History of VLS

The band VLS has gone through good times and bad (name a bad that has not). Although the new CD entitled "So Far" has by far the best productional values, song structure and imagery, the band acknowledges it's dark beginnings:

VLS was origanally formed in the early 90's. Their
early CD's have charted all over Europe in the 90's and had considerable
success in the late 90's. The band has enjoyed tons of sold out shows with
National acts and has played their share of outdoor events in the summers. The
band's sound is derived from Dark beginnings of Vamp Le Stat's early days which
were very gothic influenced in their nature. Some say they were recreating the
character from a famous vampire book chronicle, but that couldn't be further
from the truth. The first CD entitled "BloodLine" was critically acclaimed and
was distributed internationally and welcomed by all audiences as a new and fresh
sound to the hard rock scene of the early 90's. The band was given
its name by friend's who jokingly called them the "Vampires of
Sacramento". Realizing this would be a tough sell, they quickly decided to mask
the name of the band with a language barrier. The first CD features tracks of
Keifer as Michael from the lost boys and some very gothic overtones. The
follow-up went in a decidedly different direction. Fueled by the success of
bands like Skid Row and Guns-n-Roses, the band decided to drop the makeup and go
for a predominantly trashier look. The band lived in a warehouse in Sacramento
with a fitting title "The Bat cave" where mayhem, debauchery and wretched excess
prevailed. The band wrote and rehearsed for the follow-up to Bloodline in the
warehouse for 8 months before finishing the recording which would be the CD
"Basement Tapes". These songs were the compilation of work from the band in very
rock roll lifestyle time that was taking its toll on band members and a change
in direction was what they needed. Guitarist Jeff Jones and Brian Boozer
departed the band to follow solo careers and a search was underway to replace
the guitarist. Local guitarist Mark Miner had recently gone through a local band break up was a long time friend and was tapped to join the band as guitarist after only playing 2 songs at the audition. The Bassist chosen to fill the
shoes of Boozer was Bill Rumsey. After a couple years of on and off again commitment, Rumsey left permanatly to be replaced by Sikki Lynn. A bassist from the Modesto/Bay Area scene. Sikki brings a unique style and imagery to the band.

The band lived in the warehouse and rehearsed together for 6 months before
recording the follow up to "Bloodline" with a raw and edgy thriller entitled
"Filth" - featuring an airbrushed masterpiece as the cover art of the band in
their live habitat. The band sold out a national club tour and sold thousands of
CD's and played to all of the major record companies throughout the 90's. The
band recorded multiple sessions for the follow-up to "Filth" and in 2000 release
"The Basement Tapes.", than band decided to go in a different direction
musically for a few years while exploring a decidedly more "stripped down" sound
and decided to try and recreate the energy of the early days. After several
years of writing hundreds of songs, the band decided to "Go with what we know!"
We grew up playing radio friendly rock and the sounds on the airwave and all
around us were still evolving. We spent from summer of 2004 writing for the
album we recorded. The CD "So Far" was recorded from late 2006 through mid 2007. After several delays with the final mix, mastering and brilliant cover art from legendary Hugh Syme, the CD was finally ready for release. The new CD "So Far" is best described as a new beginning for VLS. A very polished sound and a maturity in songwriting that shows
evolution! The songs and the album are ready for prime time. The band
has reinvented itself and is ready to meet the world in the radio rock world of
today.