Bio and Band Stories:
My very first band, Last Gamble, was started by myself, my two cousins who played guitar, and my little brother on the drums. I was the bassist and lead vocalist.
While practicing in my garage, the lead guitarist of 2 The Same, a close friend of mine, passed by and asked if we'd like to open for his band a week later. We accepted his offer, and played an awesome show with some touring bands from Washington.
During soundcheck for that show, I was warming up on the bass and was playing a bass solo from 2 The Same's demo EP, which really shocked their guitarist, surprising him that I was able to learn it simply by listening to it.
A few months later, 2 The Same's bassist broke his arm, only one week before they were to hit the studio to record their full-length album. They came to me and invited me to be their new bassist, asking me to write basslines for all of their new songs so that I could record them the following week.
I took my video camera to their practice area and filmed them playing the songs, which I used to practice and write my basslines, and I was able to successfully record all of the songs for the album.
The band dissolved several months later when I left to serve an LDS mission in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the rest of the band went their separate ways.
When I returned from my mission, I received a Myspace message from the guitarist of the band Formerly So, Blue Jenkins. He said that he'd listened to our album and wondered if I would like to audition for their new band. (Brayden Green, lead vocalist, and Blue had split off from their previous band called Something Original, hoping to start a new project.)
I downloaded their demo songs from Myspace and wrote basslines for them, and showed up to audition in the Formerly So studio in Provo. They liked what they saw and I was accepted as the new bassist, alongside Jason Stapleton, who had been taken on as their keyboardist a few weeks previous.
We began writing songs and playing shows, until suddenly our drummer Scott announced that he was leaving our band for an EMO band up North. The search was then on to find a replacement. After trying out several drummers, we found Brian Chamlee and were immensely impressed at his talent. He was taken on as Formerly So's new drummer.
Two weeks later we called in Joel Pack from Aquarius Studios (Now Rigby Road Studios) to record our first EP with five new songs we had just written. They turned out great, and we soon called Joel back to record five more, comprising our debut full-length album called "Disappointment is Control."
Before we were able to complete our album, Jason left on an LDS mission to Romania, and we began auditioning rhythm guitarists soon after to fill the void left by his absence. We tried out a few rhythm guitarists for the following few months, and finally in the autumn of 2010, we found Tim Webster, who was the perfect fit.
We played many shows, both traditional and nontraditional, including fundraisers such as the Ride For The Kids event hosted by R.C. Willey, and the Adolescent Center for Talent Development. We also competed and took first place in the College of Eastern Utah Battle of the Bands in 2009.
In the summer of 2010, we had the opportunity to film a music video to our song "Cut Down" with Ty Jensen and Ken Wilcox of TyJens Media (www.tyjens.com). They pulled out all the stops and made a spectacular video for us, and did it at no cost to us, as they were building their portfolio for their budding new business.
In early 2011, the band faced several complications which ultimately led to the disbandment of Formerly So. The members parted ways, some beginning the search for new projects.
Brayden, Jason (having returned from his mission), and myself formed a new band with Brayden's cousin Andrew Alder, an excellent guitarist who served for a time as Formerly So's rhythm guitarist. The new band is called Apollo Sunset, and we are currently recording a demo album that will aid us in searching for a drummer. We are very happy with the new arrangement and the music we are producing, and see big things in our future.
