Draft:Penfold (band)

Penfold is a midwest emo band from New Jersey. Originally forming in 1995, the group released an EP and two albums; Your Eyes Have All The Answers in 1997, Amateurs & Professionals in

1999, and Our First Taste of Escape in 2001 before disbanding in 2003. Through the 2000s and into the 2010s, the band reunited several times. In 2005, a show the band played in a friend's friend's basement was released in a limited quantity as Elf Pond - The Secret Penfold Show. In 2011, the band's two albums were remastered and reissued. In 2023, the band released their first "new" music in twenty years with the Final Demos EP.

History
Penfold was formed in 1995. Their members stayed the same throughout their run.

The band disbanded because Stephan Jones, the bassist, wanted to go to college and the rest of the band didn't want Penfold to continue without him. The band's last show in their original run was on March 22, 2003 at the M&M Hall in Old Bridge. The band played two packed shows that night due to people having to be turned away from the door.

Post-breakup & reunions
Brian occasionally performs as The Waltz, the name coming from the songs he'd write being in waltz time signatures. After the band broke up, three out of the four members formed The Moirai (also styled as the*Moriai). They recruited Mark Wojcik to play bass in place of Stephan. They released an EP titled "Bury Yourself" in 2005 and disbanded shortly after, most likely due to Stephan coming back from college and talks of a Penfold reunion being in place.

As a test to see if they could still play together before they formally reunited, they played a secret show on November 12, 2005 in a friend's basement in New Brunswick under the name Elf Pond. The show was filmed and was posted online and later released as a limited edition DVDr. The band played a formal reunion show on February 25, 2006 at Hamilton Street Cafe in Bound Brook.

In 2011, it was announced that Count Your Lucky Stars Records would be reissuing Amateurs & Professionals on vinyl for the first time. The reissue version features "Microchip", their contribution from The Emo Diaries Chapter Three: The Moment of Truth. A second reunion show was announced for Maxwell's in Hoboken on September 17, 2011 with Marigold and Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) opening.

In 2012, the band announced a three-show Japan tour.

In 2013, intheclouds Records announced that they would be remastering and reissuing Our First Taste of Escape.

In July 2020, Brian participated in Quarantunes Vol. 5, a series of online performances put together during quarantine. He performed Penfold songs using just an acoustic guitar.

On August 27, 2020, a Bandcamp page was set up for the band and released "Sea of Crisis - Remix", a new mix of the song originally appearing on Our First Taste of Escape. The reason for release was because "When Penfold first recorded "Sea of Crisis" we meant to add the sounds of radio static to the intro, to match the effects that are placed on the vocals, but we never did."

On March 15, 2023, another Bandcamp page for the band was created and released the Final Demos EP. In the description, it was described that "At the end of 2001 prior to breaking up we had started working on some songs for what would have been our 3rd record. We only wrote two. These are them." On the same day, the Huge Manatee single was released on the first Bandcamp page which featured the first song on Final Demos.

Members

 * Brian Carley (vocals, guitar)
 * Stephan Jones (vocals, bass)
 * Richard Steward (guitar)
 * Michael Jones (drums)

Albums

 * Amateurs & Professionals (1999, Milligram Records)
 * Our First Taste of Escape (2001, Milligram Records)

Singles & EPs

 * Demo (self-released)
 * Your Eyes Have All The Answers (1997, Hearts Down Recordings)
 * Sea of Crisis - Remix (2022)
 * Huge Manatee (2023)
 * Final Demos (2023)

DVDs

 * Elf Pond - The Secret Penfold Show (2005)

Compilation appearances

 * "Chapter Two" on Like Two Kites Flying Vol. 1 (1998, Mandarin Fanzine/Communication Recordings)
 * "Microchip" on The Emo Diaries Chapter Three: The Moment of Truth (1999, Deep Elm Records)
 * "Chapter Two" on How To Be A Hero (1999, Prizefight Records)
 * "I'll Take You Everywhere" on ...It Certainly Was A Grand Piano (2000, Abominable Records)
 * "Travelling Theory" on Fiddler Records Sampler (2000, Fiddler Records)
 * "Human Drama" on Firework Anatomy (2001, Ignition Records)
 * "May I Have This Dance" on Lose All Reason (2003, One Way Records)
 * "I'll Take You Everywhere" on Count Your Lucky Stars Sampler #4 (2012, Count Your Lucky Stars)