Song:The Freshmen
Album:Villains
The Verve Pipe scored a top five hit in 1996 with The Freshmen. It would turn out to be their only big hit because by the time they released a follow up album, they were forgotten. The Verve Pipe are from Lansing, MI. Lead singer and main songwriter Brian Vander Ark merged two local bands in 1992. Vander Ark and bassist brother Brad Vander Ark were in Johnny with an Eye. Drummer Donny Brown and guitarist Brian Stout were in Water 4 the Pool. The Verve Pipe released the 1992 CD I've Suffered A Head Injury independently. Stout left and was replaced by A.J. Dunning. After they released the 1993 album Smear, they were popular enough in Michigan that major labels came calling. The Verve Pipe signed with RCA Records. Keyboard player Doug Corella was added to the band. They recorded their 1996 major label debut Villains with producer Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads. The Freshmen reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Villains was certified Platinum. An acoustic version of The Freshmen was on I've Suffered A Head Injury. Vander Ark said at the time that The Freshmen was about an ex-girlfriend who had an abortion and committed suicide. He later admitted that the ex-girlfriend was real but he made up the rest of it. The Freshmen would turn out to be their only big hit. Villains is available as a budget CD. By the time they released their 1999 CD The Verve Pipe, their post grunge style music wasn't popular anymore. Also, Soundgarden producer Michael Beinhorn gave them a much darker sound that didn't catch on with listeners. After one more album, they left RCA in 2001. Vander Ark recorded three solo albums and reformed The Verve Pipe in 2009. He's the only original member left. They released a CD last year and they tour mostly in the Midwest. Here's the video for The Freshmen by The Verve Pipe.
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