Love, sex, atonement, salvation, being and nothingness: these subjects entwine and separate in the music of singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, Jon Crosby. Driven by his intense creative focus, Crosby started his one-man musical venture, VAST, when he was still a teenager. Now regarded as one of the most adventurous and revered bands in rock, VAST developed a devoted cult following on the strength of two impressive major label albums, earning the praise of fans and fellow musicians as one of the world's biggest "underground" bands. Flirting with an amalgam of genres including arena rock, art rock, metal and classical, Jon Crosby's quest for enlightenment, forgiveness and sanctuary continues on VAST's first new album in three years, Nude.
Featuring twelve new tracks of atmospheric, darkly textured, relentlessly melodic rock, Nude opens with the edgy, electronic tone of "Turquoise," which turns to brash guitar-rock by the chorus. From the driving rock of "Thrown Away" to the quiet mystique of "Lost" to the serpentine bass-and-organ melodies of "Ecstasy," VAST is in top form, delivering a haunting, progressive record in its own distinct style. "Nude took on a life of its own during a time of soul searching while I was living in New Mexico," Crosby offers. "Being in the desert in the middle of nowhere and not knowing anyone, I was going through a personal crisis. It's ironic how fans sometimes say that certain songs helped them get through a hard time, but these songs helped me get through a hard time when I was trying to let go of the past and move into the future. Nude is just a very direct album, which is my style, musically and lyrically."
Nude was recorded throughout 2003 at sessions taking place in New York, Los Angeles and New Mexico. Crosby produced all twelve tracks on the album, with Josh Turner (engineer for Saves The Day and Los Lobos) co-producing eight tracks. Jason Corsaro (Duran Duran, Soundgarden, David Bowie) handled mixing duties. As usual, Crosby plays most instruments on Nude but is joined by long-time bassist Thomas Froggatt and several guest drummers including Charlie Benante of Anthrax, who provides a hypnotic groove on "Be With Me." "To me, Anthrax is this legendary band," says Jon. "It was great to have Charlie play on that song. He also plays on some of the songs that were sold as downloads. I had the chance to work with some great musicians on this record."
Raised in Northern California's rural Humboldt County by a single mother, Jon Crosby was a guitar prodigy at thirteen, and began VAST as a solo project at seventeen. Signing to Elektra Records in 1997, Crosby recorded and released his debut, Visual Audio Sensory Theater (for which VAST is an acronym) in April of 1998. A dark, complex musical journey, the record was a painful meditation on his past, where Crosby gained strength by exorcising personal demons. Visual Audio Sensory Theater produced two hit singles, "Pretty When You Cry" (with its accompanying "banned from MTV" video) and "Touched."
VAST's sophomore release, Music For People, followed in 2000. Music For People was an exhilarating step forward in modern rock: An eclectic mix of rock styles revisiting and elaborating on the themes of the first album. Among the layered guitar landscape, middle-eastern motifs and seductively gloomy trip hop riffs, Music For People included string arrangements courtesy of the New Bombay Recording Orchestra. Featuring the anthemic "Free," and the heart-felt ballad, "I Don't Have Anything," Music For People offered a beautiful, lush, orchestral experience at a time when the rock charts were dominated by harsh, unsubtle nu-metal bands.
In March of 2002, Crosby made a bold and surprising move when walked away from his deal at Elektra. "It was a very mutual decision and a good separation," he explains. "Working with Elektra was the beginning of a brand new life for me. When I was 20 years old, no one knew VAST at all. Just two years later, I was stuck in traffic listening to my song on the alternative radio station, hearing the DJ say, 'That one's getting a lot of requests.' I went to India and recorded an orchestra. I played hundreds of shows in front of thousands of people. I heard myself on the radio and saw myself on TV. We released four singles. Everything was really a success and we achieved a lot with the label, but I decided I wanted to make the next record on my own."
Crosby left LA and settled briefly in New Mexico, where he began recording demos in his home studio. "I'd recorded maybe 40 songs and had started actively seeking options to release the next VAST record, but I was eager to get this music into the hands of our fans," he says. Aware of VAST's far-reaching Internet presence, he came up with an unprecedented web strategy to give fans a preview of the album in progress. In the summer of 2003 VAST premiered many of the songs on Nude, and others not included on the new album, by posting rough studio mixes and unfinished versions of the songs for paid download through VAST's website (www.realvast.com). "They were songs that I wanted people to hear right away," says Crosby. "I wanted to strip it to its most basic level, and just let people hear my music. I got rid of all the red tape and said, 'Here it is!'" Two installments of ten songs each were released: Turquoise in June and Crimson in August. Both were met with overwhelming enthusiasm by VAST fans. "The Internet totally changes the dynamic between the artist and the fans," Crosby continues. "I think what we did is the solution for a lot of the 'music business blues.'" Crosby chose eight songs from Turquoise and four from Crimson to comprise Nude
At the same time, Crosby also established his own production company, 2blossoms, in Austin, Texas, where he now lives. "When I decided to make these songs available, I thought we should have a name -- a classic imprint -- for where this came from," he says. "As I move forward with other projects, I think 2blossoms will be my creative playground."
While exploring options for the record's release, the VAST demos came to the attention of 456 Entertainment, the label founded by Carson Daly and former Loud Records co-owner Jonathan Rifkind. "Once the A&R guy at 456 heard a CD, they wanted to work with us immediately," says Crosby. "The relationship with 456 feels like a partnership more than a traditional record deal. I'd much rather be with Carson and Jonathan at 456 than with any other label. In deciding to leave the conventional way of the music industry, we gambled and we won." Nude will be 456's flagship release.
Ultimately, Jon Crosby is excited about the release of Nudefont-family:Arial'> and optimistic about the future.
"With Nude, I feel not only proud but also really confident about the record I've made," Crosby says. "These songs came from my heart. This is me being myself."
Nude release date: February 24, 2004
VAST website: www.realvast.com
456 Entertainment website: www.456entertainment.com
Photos and press information: www.littlebigman.com/pr
For additional information on VAST, please contact Andy Adelewitz at Little Big Man Publicity, 646.336.8520, andy@littlebigman.com