It isn't quite an invite to the studio, but in creating VAST's third album, Jon Crosby found a way to offer listeners a closer look at the creative process. Two groups of songs -- ten tunes in each -- are available for download through realvast.com for under three bucks a piece. Though the songs - grouped as Turquoise and Crimson -- are hardly bare-bones, they represent the blueprint for what will be VAST's next album.

Having cut ties with Elektra (which released 1998's Visual Audio Sensory Theater and 2000's Music for People) last year, Crosby took to the Internet as a proactive medium of keeping in touch with fans of his work. "I've always been interested in exploring these kind of territories," he says. "I like the adventure of it all. It's stripping things to such a simple level that it's almost like what it started out as: Back to the fact that you make some music and you play it for people. It's so simple." Having departed from the major label, Crosby also doesn't see the advance presence of the music as affecting the reception for the actual album when it does appear. "I don't think the chart position means applies that much to us."

Crosby also credits the foray with changing the way he goes about actually creating records. "I used to be more about perfectionism," he says, "quality being better than quantity. In the end I realized I'd rather put out more work. It seems like my favorite artists don't wait too long between records. It's a lot more interesting to get a doozy every once in awhile. I'm proud of the music and I like the music, but instead of working on it and working on it, it's nice to go for it and not be so self-conscious."

The popularity of message boards paired with the availability of early versions of the songs, could have undone that anti-self-conscious approach, but Crosby seemed to welcome feedback without letting it interfere with his process. "There's too many people, it would just drive me mad if I thought too much about what each one said," he says. "But it is nice to hear positive feedback about a song that I might not have cared about as much."

The enthusiasm of listener reactions has intrigued Crosby; more than 1,000 fans bought Turquoise during its first week of availability, despite no promotion or publicity. He initially planned to begin selling the final album this fall, though 2004 release now seems more likely. Until then, there are still twenty songs that offer a glimpse at what will be the final product and a sampling of some songs that would otherwise have fallen by the wayside. "The overall feeling I get is that people are getting it," he says. "Our fans are digging it, hearing the music and not having to wait. They also seem to want the final product in their hands. We'll see, there's no way to know. But I think even the free sharing of music creates promotion, which allows an artist to gain something they wouldn't otherwise have had."

ANDREW DANSBY
(October 31, 2003)