Wingtip Sloat

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A highly underrated indie rock band from northern Virginia, Wingtip Sloat was formed by Andrew Dubuc, Patrick Foster and Dave Bishop in 1990. Rising from the ashes of Empty Box, a muscular college rock quartet that played mainly around the Charlottesville, Virginia area from 1986-1988. Drummer Bishop, bassist Dubuc and guitarist Foster (all of whom had a hand in publishing the 'Sweet Portable You' fanzine) were initially joined by guitarist Brad Maylor (who had played drums in the final lineup of Empty Box). The four-man Sloat lineup played several shows at legendary Washington D.C. club dc space and recorded a four-song demo at Inner Ear Studios, with Dischord Records veteran Geoff Turner producing. Maylor left the band near the end of 1990 and Sloat carried on as a trio, tightening their sound and focusing on home recording. Released in May of 1991, their self-titled, 4-song 7" garnered the band significant attention in the burgeoning indie-rock world. Positive feedback earned them shows with Pavement, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 and Sebadoh. Their next release, the double seven-inch 'Half-Past I've Got', extended their weirdly original mix of Flying Nun hooks, DC-punk drive and outsider vision perfectly, and it became a favorite of BBC DJ John Peel to boot; the seminal tastemaker even raved about the trio to Rolling Stone magazine. After agreeing to a deal with VHF Records (operated by Rake's Bill Kellum), the group worked on recording their debut full-length during 1993-94, scrapping several versions of the disc in favor of releasing numerous compilation tracks and then a third 7-inch, 'Return of the Night of the Ardent Straggler', which contained a glorious cover of the Tall Dwarfs' "Beauty". Long out of print, the music from this 1990-1994 period is scheduled to be documented by VHF on a compilation in 2007. 'Chewyfoot', Sloat's first CD, was finally released in late 1994. The 10-song effort continued their homeade magic, containing some of their longest and most memorable songs. In typical fashion, work on the followup took a backseat to intermittent shows, compilation releases and long breaks from public view; though the trio never wavered from their twice-weekly practice sessions. Their last official release, 'If Only For the Hatchery', eventually saw the light of day in early 1998. A few local shows ---memorably with Spoon, Sonic Youth and Mike Watt---took place during this period. The group then retreated into semi-obscurity, practicing and recording at home as frequently as ever, but making no public appearances. This pattern continued until mid-summer 2004, when the band went into a more formal hibernation, coinciding with Bishop's move to Louisville, Kentucky. Around this time, reports surfaced that they had nearly finished a long-rumored third album. With VHF's pending release of their early singles and the group's rediscovery by a generation of mp3 bloggers, activity may once again flare up on Wingtip Sloat's radar screen.