Tag: Go Vertical

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Go Vertical – Demo

Go Vertical
Demo
1990 (no label)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

12/03/90 Side:

  1. Man of Sorrows
  2. Hands of Fate
  3. Cure
  4. He Can Hear You

7/17/90 Side:

  1. Our Love Will Grow
  2. Beyond Gone
  3. The Outlaw
  4. Creator

I took a chance on this one, as you can see there isn’t much to go based on the j-card. Would it be the same Go Vertical that released a self-titled demo also in 1990? I thought the song titles sounded alternative, and sure enough – this is alternative rock, and it sounds like the same band. I guess technically the name of this demo is 12/03/90; 7/17/90 – but it looks like that is really the dates of the recording sessions on each side (each side on the tape is labeled with one of the dates). It also sounds a bit like these were recorded live in studio – they have that one take feel, but the quality is better than what you would get in some garage or live setting. This is pretty in line with a lot of what you  heard in late 80s, early 90s alt rock – but with a bit less reliance on U2 than other bands. I know I am making this sound generic, but it actually is pretty good (with the newer material on side 1 being stronger, naturally). It kind of sits in the intersection of Idealogy, SpringChamber, and The Violet Burning (especially due to the female backing vocals). I would guess it is the same or close to the same line-up as the s/t demo, but probably released later since the newest side was recorded so late in 1990.

Missing Information: Who played on this demo?

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Go Vertical – Go Vertical

Go Vertical
Go Vertical
1990 (no label)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Patrick Pierce – Vocals
Michael Stitzel – Guitars
Mark Richards – Drums
Teri Stitzel – Backing Vocals

Keith Darwin – Bass tracks

  1. Go Vertical
  2. Secret Garden
  3. Chosen
  4. Hung the Moon
  5. Walking Shoes

Despite the name of the band sounding kind of stadium rock-ish, I thought the cover looked like a pretty cool alternative rock band, and it turned out I was right. The guitars are a bit louder and more distorted than your average 80s modern rock band, so my guess is that this band was cutting edge 90s alt rock before it really took off in the mainstream. Also have to give them credit for maximized use of space on a single panel J-card – all details, lyrics, and even scripture references on both sides of one panel, where most bands barely just get the credits. Don’t know if they recorded anything else before or after this, but I certainly hope something shows up.

Update: An 8-song demo looks to have been recorded live in studio later in 1990.