Victory Lap

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.

Victory Lap

Victory Lap @ MySpace: Hear MP3's from the Victory Lap album.