Speed The Plough Founders Releasing New Track and Video

John and Toni Baumgartner, founding members of New Jersey band Speed the Plough, were on a planned band hiatus last winter when they started working on some new music, in some new directions. Initially, they enlisted third STP founder Marc Francia to add some guitar parts on a few songs. Things were moving along nicely through January and February. Then they found themselves in the epicenter of the coronavirus and in lockdown starting in March 2020. That meant that any new recording would have to take place long distance. They decided to continue recording and releasing tracks on a monthly basis. I hope you might consider covering this release series via feature interview or track reviews. The latest release in the series is "Unknown Quantity."

John explains the song's provenance: "'Unknown Quantity' is one of the first things we devised after COVID-19 lockdown here in New Jersey meant that no one would be coming over to record anymore. We thought, 'The hell with it, let's change things up and maybe go back to some of the original naive energy that fed The Trypes, when we were unpolished and perhaps purer.' Hence, 'Unknown Quantity.'

"The original take was a telegraphic synth part played like on a ribbon control, a drum loop, and a couple of soprano saxes. A little later we enlisted our son Michael (who was still coming over to do his laundry) to contribute the electric guitar parts.

"This first saw the light of day in an episode of 'Omniana,' a YouTube series our friends Scott Anthony and Rebecca Turner put together to help keep us all sane during lockdown earlier this year. You're encouraged to check out the program.

This version, mixed by our recording guru for the last 30 years, Don Sternecker, reflects the confusion of this period of time.

This is the third 10+ new pieces the pair plan to release on Bandcamp on a monthly basis until Spring, 2021, to be followed by a physical album release. The as-yet unnamed project will also include contributions by former STP members Brenda Sauter and Rich Barnes, Matt Davis of The Thousand Pities, and others.

John and Toni are hoping the project will remain fluid throughout, inviting new guests, adding new pieces, adapting to what the new world holds in store for us all.

Watch the video here:

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