January Playlist: The Verve Pipe

Picture this: started out as a college band advertising gigs wherever they could hang a poster.
Full circle, 20+ years later.

 

At the time of writing, it's the holiday season, which means The Verve Pipe has done their annual Christmas reunion tour. TVP looms large in the history of me 'n' him. It is easy to see why when a live band provides the soundtrack to your courtship, marriage and kid.

The band has been through a series of lineups and successes. By all pop chart accounts, they are a one-hit wonder. But those of us who have been paying attention know better.

They were the band at the frat party, and you could hang out and buy merch out of the trunk of their car.

They were the band at the summer festival.

They were on the radio.

They were on Letterman.

They made a cameo in the movie.

They had a song on that TV show.

They had the Christmas album.

They had a resurgence of sorts when the self-release of the children's album got them on a few "best" lists in mom magazines and they started selling out auditoriums, moms towing their kids along for an under-5 rock show.

Lead singer Brian VanderArk was even the subject of a documentary called Backyards & BBQs, the story of how a "has been" rocker pays the bills and stays relevant. How? Create your niche and work with it. Helps to have a rocking catalog to fall back on.

Acting as Your Slave - Stark riffs, lush harmonies, then Donnie crashes in. I feel like swaying with a beer in my hand. I think I actually did many moons ago.

The Freshman - the REAL version, the band's calling card, be it a frat party, a festival or the bar scene. The overproduced crap on Villians is offensive to the collective Michigan ear. The band responds in kind, and year after year, will perform this one acoustic when they sing it at all. They usually let the crowd sing it for them.

Spoonful of Sugar - Political anger and Dave's favorite. They were an earnest college band in the 90s after all.

Bullies on Vacation - Sonic crunch at the beginning, product of the times. One of Brian's singing through a megaphone tunes.

Barely (If At All) - Opener to their nationwide, big label debut. Nice job boys.

Villains - Not a pop hit, but a modern rock hit. See how they twist and shout on Letterman! He's a Midwest boy, he gets it.

Reverend Girl - probably my favorite song off the Villains album. Having graduated with a degree in graphic design, I'm always struck by the distinct scent of pantone paper used in the CD liner booklet.

Cup of Tea - a show staple, along the same vein as Spoonful of Sugar. They could probably bookend each other.

Photograph - Ominously creepy opening, any TVP will react immediately. THIS was the first nationwide single!

Supergig - Brian VanderArk recently participated in a forum where successful people discuss failure. Many TVP devotees scratch their heads at his admission that "Froggy," the second album, was a failure. This was '99, so we are talking less about the quality of the product but the shifting tastes of pop music away from grungy rock to the likes of Britney and boy bands. Too bad this gem is a best-kept secret of devoted fans of the band.

Hero - the song and the video kind of make me laugh every time. The message being some assholes fall ass backwards into greatness.

In Between - Grunge love.

La La - I want to say most shows end with this song, before an encore of course.

Never Let You Down - I just LOVE this song! If this song is on in the car, I'm singing. I recall this song being used in one of the ABC Family dramas, 7th Heaven maybe?

I Want All of You - for some reason, I equate this song to a sexy little soap commercial but as far as I know, it's never been used in this capacity. I think it has something to do with all the body parts mentioned.

Wonderful Waste - Beatlesque opening, sounds a little like Tomorrow Never Knows. Slants right into grungy pop.

Underneath - this Underneath came out at the same time No Doubt's Underneath came out. Both are amazing.

Wake Up - What's this?! The perils of getting up for school. Adorable.

Be Part of the Band - If you want to see a bunch of 5 year olds lose their mind, let them play with the band during this song. This is the song that got them lots of mommy attention.

Long Way Home, The Chain, Strawberry Fields Forever - Every TVP show ends with The Freshman and some other retooled for your listening pleasure classic rock staple. I submit for your pleasure Supertramp, Fleetwood Mac and the Beatles.