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How it all began... meltdown morning is originally the dream of long time Lubbock musical duo Scott and Amy Faris. They had the idea for a brand new project which would consist of a bona fide rock band and completely new, original music. Scott, the sonic guitar wizard and tone freak, along with Amy, keyboardist extraordinaire and song- writing poet, would find a vocalist, bassist, and drummer to complete the ensemble...not an easy task. The first connection turned out to bassist Shane Shepherd, who had been a member of several Lubbock bands. Shane lent his talent to an early demo of some of the new Faris tunes, and so began his journey with meltdown morning. By a stroke of sheer coincidence, or fate, Shane ran into drummer Brian Tate who had moved away from Lubbock after graduation and now had recently returned. Shane immediately thought of Scott and Amy's band and an exchange of phone numbers took place. After an introduction (which to this day, Scott and Brian will contend was fate) and an audition, Tate became the first member to sign on. Not yet a committed member of the group, Shepherd was just "filling in" until another bass player could be found. Ironically, it was Shane who also introduced the group to Stephen Stroope, the powerhouse vocalist from Galveston, TX who was a vocal major at Texas Tech at the time. Stroope showed up for an audition and the decision was unanimous--this was the guy for the gig. The only thing left was for the rest of the band to convince Shane that he himself needed to be a permanent fixture in the group. Eventually, the music and the commitment of the others won him over and the personnel was solidified.
It was only after about six months that the band began recording, most of the songs having been written by Scott and Amy before the band was formed. The majority of the material was born in the mountains of Gunnison, Colorado on a summer song writing retreat. February of 2000 saw the release of "Throb", the band's first record. Two solid years of touring the South Plains, Texas, and beyond followed, taking the band even as far as North Carolina in the hot summer of 2001 in "Lewtina," the band's motor home. The next phase saw major changes for meltdown morning. A new record had begun, with tracks recorded in December of 2001. The material was not finished, and there were more songs to be written. However, a new opportunity presented itself--the chance to work with Tom Jackson, a live performance coach from Nashville, Tennessee, and highly respected name in the music industry. Tom came to Texas to work with meltdown morning, and work they did, on their live show. The subject? How to communicate with their audience. The shows have never been the same since, not the least of which was their performance at the Warner Bros. Rock-U Showcase held in June of 2002, which held one their largest and most receptive audience. After a summer spent revamping the live act, it was time to get back in the studio to finish the second recording. This one would be different from the first in two ways; more collaborative, with more of the members contributing to the writing process, and yet more unified overall, the band having woven a common thread throughout, knit through their last two and a half years on the road, in rehearsals, at shows, and just being good friends.
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