Obits

Delivering taut, straightforward rock & roll with sharply interwoven guitar lines, muscular rhythms, and a melodic sense that splits the difference between indie rock and garage-influenced punk, Brooklyn, New York's the Obits were a band with an impressive pedigree -- guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg was previously a member of <a href="spotify:artist:7FbdCzKUwoZs1v9bCl43Ev">Drive Like Jehu</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5hEP2P4E1FjoFYdhhxe7vi">Hot Snakes</a>, while fellow guitarist and singer Sohrab Habibion was a veteran of Washington, D.C. indie rockers <a href="spotify:artist:45spCVDSFkBSxj3FFPTy5c">Edsel</a>. After the breakup of <a href="spotify:artist:5hEP2P4E1FjoFYdhhxe7vi">Hot Snakes</a> in 2005, Froberg moved from California to Brooklyn, and in 2006 he began writing new material and rehearsing with Habibion and drummer Scott Gursky (also a member of <a href="spotify:artist:0Kqm6XfXrAEBshFeeYvan6">Shortstack</a>). While the trio initially considered adding a third guitar player, the arrival of bassist Greg Simpson gave them the power and solid bottom end they needed, and the group's lineup was complete.

In early 2008, the Obits made their public debut at the Cake Shop, a club on New York's Lower East Side; the show was packed with fans eager to hear Froberg and Habibion's latest project, and one of them managed to record the set, posting a lo-fi bootleg of the show on the Internet. The Obits stole back two songs from the live tape and made them available on their MySpace page, and soon the band was gaining serious buzz from indie rock fans who heard either part or all of the debut concert. Chris Jacobs, an A&R man at <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop+Records%22">Sub Pop Records</a> and a big fan of Froberg's previous work, was impressed enough with the live bootleg that the Obits were invited to play <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a>'s 20th anniversary festival in Seattle in the summer of 2008, and it wasn't long before they signed a deal with the label. To satisfy their growing fan following, they released a single, "One Cross Apiece" b/w "Put It in Writing," on their own Stint Records label in late 2008, and their first full-length effort, I Blame You, was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sub+Pop%22">Sub Pop</a> in March 2009. The Obits' follow-up, 2011's Moody, Standard and Poor, was just as fiery as its debut. The quartet returned in 2013 with their third album, Bed & Bugs, that experimented with a plethora of sounds and styles. The album also introduced drummer Alexis Fleisig, formerly of <a href="spotify:artist:33HLOae9rhJfw6Mh0e8g5r">Girls Against Boys</a>, who replaced Scott Gursky in the lineup. The Obits toured in support of the album, but were inactive after that, and in April 2015 they posted a statement on social media confirming that the group had split up. Rick Froberg returned to <a href="spotify:artist:5hEP2P4E1FjoFYdhhxe7vi">Hot Snakes</a>, appearing on their 2018 album Jericho Sirens, while Sohrab Habibion formed a new group, <a href="spotify:artist:5IIUFEaUTPf24HioSMge9v">SAVAK</a>, making their debut with 2016's Best of Luck in Future Endeavors. An August 26, 2012, Obits performance in Brisbane, Australia was given a belated release on 2021's Die at the Zoo. Rick Froberg died on June 30, 2023, at the age of 55. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi