Ennio Morricone. Trombino developed his studio skills by acting as producer and engineer for most of Drive Like Jehu's recordings, while Froberg acted as the band's artist and illustrator, creating artwork for their albums and merchandise.