Advertisement
Brian Vander Ark had a Number One single with the Verve Pipe, "The Freshmen," but there's another songwriting accomplishment that he can't get a handle on.
"What I'm striving for now is writing the perfect love song," he says. "My songs always have some sort of bitter romantic ending. I feel really comfortable writing in an ambiguous way, not putting my heart on my sleeve."
As a means to that end, Vander Ark has self-released his eleven-song solo debut, Resurrection, through his Web site, bvamusic.com, and he is in talks with indie labels to release it in stores. He and the Verve Pipe will begin work on a new album this summer.
Resurrection is a collection of whispery scenes that Vander Ark has drawn from painful breakups ("And Then You Went Away"), the rigors of living up to a record company's expectations ("Written and Erased") and death ("When I'm Gone" -- featured in the Angelina Jolie movie Life or Something Like It).
Vander Ark has included one Verve Pipe song, "1229 Sheffield," but the others are songs that the Verve Pipe's former label, RCA, or Vander Ark's bandmates turned down. "Our A&R rep didn't like it," he says of the title track. "He personally took it off the record, and I'm glad he did. It's better now."
Without the backing of RCA, which dropped his band after 2001's Underneath, Vander Ark is going for a DIY approach, even purchasing an RV as his tour vehicle. "The biggest advantage is I don't have anybody putting me through the 'rock star car wash' every time I make a record," he says. "There's no one telling me to do my hair like this, or shave the flavor savor underneath my lip. Being dropped by a major label can be a blessing. I love taking control."
CHRISTINA FUOCO
(June 25, 2003)