THE METALLIFIED-ELECTRO-HARD-POP OF VAST

VAST was a pretty big deal for a minute in the late ’90s in the wake of the heavy industrial rock boom. Nine Inch Nails’ bursting popularity in the middle of the decade ushered in a record label feasting-fest on a hundred Sister Machine Guns, Gravity Killses, and Filters. VAST, aka 13-year old Jon Crosby, was the beneficiary of a nice-little major label bidding war after building a name for himself with his guitar chops and home-recorded demos which received some local radio airplay. A band was hastily assembled around Crosby after he decided to sign with Elektra, and his debut album Visual Audio Sensory Theater came out in 1998.

Vast – “Here”
Vast – “I’m Dying”
Vast – “The Nile’s Edge”

Though the ranks of VAST members have rotated quite a bit, Crosby has always found ways to innovate and keep his brand fresh. In 2006 he released the band’s newest album April recorded all in one take; he then spent two months mixing the proper version himself and released that in May of 2007.

VAST may never have reached the label’s expectations and was dropped in 2000 after their second album Music For People, but Crosby carved out a nice little niche for himself (several VAST videos on YouTube are over or approach 100,000 plays) and he continues to consistently record new music and tour.

-VN

Music video for “Free”
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