VAST is an American band based in Austin, Texas. The acronym VAST stands for Visual Audio Sensory Theater and is the main creation of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Crosby. The band is signed to 2blossoms, an independent record company created by Crosby himself. Due to the ever-revolving door of band members and instrumentalists, Crosby is understandably known as the man behind VAST, and directly controls the band's musical direction. VAST's sound is clearly identifiable as ambient electro-rock with considerable industrial and acoustic influences, usually made with Crosby's traditional acoustic guitar, electronic instruments and processing, drum-driven tracks, and heavy bass. On stage, VAST uses elaborate stage monitors and visual effects to compliment the live performances of the tracks. After VAST left Elektra Records for Crosby's own 2Blossoms, the band has been known to play in smaller venues, catering to smaller audiences and lower budgets. Still, the band maintains a considerable fanbase and popularity among underground scenes.
History
Early years
Crosby's musical endeavors began at a young age of 13, where he was noted in Guitar Player Magazine as a promising guitarist of the future. He often recorded home demos with nothing more than a guitar and a drum machine, sometimes a bass player with him as well. He nearly signed onto a guitar-based label Shrapnel, but turned it down to work on his budding songwriting skills. Crosby eventually left High School to do Home Study and begin his own band, which he dubbed VAST. Much like fellow Alternative Rock/Industrial band Nine Inch Nails, Crosby was the only member but found a touring band who knew the songs well enough to play with him live.After sending multiple demo tapes to nearby radio stations in his home state of Texas, the band began to receive considerable attention; especially after Crosby sent a demo to Elektra Records, who eventually signed a contract with the budding musician. In a matter of no time, VAST released a teaser of their upcoming debut album Visual Audio Sensory Theater titled VAST Is... which featured the first four tracks of the album. The track Touched received considerable amounts of airplay on local radio stations before capturing the attention of a mainstream audience, and even being featured on a soundtrack to the movie The Beach, and often being featured as a promo song to commercials or advertisements.
Elektra years (1998-2000)
Crosby was about to release his best material on April 28, 1998 with his debut album Visual Audio Sensory Theater. Promoted heavily by Elektra as a revolution in rock music due to Crosby's usage of various choirs, (like the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey of Saint-Maur and Les Mystère Des Voix Bulgares), a 17-piece orchestra, thrashing guitar tracks, and ambient electronic noises. The band's popularity skyrocketed as the second single Touched became a hit, receiving good airplay around the country, receiving airplay on television as the soundtrack to Angel, and being used as a trailer for The Beach. The song is still a fan-favorite and gets considerable play on radio and television promos to this day. After Visual Audio Sensory Theater's astonishing success, the band went on an extensive tour as opening acts for countless bands, gaining a rather large fanbase and a cult following.After the promising tracks of Visual Audio Sensory Theater, Elektra pressured Crosby to go back to the drawing board and craft an album that was accessible to more listeners, but still retaining the distinct sound VAST had conjured for the last album. After two years, VAST returned with 2000's Music for People. Turmoil was abundant during the album's recording process as Crosby constantly fought with record executives over the music's direction and former backup guitarist Rowan Robertson wishing to leave VAST and begin his own solo career. By the end of the album's recording process, Robertson had left VAST, and Crosby reluctantly moved forward with the band and released the most emotional songs Crosby had released to this point. As expected (and much to Elektra's delight), Music for People created quite a buzz in the musical world as the band received multitudes of MTV airplay with their lead single Free's video, and the song Free charted on Billboard's Hot 100, and topped off at #42 on the list, and hit #2 on the Modern Rock Tracks. This commercial success skyrocketed VAST to fame, but Crosby was unhappy with the success and the pressure of the newfound success, Elektra's musical direction they wished VAST to move in, so in 2002, after a lengthy tour and soul-searching, Crosby went to the southwest to discover himself. In late 2002, Elektra Records dropped VAST from their contract.
Turquoise and Crimson years (2001-2005)
In 2004, a refreshed Crosby recorded bundles of tracks that were titled Turquoise 3.x and Crimson 3.x, but were released online in bundles off of his website, only online. VAST also solidified his band's line-up during this time, and it became a standard 4-person band. VAST's unusual method of distribution angered record companies, and as a result Crosby signed a short-term deal with 456 Entertainment to release the best of both releases as one album, titled Nude. Due to the relative obscurity of the label and the strange method of Turquoise & Crimson's release, the band quietly drifted off back to underground crowds as Crosby's musical integrity grew and became something that Crosby wanted, not what Elektra wanted. The idea of releasing Nude on an Indie label was a "nightmare", Crosby says because "There were so many problems dealing with them (456 Entertainment) on every level. I feel we made a big mistake not believing in ourselves enough and doing it on our own.". The album also received barely any airplay or commercial success, and when unnoticed by most critics, except for the few who stated that Crosby had found new life on his own, and stated that Nude was his best work since Visual Audio Sensory Theater. But, blooming out of the disaster with 456, Crosby's independent label, 2Blossoms began.2blossoms years (2005-present)
After a short tour for Nude, the band released 2blossoms's first release, A Complete Demonstration, which was a collection of early demo tracks during the Visual Audio sessions. The album was a limited-edition piece and sold quickly due to popular demand. Then in 2006, VAST released Turquoise & Crimson, a double-disc collection of all the tracks that were released as bundles online in 2004 online under his label. Popular demand was high, even with it being on an independent label, and eventually the album received a physical, retail release in stores. The album went over well with fans and critics alike, but still didn't receive enough attention to bring VAST back to the mainstream. In 2006, VAST released Live at CBGB's on their 2blossoms record to moderate sales. After multiple tours, VAST went back to the studio and recorded their first all-acoustic album, April.The release method for April was, once again, unorthodox. In 2006, Crosby released an online version of the acoustic album online with ten tracks. April was mostly recorded only by Jon Crosby and an acoustic guitar, but in other occassions, the bass and drums were used. Originally intended to be the finished version, Crosby was "unhappy with the finished version", so went back to the studio and finished the album with four new tracks and a whole new track listing. Fan-made artwork graced the cover, and the album received a traditional release in stores. The album was not as well received by critics and fans, but was modestly embraced. It didn't do as well as past albums, but features a few fan favorites and Crosby says it's one of his favorite VAST CDs.
Expected in 2008 is an album/documentary titled Closed Romantic Realism. The album is expected in early 2008, and is a 'return to the electro-rock' of past records. It is also expected to be a movie documentary of sorts, but not much else has been elaborated on. They have also recently released a new live album titled Seattle 2007, which features much more April songs played live than their previous live album, Live at CBGB's. VAST is also currently on tour, supporting April on a US and UK tour.
External link
- The Official VAST Website
Category:Texas musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1992
de:VAST fr:Visual Audio Sensory Theater no:Vast