Speed the Plough is a New Jersey-based chamber pop/indie rock band that has been playing since 1984. The band rose out of the ashes of The Trypes, a mainstay of the early 80's Hoboken scene, which included most members of The Feelies, many of whom continued with STP through that band's first decade. Speed the Plough has released 9 full-length albums (on Coyote/Twin-Tone, East Side Digital, and Bar-None Records), a limited edition single on the French label Acetone, and a self-released EP. They have had songs featured in two independent films, Strangest Dreams (1990)and Paradise Park (1993). Their 2013 release, "The Plough & The Stars" (Bar-None) is a 30 year retrospective of the band.
The current lineup features founding members John Baumgartner (keyboards and vocals), Toni Baumgartner (woodwinds and vocals) and Marc Francia (guitar), Michael Baumgartner (guitar and vocals), Glenn Mercer (percussion, guitar), Dan Francia (bass) and John Demeski (drums).
As the NY Times described them: “...this is no rarefied art music. It’s a garage-band sort of minimalism, with welters of electric guitar sounds and feedback accelerating madly into crashing crescendos, only to subside and begin building again.”
BRENDA+1 are Brenda Sauter and Rich Barnes of WILD CARNATION. Brenda joined The Trypes and The Feelies in the mid 1980's before becoming one of the founding members of Wild Carnation in 1992. She was a member of Speed The Plough from 1991 until 1996. Rich played in X-Wires in the early 1980's and Wow And Flutter in the early 1990’s before becoming one of the founding members of Wild Carnation. He was a member of Speed The Plough from 1993 until 1996. Rich and Brenda, as a duo, have been posting their songs and tributes to songwriters since April, 2020. This is the first time they’re taking their Facebook musings on the road.
