The Making of the CD:
*Warning:*
This page is only for people who bought the CD. If you have not, please cover your eyes while viewing the page. Well, I guess that this part isn't really all that secret. Okay, okay, read on, brother.
~~~Well, where do I begin? How do you tell a story that hasn't a beginning or an end? I don't know either, but that really has nothing to do with this. This story does have a beginning, but hopefully no end. We can only wait and see what the future holds. This will probably be pretty long, and not all that entertaining, but bear with me. I guess that it all started around October of 2000 . . . (hazy dream sequence ensues) . . .
~~~Ben and Wes usually hung out in the same pod together at ABU, Omicron, and even though it wasn't even Bens pod, everyone thought that he lived there. Even Wes for a little while, but we won't get into that. One day, the two were tired of just playing with the worship teams, and wanted to jam out something heavier, something more contemporary, so they went to the Brinton auditorium to satisfy their thirst for musical production. Ben on drums (playing like Jeremy Taggart), and Wes on guitar (playing like Kermit the Frog), they jammed for a night, then decided that they needed a bassist, because that's what every band needs, right? I guess, but anyways.
~~~A few nights later, on worship team practice night, the night that all of the amazingly talented members of the ABU community come to practice their musical specialty for God, Ben and Wes were on the lookout for a good bassist. Now, by "good", we didn't necessarily mean "can play Hendrix solo's on a bass, behind his back, standing on his head" good, we were looking for a good guy, although that would be a pretty cool party trick. Why a guy? It just seems much more natural, maybe we're chauvanists, maybe I spelled that wrong, maybe I'll just continue. At the end of the night, we saw James. I have no idea why we asked him to play with us, out of the three or four that were there that night, but we did. "Wanna jam sometime?" "Sure." And there you have it. The formation of Vertical Vision. Now, that may not sound all that "preordained" or "purposefully created", but hey, who really wants to be O-Town, or anything like that?
~~~We jammed out some new stuff, some old stuff, and some stuff that only one of us had ever heard (that just doesn't work well, if it's the drummer). Soon we started playing some stuff that Wes had written way back, and some newer stuff too, and with the inclusion of the band, the tempo's changed, the methods changed, and the music took on other forms. This was a good thing. Just thought that I'd make sure you were aware of that. Bands have to work together creatively to survive, and especially just to make good music. Take my word for it.
~~~Well, now we have this music, and a band, and a way to play it, and all that good stuff. So what do we do? At this point, we went and asked to be a student ministry team, but there was no venue for a contemporary christian music band in student ministry at that time (something I still don't really understand, but anyways). So, what else can we do?
~~~What else is there to do? Have a rock concert! That's right, and not just any rock concert, a big one, one that will someday rival Woodstock (not the new one, the old one) for popularity, and for innovation and quality of music! A few ideas were tossed around. Why just have a concert with one band that no one has really ever listened to before? Lets have a concert with four bands no one's ever listened to before! Yeehaw. Some names were tossed around, Everything from More Betterness 2001, to Battle of the Bands (and who really wants that? sheesh). We came to an agreement, BLAZE 2001!
~~~Blaze had posters and almost had t-shirts, and four bands, only one ever heard of before, and best of all, lots of good intentions. A Christian Contemporary rock concert. Who could ask for more? It went well, and hopefully next year it will go even better, with more people. As for the concert itself, it probably couldn't have gone better. This helped V2 to gain some confidence, now that someone had heard them play, and the reviews were in, we didn't suck! I know that the constant perspective changing in this story is probably confusing, and possibly annoying, but bear with me, I'm just trying to keep you on your toes!
~~~What next? A CD! Yes, the moment you've all been waiting for, and the moment that we'd been waiting for. How do you make a CD? Hmm, now there's a good question, one that needs to be answered if you're going to make one. First thing, you need a record label. Well, scratch that one. Second thing, you need a lot of money. Well, scratch that one. Thirdly, you could use a recording studio. Scratch. Scratch scratch scratch. So, how did we end up making a CD? I can't tell you that, I'm afraid, but I can tell you that it didn't cost a cent. If you look around, and be creative, it won't. There's bound to be some way to do it. What I can tell you is what happened the day of the recording. I won't get into the politics of booking the auditorium, because that's just too much.
~~~Well, up bright and early at 11:00am for the big day. Hey, look, classes and exams were just over, we needed some sleep. Ben and Wes set up choir risers and coat racks (with choir robs on them) for sound dampening (very important for recording) in the Brinton Auditorium, and then wait for James to arrive, after setting up all their instruments. Didn't take very long for him to get there. We've got time to practice a couple songs. So we do. Nearing the end of our last practice song, "Twang!", Wes breaks a string. "Don't worry guys, I've got two extra sets . . . and no more e-strings!!! What do we do?!" After much deliberation, and almost all of the spare time had been exhausted, we decided to go to Moncton Music to buy new strings. We'd be late for the recording when we got back, but at least Wes would have all six strings.
~~~We hit the road in James' mean machine (Ford Escort Wagon), and speed off to Moncton Music, for the record, obeying every speed limit sign there was, and getting caught at every red light as a result of it. Ben and Wes race in, and try to open the wrong door, and James, ashamed, points us in the right direction. Wes races to the counter, and ends up stuck behind several people, while James and Ben go upstairs to leisurely look at drumsticks.
Finally at the counter: "Do you have any D'Addario .10 guage?"
" . . . hmm, no."
"Do you have any Yamaha .10 guage?"
" . . . wow, out of those, too."
"How about Ernie Ball?"
" . . . now that's just odd, none of those either."
"What do you have?!"
"GH- nope, we're out of those too."
"How?!"
"There might be some out back, let me check."
~~~Anyways, to make a short story long, Wes got some strings, that he'd never even heard of before, and Ben got a pair of his favorite sticks, and the Fearless Trio set off for ABU, still obeying all posted speed limit signs, and getting stopped at almost every light. We got back, set up in the wink of an eye (maybe a slightly narcoleptic one), and recorded our 6 Songs in 1.5 hours. If we had had more time, we would have recorded a full CD, but since it was free, do you really think that we would argue? No, I didn't either.
~~~In a surprisingly short time (overnight), we got the mixed CD back, and are forever greatful for the guy (or girl) that did it for us. We listened after a very buisy day, and it met our expectations and exceded them. What do you do with a CD? You make copies. How do you do that? With a CD burner. Who has one? Now there's a worthy question.
~~~We looked around, and finally found one, and since the CD is only 23 minutes long, it didn't take very long to print off the first ten copies. We each kept one full session copy, and gave out the other seven as special "signiture editions" that we hope someday will mean something, and be worth more than a dollar. The master copy was soon after, taped shut, and will sit in a safe place for a very long time, until it is again needed, or until 8-Tracks come back into style. The cover and back and stuff were then designed by Wes (who wishes he had a CD burner so he could make more than the Ten regular CD's that have to this date been made, and are in fact, for sale). You can get in touch with us, through the e-mail address on the main page if you'd like to order one.
~~~What new and exciting things does the future hold? Where will the band next be playing? What colour will the page end up being in the future? If the caramel is so hard to get into the Caramilk bar, why is it so easy to get it back out again? If a plane leave Seattle at 4 O'Clock, what colour was the elephant? If a tree falls on a mime in the woods, and no ones around, does anyone care? All these questions and more will be answered in due time.
