Reviews:
RVA Magazine: "It’s cool, it’s wry, it’s nothing like anything anyone else in Richmond is doing these days… in other words, it’s prime V.E."
The Auricular: "For V.E., their latest single, a cover of the Bee Gee’s 1968 song “I Started A Joke,” equally serves as a breakthrough for the band, as they turn the original dreamy folk ditty into an art-rock declaration. Such assertive talent not only resuscitates the band [...], it further establishes themselves as a unique act within Richmond’s teeming musical scene."
RVA Magazine: "It’s cool, it’s wry, it’s nothing like anything anyone else in Richmond is doing these days… in other words, it’s prime V.E."
The Auricular: "For V.E., their latest single, a cover of the Bee Gee’s 1968 song “I Started A Joke,” equally serves as a breakthrough for the band, as they turn the original dreamy folk ditty into an art-rock declaration. Such assertive talent not only resuscitates the band [...], it further establishes themselves as a unique act within Richmond’s teeming musical scene."
"It’s really nice to get a new release across the finish line. Back in 2020, I was steadily working towards getting some new songs completed at Rabid Ears studios. But, like everything else in the world, this was disrupted by COVID. And, with the added social upheaval surrounding the murder of George Floyd, it seemed unimportant and tone deaf to think about my own projects. For the longest stretch of time since I began making music, I did nothing: Didn’t write. Didn’t practice. Didn’t play.
Eventually, Tricia and I had the itch to pick up playing. We resumed playing with no agenda and started writing some complicated keyboard and drum pieces. We started recording these sessions to capture good stuff in the improvised parts. Concurrently, we started getting serious about re-establishing a recording environment around ourselves. Tricia bought new drums based on what she loved in the studio and I bought new microphones, monitors, etc. Our cozy wood-paneled hunting lodge started looking more and more legit. This song became the test of the viability of our new recording environment.
The completion of this song is a little bit of redemption for us. We originally attempted to record this back in 2015 with Todd on guitar, Ben on bass and Allen behind the boards at the now defunct Scott’s Addition Sound. The recording session was a great learning experience, but it wasn’t a success.
Though it’s just me and Tricia on this recording, it was created on the shoulders of giants: this cover wouldn’t be what it is today without the input of Todd, Ben and Jake."
-LJ
Songwriters: Barry Alan Gibb and Maurice Ernest Gibb
Bass, guitar, vocals: Lawrence Joseph
Drums: Tricia Kupec
Mixed by Allen Bergendahl at Viking Recording
Mastered by Mark Trewella at Full Circle Mastering
Cover photo by Laura Manchester
Eventually, Tricia and I had the itch to pick up playing. We resumed playing with no agenda and started writing some complicated keyboard and drum pieces. We started recording these sessions to capture good stuff in the improvised parts. Concurrently, we started getting serious about re-establishing a recording environment around ourselves. Tricia bought new drums based on what she loved in the studio and I bought new microphones, monitors, etc. Our cozy wood-paneled hunting lodge started looking more and more legit. This song became the test of the viability of our new recording environment.
The completion of this song is a little bit of redemption for us. We originally attempted to record this back in 2015 with Todd on guitar, Ben on bass and Allen behind the boards at the now defunct Scott’s Addition Sound. The recording session was a great learning experience, but it wasn’t a success.
Though it’s just me and Tricia on this recording, it was created on the shoulders of giants: this cover wouldn’t be what it is today without the input of Todd, Ben and Jake."
-LJ
Songwriters: Barry Alan Gibb and Maurice Ernest Gibb
Bass, guitar, vocals: Lawrence Joseph
Drums: Tricia Kupec
Mixed by Allen Bergendahl at Viking Recording
Mastered by Mark Trewella at Full Circle Mastering
Cover photo by Laura Manchester