Shortly before I moved to Seattle in late 1998 I had befriended a fellow Posies fan Rob Baughman via email. Once I moved to town, Rob and I hooked up and talked about forming a band. We placed an ad in the Weekly and The Stranger. On the same day our ad appeared, I saw an ad for a guitarist/vocalist into The Posies, Wilco and The Replacements looking to start a band. Sounded like a match so I called him. Mike Collins, from Norman, OK, turned out to be a swell guy and the ultimate musician, a better drummer than I and an incredible writer and singer. Meanwhile, Minneapolis native Pete Hilgendorf was the first to answer our ad. The four of us met up and became Victory Lap. Shortly into the band it became evident that Rob hadn't been completely truthful about his musical prowess. Rob was fired and Seattle native Dan Leary was hired. About nine months later, Pete and Mike began to have "creative differences" and, truthfully, Pete was also tiring of the really late nights. So Pete walked away. VLap continued as trio for six months, taking that time to record an EP and play shows. At this time, Not Lame Records founder Bruce Brodeen became really interested in our recordings and we began to make that EP a full-length record for release on Not Lame. Later in 2000 Spokane native Beaux Bartron came on board to add lead guitar and harmony vox. VLap had many challenges. No steady practice space was the easiest to see. What was underneath the surface was Mike's growing concerns with his own abilities to lead a band, the quality (or lack thereof) of his backing band, and the indifference that Seattle press and tastemakers showed the band. Mike eventually folded the band in March 2001 just as the finishing touchs were added to the album. Beaux went on to race cars amateur-style and get married. Dan and I formed Hailee and are still very good friends. Pete, who now manages Seattle's Visqueen and fronts an all-boy Bangles tribute band called The Mangles, is still a great friend. Rob I hardly see or talk to. Mike, meanwhile, is playing drums with Rural Pictures, a country-ish pop band.