Christie Front Drive

Christie Front Drive was a midwest emo outfit formed in Denver, Colorado in October, 1993, part of a Colorado post-hardcore scene. They cite influences such as Superchunk, Sunny Day Real Estate, Buffalo Tom and Drive Like Jehu. The lineup consisted of Ron Marschall (drums), Jason Begin (guitar), Kerry McDonald (bass) and Eric Richter (guitar and vocals).

The band first released their highly sought after, self-titled, 6-song 12” on Freewill Records in 1994, followed by a s/t 7” on freewill and 2 split 7” records with various bands (Sineater, Jimmy Eat World [Richter would sing back-ups on JEW’s major label debut, Static Prevails], plus a 7-inch compilation on Germany’s X-Mist label called For Want Of, named for the Rites of Spring song). The band later released a split 10”/CD with Kansas City’s Boys Life on LA’s Crank! Records, and then their self-titled swan song, the “Stereo” album, which was released on the Lincoln, Nebraska label, Caulfield Records. The band called it quits in May, 1996, but played two separate unannounced/word of mouth house shows later in the year(one at thanksgiving and the final show on new year’s eve). Later, Caulfield released an anthology CD of Christie Front Drive’s earliest recordings. Most recently, Christie Front Drive re-united for a one-off show in September of 2007 as a part of the third annual Denver Music Fest.

Members of the band have resurfaced in: Antarctica, The 101 and Golden City (Richter), The Mighty Rime (McDonald), The Blue Ontario (Marschall and Begin), the Prole Art 3 (Marschall), The Reports (McDonald), the November Trio (McDonald), and guppies eat their young (Marschall) and The 101 (Richter). Marschall was also credited as an engineer on The Apples In Stereo’s album, The Discovery of the World Inside the Moone. Richter’s pre-CFD bands, Lilawatt and Turnkey, each released a 7” single in the early ’90s wherein Richter only played guitar; Lilawatt’s/Turnkey’s singer, Steve Revitte, is now a renowned recording engineer in NYC (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Beastie Boys). Today, Christie Front Drive’s earliest material, especially their debut 12” and 7”, have been known to go for $150 on eBay.