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Next Best Thing was my first band, and a
great experience. The three original members included myself and two
friends Chris Ayers, and Joe. (Joe, I'm sorry but I forgot your last
name...terrible of me.) The three of us worked together and shared a
love of music, and the desire to play in a band. Chris played guitar,
Joe played bass, and I was the lead guitarist and sung background
vocals.
Within a short time we wrote a few songs,
found a drummer, John "Skitch" Hudzig, and played a few shows. Joe
later left the band and was replaced by Steve Eiler for our final show
at the Mason Jar in Phoenix. Before Chris and Steve left the country
to serve missions, we decided to record a demo.
We paid the sound guy from one of the
venues, Bryan Stratman (of local Honey Bucket fame), a whopping $500
to record our demo.
The recording process was wrought with drama and dilemmas at every
turn. I never did get the final mix or DAT tape from Strat.
However the versions we did have were
promptly put on cassette taped along with a few other recordings and
released as a shoddy "Best of..." collection. Everyone who
received a copy, loved it, as far as we can tell.
The songs have been digitized and mastered
to eliminate as much tape hiss as possible. They are not the final
versions, but the only ones that exist. Enjoy.
...
Hey Chris, Joe, and John...I've lost track
of all of you. If you should stumble across this, drop me a line after
you finish reminiscing about the good old days. This page is for you!
...
It's been amazing to listen to these songs
and read the lyrics. The whole album seems very dated now, but
consider I was in High School at the time. The lyrics defiantly
reflect that time in my life.
...
And Strat...I want my DAT.
Unrecorded / Unreleased Songs
Bag-O-Hearts
Hey You
Oceans |
