With Eric aboard, we wasted no time getting down to business. Rehearsals began in earnest, and we all started getting to know each other personally and musically. The first thing I noticed was that Eric's voice and songwriting approach was going to steer us in a slightly different direction from where we had previously been heading. Instead of the more aggressive Skid Row style we had been pursuing, we found ourselves becoming bluesier and more melodic, more reminiscent of Warrant, Tesla, and Lynch Mob. And that was fine by us. Several songs we had been working on with our previous vocalist had to be scrapped, but we managed to salvage a few tunes from our earlier incarnations, namely Forever, Took Too Much, and When the Sun Goes Down.
Side note: It's very cool to know that Forever, which was written in 1989 with former singer Michael Weiland, actually made the record we released in 2015. It was the second HitnRun song ever written and, in my humble opinion, still holds up as a solid power ballad to this day. It's also our #4 song played on Spotify. ; )
New songs quickly started taking shape. I specifically recall writing Piece of the Action, Take It to the Limit, and a track called Heart Is the Law in those first few months. It was an exciting time. The musical chemistry was really starting to come together, and friendships were being forged. There were some tensions, as there are in all bands, but I think we all knew we had hit on something special with this line-up.
From the rehearsal hall to the stage
It wasn't long before we were approached about what would become our first gig. My former band, Nervous Wrekk had become a headliner at a few area clubs and asked us to open a gig for them in December of 1991. I didn't feel we were quite ready yet. With only 6 originals that we considered stage ready and a band wide reluctance to rely on cover songs ever again, I attempted to turn the gig down. My former bandmates weren't having it though. They persuaded us to take the gig.
Despite my reservations, it proved to be a great first show. It was the first time I took the stage to play with an all-original band, and damn did it feel good. We did round out the set with a cover of Fastway's "Say What You Will," but other than that we laid down six originals that the crowd seemed to be digging. It was also amazing to have such a confident and capable singer fronting the band. Eric delivered big time, both vocally and in terms of his commanding stage presence. It was also Dan's first gig with us and he more than proved he was up to the task of making us a great live band.
Looking back at that gig makes me realize how bold and ballsy all of the bands in Northeastern PA that decided to stick to their guns and play original music really were. Cover bands were just packing the clubs back then in our area, but we knew that playing covers would never really lead us to what we wanted—a recording contract with a major label and a legion of fans that wanted to hear HitnRun and not just how well we could play the latest Bon Jovi hit.
The HitnRun story will continue in my next post, but until then I'd like to give a shout out to the original bands from our scene in the early 90s: Nervous Wrekk, Totally Lost Cause, Orfan Annie, Misled, Vainglory, Peeping Tom, Vicious, and Wasted Faith. There may have been a few more, but it was a long time ago in a place not so far away.
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