Showbread (band)

Showbread
Showbread performing in Mount Airy, PA in August 2006.
Background information
Origin	Guyton, Georgia, US
Genres	Screamo, hardcore, alternative rock,post-hardcore, metalcore
Years active	1997–2016
Labels	Come&Live!, Tooth & Nail, Steel Roots, Coastal Rock
Website	www.showbread.net
Past members	Matt Davis John Giddens Drew Porter Garret Holmes Josh Dies Patrick Porter Mike Jensen Landon Ginnings Ivory Mobley Ryan Peterson

Showbread was an American Christian metal band formed in Guyton, Georgia in 1997. The group has gone through numerous lineup changes since its initial formation, but maintains its two core members, Josh Dies and Patrick Porter. The group built an underground fanbase in the late 1990s and early 2000s through word-of-mouth exposure and frequent touring. In 2004, the band signed with Tooth & Nail Records and released their major-label debut, No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical. In 2010, the band left Tooth & Nail and joined Come&Live!, an independent record label that releases music via free downloads.

Throughout their career, the band has been subject to much controversy among Christian listeners, over their lyrical themes and personal lifestyles. The members of Showbread have labeled their musical sound as "Raw Rock". According to former guitarist Matt Davis, the band's name comes from "a biblical reference that Jesus used to show how Christianity isn't so much about rules but about love."

Showbread released their final album, Showbread Is Showdead, on January 8, 2016.

The band was formed in 1997 by Patrick Porter and Travis Riner, as a worship band for the Southern Baptist church they attended. Their church ultimately asked them to leave when they started playing music the church viewed as Satanic. Eventually, Patrick's younger brother Josh joined the band. He now serves as the band's lead vocalist and primary songwriter, though started as the band's drummer.

The band went through line-up changes, including the addition of Eddie Ortiz as vocalist, and began playing local and regional shows, which garnered the attention of musicians in other Georgia-based Christian rock bands. It was through these meetings that the additions of Mike Jensen (guitar), Matt Davis (guitar), and John Giddens (synthesizer) took place. Ortiz left the group in 2001 but does appear as vocalist, and is credited, on the independently produced and released record The Dissonance of Discontent and plays guitars on the album "Goodbye Is Forever", he returned briefly to tour and run merch for the band in 2004. With their new line-up, Showbread toured independent of management, booking agents, and record labels for two years before signing to Tooth & Nail / Solid State Records in 2004.