Frodus: ‘It Was Hard to Do Something Different’ in the ’90s

When the chaotic and undefinable Frodus took the stage last year after a decade away, many wondered if the Washington, D.C.-born act would pick up where they left off with 'And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea.' Frontman/guitarist Shelby Cinca told Noisecreep he has no plans to revisit "a therapy record," even admitting he has trouble listening to some of the songs now.

"People would be breaking down in the studio," he recalled. "It was bad. I don't ever want to make a record like that again, even though people love it. The record was the end, like we aren't going to do any more. We're done. Screw the labels, screw the close-minded bands, screw our own music dreams. It was an 'F you' to everything -- including ourselves."

After years of wandering around like punk rock nomads with no scene to call home, all attempts at making Frodus a full-time affair were batted down by labels lost on how to market the band and crowds confounded by a singer screaming sci-fi metaphors through a megaphone.

"We were still stuck in being too weird for the hardcore kids and too heavy for the indie kids. It was a very cliquey time, as much as it was idealistic in that there was an actual underground economy that functioned and was less about the [music business], and [more about] helping each other out. That was awesome. You don't really see that as much anymore.

"It was hard to do something different. If you were going to do something emo like Promise Ring, you had to do it all the way that way. If you were gonna be heavy, you had to be all the way heavy."

The only scene Cinca felt Frodus had any closeness to was the San Diego spazz scene that was birthed around the Locust. "They were definitely influenced by [D.C. hardcore] and taking it up a notch. But we were still a minority compared to all the other bands." This is where he coined the term 'spazzcore' for Frodus.

"I was tired of playing with chugga chugga straight-edge bands," he admitted, adding he would have rather opened for a DJ back then. "I do not relate to the attitude of that music. There's an energy that I related to, but where it was in 1999 was hard to relate to."

As the band prepared for their then-final album, real life struggles impeded their ability to tour non-stop. Cinca's father had a stroke and drummer Jason Hamacher's girlfriend was diagnosed with cancer. "It was not fun anymore. Life made it unfun, and then the [music business] made it unfun."

Released posthumously after being shelved by two labels -- one being funded by the son of an oil tycoon -- 'And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea' went on to grab new fans and stellar reviews. "The younger audience got what we were doing, because they were the ones that were open to people screaming and singing and not being chugga chugga all the time."

Now reformed with no desire to go full-time, Frodus play and record when they see fit and life permits. "It's a tricky amorphous being -- Frodus right now," Cinca said, relaxing as he looked forward. "It's the perfect place of mystery where we always wanted to be."