Drive Like Jehu

Drive Like Jehu () was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995 and later from 2014 to 2016. It was formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of the band Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy and drummer Mark Trombino, both from Night Soil Man, after their two bands disbanded in 1990. Drive Like Jehu's music was characterized by passionate singing, unusual song structure, indirect melodic themes, intricate guitar playing, and calculated use of tension, resulting in a distinctive sound among other post-hardcore acts and helped catalyze the evolution of hardcore punk into emo. The origin of the name “Drive Like Jehu” is likely from the Old Testament, specifically 2 Kings 9:20.

After releasing its eponymous debut in 1991 through local record labels Cargo Music and Headhunter Records, Drive Like Jehu signed to major label Interscope Records along with Reis's other band Rocket from the Crypt. Its second album, 1994's Yank Crime, gained a cult following, but the group disbanded shortly afterward. Reis continued with Rocket from the Crypt and Trombino became a successful record producer and audio engineer, while Froberg and Kennedy pursued careers outside of music. In 1999, Reis and Froberg began playing together again in Hot Snakes, which was active from 1999 to 2005 and again from 2011 until Froberg's death in 2023. Reis also re-released Yank Crime through his Swami Records label.

History

Formation and debut album

Prior to forming Drive Like Jehu, vocalist Rick Froberg and guitarist John Reis had played together in Pitchfork from 1986 to 1990, while bassist Mike Kennedy and drummer Mark Trombino played in Night Soil Man from 1987 to 1990. Both bands performed several times together and respected each other. Pitchfork disbanded due to creative differences and its original bassist, Don Ankrom, relocating to San Francisco; shortly afterward Night Soil Man broke up as well for undisclosed personal reasons. John Reis began hanging out with Kennedy and discovered their mutual admiration for Richmond, Virginia punk band Honor Role. Honor Role guitarist Pen Rollings influenced Reis deeply because his style was "very soulful" and had "personality" despite being a punk guitarist. Thus, he started playing guitar alone for many hours, trying to "merge himself" with the instrument. In 1990, Reis simultaneously formed the "self-proclaimed party band" Rocket from the Crypt and, around one month later, he recruited Froberg (who was also an Honor Role fan), Kennedy and drummer Chris Bratton to form Drive Like Jehu in August 1990. They had around five songs finished, but the relationship with Bratton "didn't work out," and he was replaced by former Night Soil Man drummer Mark Trombino. The band's name was derived from the biblical story of Jehu in the Books of Kings:

And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving [is] like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.

While Froberg had sung in Pitchfork, in Drive Like Jehu, he also played guitar, adding a rhythm guitar to Reis's lead. Most of the songs started with Reis's guitar ideas, and the whole band developed them through jam sessions. Drive Like Jehu's eponymous debut album was released in 1991 through Cargo Music and Headhunter Records, simultaneous with Rocket from the Crypt's debut Paint as a Fragrance. Produced by Donnell Cameron and with artwork by Froberg, it was praised as "a quantum leap forward" from Reis and Froberg's work in Pitchfork. In 1992, Drive Like Jehu released the single "Hand Over Fist"/"Bullet Train to Vegas" through Merge Records and the song "Sinews" on the Cargo/Headhunter compilation album Head Start to Purgatory.

Yank Crime and breakup

Interscope Records, interested in Drive Like Jehu, pursued the band and wound up signing both it and Rocket From the Crypt. Drive Like Jehu released an album first, putting out Yank Crime in 1994. Engineered and mixed by Trombino, and again with artwork by Froberg, it had some longer, more complex songs and was described by critics as an "uncompromising maelstrom of technically intricate fury" and "as worthy and awesome as its predecessor."