Archers of Loaf

Chapel Hill

Archers of Loaf formed in Chapel Hill in 1991 and kept the same four players on every record: Eric Bachmann on vocals and guitar, Eric Johnson on guitar, Matt Gentling on bass and Mark Price on drums. Bachmann told the Houston Press in 2003 that he had been a saxophone major at Appalachian State until his junior year. Their records came out on Alias, with Merge reissuing the catalog in 2011 and 2012: Icky Mettle (1993), Vee Vee (March 6, 1995), All the Nation's Airports (1996) and White Trash Heroes (September 22, 1998).

Vee Vee was recorded in Chicago in August 1994 and produced by the band with Bob Weston; its single was "Harnessed in Slums". They split in 1998, reunited in 2011 for reissues and shows, and returned with Reason in Decline (October 21, 2022, Merge), recorded at Drop of Sun in Asheville with Adam McDaniel. Bachmann told InsideHook he had felt he had moved on rather than trying to recreate the sound of the nineties. Setlist.fm counts 425 setlists, the latest on August 28, 2023 at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro.