30° Everywhere

Background

The Promise Ring were formed from the aftermath of several Midwest emo groups in February 1995: guitarists Jason Gnewikow and Matt Mangan (both formerly of None Left Standing), and drummer Dan Didier and bassist Scott Beschta (both formerly of Ceilishrine). Mangan moved to Indianapolis soon after the group formed, resulting in them inviting Cap'n Jazz guitarist Davey von Bohlen He was friends with Gnewikow prior to this, but hadn't met Dider or Beschta before the group formed. and played their first show shortly afterwards. In June, the group went on a 10-day East Coast tour; after a brief five-day rest, Bohlen went back on tour with Cap'n Jazz to support the release of their debut. After the ninth day of the tour, Cap'n Jazz broke up,

The band released a 7" vinyl single ("Watertown Plank" and "Mineral Point") through Foresight Records, While on tour, Texas Is the Reason guitarist Norman Brannon was given a copy of the band's demo and 7" single, and gave them to Jade Tree co-founder Tim Owen, who was his roommate. Jade Tree's other co-founder Darren Walters initially scoffed at the tape, thinking it was a joke; he later claimed that "[f]or some reason [...] it reminded me of U2." When the band were touring near Walters, he took them out to dinner and promptly signed them. and was followed by a split single with Texas Is the Reason in May. Both releases were successful, with the band continuing to tour and work on material that would feature on their debut album.

Production

According to Bohlen, the album was recorded in five days "in a situation where we had no idea what we wanted to do or how we wanted it to come out." Additionally, Bohlen was ill during the making of it, resulting in issues with his vocals. Didier later said in retrospect: "it was the wrong recording at the wrong time with the wrong person." Casey Rice had recently returned from touring around Europe with Tortoise, and to him, he felt that he was simply recording a punk rock act. Didier added: "So we were all like, 'This is our first record,' so it’s like 'Okay, cool, okay. Whatever. I love Tortoise!' We did that, and then listening back on the way home we were like, 'Fuck.

Musically, 30° Everywhere has been described as emo "A Picture Postcard" details not wanting a partner's love to leave them.

Release and reception

Promotion and touring

The Promise Ring had sold around 4,000 copies of 30° Everywhere on tour prior to its release on September 10, 1996. Despite this, the album was an underground success, earning the group attention from independent publications. The attention was aided by the inclusion of the emo staple "A Picture Postcard", which had been released earlier on the Falsetto Keeps Time EP. The band had 500–600 copies of the album to sell over the course of several gigs, however, during one show at CBGB's, they sold all copies in one go. The album was re-pressed on vinyl alongside Nothing Feels Good (1997) and Very Emergency (1999) in late 2015.

Critical response and legacy

AllMusic reviewer Blake Butler said the band "certainly know how to write sharp, powerful, and beautiful songs."

30° Everywhere sold 12,000 copies by September 1997. It has been cited as one of the popular emo releases from the era, LA Weekly included the album on their list of the top 20 best emo albums. Bohlen dismissed the album in a 1999 interview with Alternative Press, saying he would "never listen to our first record. If we could have put out [Very Emergency] for our first record, we would have". Gnewikow did not think it was a "very good record", explaining that they had been a band for that long prior to its creation, "we had no business making an album like that then".

Man Overboard included a cover of "Red Paint" on their compilation The Human Highlight Reel (2011).

Track listing

Personnel

• Davey von Bohlen – vocals, guitar
• Jason Gnewikow – guitar
• Scott Beschta – bass guitar
• Dan Didier – drums
• Rachel Dietkus – violin on tracks 9 & 12
• Casey Rice - engineer
• Tim Owen & Scott Beschta – photography

References

Citations

Sources

References

1. Huey, Steve. "The Promise Ring {{!}} Biography & History". AllMusic.
2. Huey, Steve. "Cap'n Jazz {{!}} Biography & History". AllMusic.
3. "FAQ". The Promise Ring.
4. "The Promise Ring". Jade Tree.
5. "Falsetto Keeps Time - The Promise Ring". AllMusic.
6. "The Promise Ring/Texas Is the Reason - The Promise Ring / Texas Is the Reason". AllMusic.
7. Galil, Leor. (February 24, 2012). "An oral history of The Promise Ring".
8. Keil, Jason. (May 26, 2004). "Former Promise Ring pair go Maritime".
9. Wood, Mikael. (July 16, 2004). "Emo-plus".
10. Butler, Blake. "30° Everywhere – The Promise Ring". [[AllMusic]].
11. Cepeda, Eduardo. (August 31, 2017). "The Promise Ring's 'Nothing Feels Good' Proved There Was Room for Pop in Emo".
12. Eakin, Marah. (November 21, 2015). "An app for lists, live Rush, and 3 old Promise Ring favorites".
13. Gilbertson, Jon M.. (September 18, 1997). "Self-effacing Promise Ring not impressed by success".
14. James, Patrick. (October 10, 2013). "Top 20 Emo Albums in History: Complete List".
15. King, Ian. (October 4, 2019). "Emo at the Crossroads: 'Very Emergency' and 'Something to Write Home About' at 20".
16. Man Overboard. (2011). "The Human Highlight Reel". [[Run for Cover Records]].