Here we go again:
*Warning:* This page is only for people who have read the first four stories, and through that have become emotionally attached to Vertical Vision. If you have not, watch some sad movies and read them again.



----Sometimes I wonder if we're really getting anywhere with this whole band thing, and sometimes I wonder what they really put in Cheeze Whiz. I have since come to terms with the fact that neither of these things will ever be answered for me. With that understanding in mind, let us move on into the bread and butter of this article.

----It's been a while, and lots of things have happened. So let me recap: Ben and Luke left, James and Wes then spent numerous Friday nights playing to a mostly packed house at the now defunct Mosaic Cafe, James and Wes then did nothing for a period of time that will go unmentioned, mainly because I don't actually remember it happening; it just did(n't) (kinda like Nirvana). That's when Blaze 2003 came along, and they didn't want to miss it this time, as they did the year before, so they sprung into action once again. An ear or two was put to the ground (trust me, you can't do two by yourself), and a guitarist was found. His name was Josh (and still is, as a matter of fact). James had some problems with Josh being in the band, mainly just that it meant that he was no longer the tallest one in the band anymore. How tall is he? Taller than you (probably). Fortunately, after some counselling sessions, and a good ten minutes, he came to terms with the whole idea. Josh played his sweet, classic rock inspired acoustic guitar harmonies with great determination, and quickly caught on to the V2 swing of things.

----While everyone knows that it is hard to pull a good band together and get practiced in a couple of months, everyone also knows that it's even harder just to find a good drummer. Finding a good drummer is kinda like jumping off a cliff into a glass of frozen water. You have to spend all of this time finding the glass of water, then placing it properly at the bottom of the cliff, but until the band practice together, your really don't know whether you're going to smash into some ice, or sploosh gently into the cup. Okay, maybe it's not like that at all and I should delete the better part of this paragraph. In any case, I would rather have had a Llama spit in my eye than go looking for another drummer. Trust me, it hurts. A lot. Am I talking about the drummer or the Llama now? I don't even know, but something's gotta hurt.

----After about as much trial and error as trying to balance my mother on my chin, we came across Ben. Now, I know what you're thinking: "How much does your mother weigh?" I'm afraid that if I told you that I'd be in more trouble than balancing her involves. You might also be thinking that this is the same Ben as in the Past, but this is not so. This is a new (and maybe improved, we'll let you decide) Ben. Even though he couldn't play with flaming drumsticks, and didn't practice 6-8 hours a day, we figured that he'd do just fine. And so he did. Now that there is once again a four man V2, one great question remains: where do we go from here? The next step is obvious: Subway.

----Now, with a full stomach, and a little more energy, it's time to practice. And practice we did. Although we started out practicing five songs, we only ended up with four, and no one's really sure what the fifth one was, or even where it went; it just kinda disappeared without any questions. If I compare that one with anything, I might end up with the government after me even more than they are now. (Yes, that was a very abstract joke. Read it again if you didn't get it). The songs went well, and the practices happened (Although not nearly as often as they should have, but they never do.) The basketball team is mainly to blame for the lack of practices, since Ben was already quite committed to that. Also, James had a new girlfriend, and had some kind of work ethic going on for school. Then there were Josh and Wes. Although they were buisy guys, they spent night after night nailing down the tracks, and practicing to no end. Okay, so it was only about twice a week, and the end came around 11:00 each night, but I think you get the picture.

----Blaze 2003 then came about faster than a speeding bullet, and definitely louder than a locomotive. Although it did not leap over any tall buildings, it was still a blast. V2 was as ready as they've ever been, maybe even more than they've ever been (although we had a hard time convincing Ben I-don't-think-I-know-the-songs-yet Nickerson that we were). This Blaze was even more special because The Contact, from Halifax NS (Christian band that sounds rather like a mix between U2 and Coldplay) came to be the feature band. An interesting story unfolded from this:

----As Wesley was laying down his patch cables on the stage, he was greeted by the lead singer of The Contact, who said:
"Wes?"
"Umm, hi."
"Wesley Perry?"
"Uhh, yeah, that's me."
"Hey!"
"Hi . . . you're in The Contact, right?"
"Yeah, I'm Geoff, I'm the lead singer. Remember?"
"What do you mean?"
"We went to school together, and I went to visit your house in (blank), and we went to the museum and stuff, remember?"
"Umm . . . no. Sorry"
"Oh, well, it's nice to see you again."
"Uhh, yeah, I'll see you after the show I guess."

----So, as you can guess, Wes was a little confused. Okay, he was really confused. As a matter of fact he felt like running to his room to call him mom and ask her who Geoff was. As you can guess, and I hope you did, Wes didn't do this, and continued setting up. This bothered him all through the show, and even more than the broken string in the first song did. After the show, everyone was gathering in the great hall, and The Contact was sitting at a table being all popular and stuff, when Wes glanced at Geoff, and realized who he was. At that moment, Wes also realized who Geoff was: One of his best friends from grade three. Anyway, to make a story that's already long a little less short, everyone was happy in the end, and Mr. Roper didn't find out about the rock concert, even though Janet let it slip when he stopped by to check things out.

----So what did all of that have to do with anything? Nothing really, but the simple fact is, there really isn't all that much to say about the concert, so we'll be moving on to the bread and butter of this story: The recording of Clean Slate. Since Blaze went well, Wes and James decided it was time to go ahead with the big plans that they had for the new year, and Wes informed the other two guys of the plans. They both thought it was a pretty good idea, until they found out how soon it would be. Josh was determined to do it well, and make sure that he was ready, and Ben was determined that there was no way the band would be ready for a recording in time. Wes assured him that if they could pull off Blaze, they could pull off a simple recording, but to Wes' chagrin, he would not be consoled. That's when the recording went Vertical Vision style. If you've read any of these stories, you'll know what that means.

----Everything that could rationally go wrong, went wrong. No biggie. But Ben and Josh were a bit concerned. I mean, so what if you don't have the equipment, the place, the person, or the practice to record a CD with only two weeks to go? Two weeks! That's 336 hours. There is so much a person can do in 336 hours it's not even funny. You could count the number of hairs on your head in 336 hours. You could crazy glue your hands and feet together and slowly pull them apart in 336 hours. Most of all, you can dig yourself out of prison with a steady supply of spoons and coffee. Okay, maybe that's not most of all. Most of all, you can get pretty darned prepared for a CD recording in 336 hours. And so it was. After night after sleepful night of practicing (it just wasn't that high a priority to those who had final exams to study for, except for Wes for some reason).

----So, after a 3.5 hour recording session with Mark Lloyd and the band and sometimes Ben Porter, and a 4 hour mastering session with Mark Lloyd, his small dog, and Wes and Josh, and a few minutes at Wes' computer, Clean Slate was born. You can listen to clips of it in the Sounds page, or you can buy it for a cheap, but high quality five bucks. In the end we have learned that there are two great things you can do with $300 and 336 hours: You can eat four Big XTra meals a day at McDonald's for two weeks straight and die of a heart attack before you're thirty, or you can record a great CD and walk away with your life (and a CD). Although both bring about great satisfaction, only one doesn't lead to triple bypass surgury. The choice is yours, and the choice is simple. Clean Slate is here to stay, and Vertical Vision is whole again, and ready for another big year in the sun.

----So, until next time, keep your cholesteral in check, and make sure you spend your time wisely. You never really know what you can do with a little initiative. Have a nice day, and God bless. -V2