1998
50 handmade compact discs - out of print

1. My Nubby Sweater
2. An Angel Screams From Outer Space
3. Milked
4. Live Happy, Live With Anorexia

The cover art was a photo that I took of my younger sister in the hallway of the house that I grew up in. It was the house where Stage rehearsed. It was a time that I was very much into photography and did not go anywhere without my camera. The colors of this photo found their way into a lot of things I have done including the boxes on my last web site. I was actually making money taking pictures of aspiring models but I had to drop all of that because we started getting very serious in the studio.

The words behind Stage are lyrics from the song “Live Happy, Live With Anorexia.” A song penned about starving yourself of love. The song went on to be recorded for Stage’s Maverick Records release and also was a staple song in the live performances. The song would usually start our set with Greg on the stage alone and then I would walk out and we would do the first verse alone until Peter and Justin would walk out and then the magic would kick in. This recording was a breakthrough for the band. We recorded it at a studio in New Jersey and it was our first time working with more pro engineer/producers. At the time, they just finished recording demos for an incredible band called “Ours.” The lead singer actually lived next door to the studio and would pop in when we would be working. We all envied his musical life considering at the time he just signed the biggest record deal of the year.

This recording was the first time that we paid more attention to the actual sounds and tightness that was being recorded. In a way, it was the end of our innocence. “Milked” was originally recorded on “Historical Underdosing” but our managers at the time thought that it was a hit. It was a song about hitting the snow hard as a snowboarder and I think that it actually got placed in a snowboard video, but I never saw it. This version is a favorite of mine mostly because of the surfy sound in the guitars and the saxophone I played in the verses mixed with pure aggression. “My Nubby Sweater” was also re-recorded again because it was also getting a lot of attention. Although it definitely sounds better, it was our first taste of this not always making it better. I believe Stage was always at its best in the home recordings. “Angel Screams” was really different for us because it was keyboard based with some crazy sounds. It later became a favorite track on the Maverick album and a t-shirt, which said “don’t follow me home” on the back.