“…nimble and brutal and raw … pointed enough to hit right at the breastbone but abstract enough that they never felt like they were preaching.”
- Jes Skolnik, Bandcamp Daily
“Constants:
1. That first band brilliance, where the members learn to play their instruments at the same time as they learn to play together, building a telepathy that lets them lean into drastic switches and explosions
2. When the songs address the mundane, specific horrors of life ("strawberry shampoo") with such direness & conviction that the inexpressible becomes immediate, universal
3. Songs that elbow and shoulder, songs that get inside and see me jumping on the bed and pushing over all the furniture in the house, songs that are infectious in every sense of that word
If a band does even one of these things I am bound to fall in love. Pitchman, a quartet of teenagers in the early 90s, managed to do all three in one brisk year.”
- Ethan Swan, Jabs
PITCHMAN was a short-lived, frenzied, and fiercely determined high school punk rock band whose life spanned one year in 1992-1993 around Washington DC.
Aaron, Gabe and Matt had been playing together in various forms since meeting in the magnet program at Eastern Middle School but only gelled as a band with the introduction of Drée. As both the singer and the only girl in the band, she exploded all preconceptions with a wild and fearless stage presence that was equally so far beyond her years and squarely testament to the raw power of being 16 years old.
The band played less than 20 shows with highlights including sharing bills with Circus Lupus, Born Against, Slant Six, God is My Co-Pilot, Cupid Car Club, and comrade kid bands Smooch and The Vaporizers. They played St. Stephens Church, APE Embassy, Club Heaven, basements, the Mountain Lodge, and more.
Their first show was in September 1992 and they broke up in August 1993 when Aaron went to college. Members quickly went on to other projects including Mob Action, Meta-Matics, Idiot Symptoms, and others.
Their sole recorded appearance was on a small-batch cassette compilation entitled Rodeo Riders put out by Kim Thompson in early 1993, including a version of Shrinker from the same session as track 12.
