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Welcome to Vegas Archive, a feature where we re-release music from local bands that are gone, but certainly not forgotten.

Today we’re bringing you a previously unreleased album from punk band Lydia Vance, who were active in Vegas 2006-2011.

For more information about the band and these songs, read The Road to Mercy Music: The Oral History of Absent Minded, Lydia Vance and Deadhand. This is their story, as told by Jarred Cooper (Lydia Vance, Deadhand, Mercy Music), Adam Fisher (Absent Minded), Rye Martin (Mercy Music), Travis Naegle (Absent Minded), Rocko (Absent Minded), Brendan Scholz (Absent Minded, Lydia Vance, Deadhand, Mercy Music) and Aaron Weislogel (Lydia Vance, Deadhand), as well as other musicians and friends who knew the band.

The band was formed, and we started playing shows immediately. Our first show was a showcase for Island Records, and it consisted of four songs a week after being together. We since have recorded our first record, played numerous shows with bands such as Sparta, Guttermouth, Lucero and I Am Ghost, and been chosen to be the soundtrack for Microsoft’s ‘Idea Wins’ contest for small businesses across the nation. We plan to continue this pace until our heads explode.” – Lydia Vance

Part One

Absent Minded 2002-2005

Before Lydia Vance there was Absent Minded—a punk rock trio founded by Brendan Scholz while he was in high school.

**Brendan Schol*, Absent Minded, Lydia Vance, Deadhand, Mercy Music vocalist/guitarist***

I started playing guitar when I was 9, and lucked into a gig playing coffeehouses in Phoenix for tips when I was 10. I moved to Vegas when I was 14, and started Absent Minded with my younger brother on drums, and my friend Mike on bass. That incarnation was short-lived but it was the lineup from our first demo. After my brother and Mike couldn’t commit, I met Adam [Fisher, drums] through a family friend. Adam’s friend, Clint Gatlin, joined on bass.

Adam Fisher, Absent Minded drummer

I met Brendan through a friend that had told me he was looking for a drummer. I reached out to him and got an audition. Clint joined the band because our bass player, Mike, wasn’t very reliable. We needed someone, and I knew Clint could play the songs well enough for the time being—and he had gear.

Brendan Scholz

Adam and Clint were super into metal, but I made it work the best I could.

Adam Fisher

I’ve always been into heavier music, but even though what we were playing was outside of my comfort zone, I enjoyed playing it. I don’t think that caused any friction—Brendan wrote all of the material and brought it to the band to arrange the parts or ideas. I think what did cause some friction was that Absent Minded was his vision and his material, so once we started to morph into something slightly different than punk, he became unhappy.

Brendan Scholz

Clint ended up leaving because his family was moving to Reno.

Adam Fisher

Clint had some other things in his life going on, and wasn’t in the right mindset to continue forward with the band, so he parted ways. We are still friends today.

Brendan Scholz

I found our next bassist, Rocko, on the internet. I already knew him from The Pinheads, who I believe were on hiatus by this point. The lineup with Rocko and Adam was our most common. Rocko and I butted heads often, but I’ll always love him.

Rocko, Absent Minded bassist

I’m not sure when I actually met B, but I’m told it was at a Pinheads show. My memory of meeting him was after his call; he asked me to play with his band at his mommy’s house where he sweated his chubby 4-foot mohawk’d ass off equally as hard as he impressed the hell outta me with his guitar playing [laughs]. It was in the first solo of the first song I heard that I decided I was in Absent Minded.

Brendan Scholz

When it was time to record, we hooked up with Bill [Stevenson, producer]. I sent him an email with some demos. We had this song “Mary” that he loved. To this day, he still tells me it’s one of his favorite songs.

Rocko

Heading up to Fort Collins, Colorado to record with Bill Stevenson was a dream come true. It was, by far, the raddest thing any of us had ever done in our life at that point! I remember I hairspayed the sh*t out of my hair, and put on my raddest clothes just for the flight.

Adam Fisher

Working with Bill Stevenson was such an awesome experience. I definitely learned a lot from him about music and recording drums. I really enjoyed hanging out with him outside of the studio as well. He’s a really cool dude.

Brendan Scholz

Being in the studio was surreal—just thinking about all the records made there. And Bill is just one of my favorite songwriters of all time.

Rocko

Once we started recording, the sessions became a haze of recording, drinking, recording, forced drunken karaoke, fighting about recording, cocaine, and Adam & I getting lost with some local strippers & then doing all of their cocaine. That was followed by more recording, vows to quit the band after the record was done, drunken tears of apology & forgiveness, and more… It was the time of our life, and I honestly speak fondly of it to this very day! Thanks again for financing that Mrs. Brendan’s Mom! Love you!

Brendan Scholz

Recordin and living at the Blasting Room is an experience I’ll never forget, and I’ll be forever grateful for it. The funny thing is, no one wanted the record, and I never put it out. I had three-song CDs with some of the songs on it I’d pass out at shows for free.

Transitions

The album’s failure to get picked up made Brendan rethink the music thing—leading him to break up the band and enroll in college. Before that could happen, Brendan became friends with Jarred Cooper and Travis Naegle.

**Jarred Cooper*, Lydia Vance, Deadhand, Mercy Music bassist***

Brendan and I hung out in the same circle of people before class would start, and kind of migrated toward each other. I remember the first time he ever spoke to me. I had gone to see The Used the night before; the next day I showed up wearing their beanie and t-shirt. He laughed and asked me if I liked The Used.

Brendan Scholz

He was wearing a The Used shirt, beanie and wristband. I simply went up and ask if he went to The Used show the night before [laughs]. We’ve been friends ever since.

Jarred Cooper

Brendan and I became super close. I would hang at his house almost every day, which meant I was almost always there for Absent Minded practice. After they would leave, Brendan and I would jam—usually playing Toy Dolls covers.

Brendan Scholz

We would always play Jarred’s favorite songs, which usually meant Offspring and Toy Dolls. I really miss doing this.

Jarred Cooper

Travis [Naegle, bass/guitar] was in that circle of friends who would hang out before class. I would pick Travis up every day before school, and we became super close as well.

Travis Naegle, Absent Minded bassist, Lydia Vance guitarist

The three of us knew each other from high school, and I was in a hardcore band at the time. It was only after high school that the stars aligned and I made the move to Absent Minded. I joined Absent Minded in 2005—pretending to be a bass player.

Adam Fisher

Travis was a friend of Brendan’s and he replaced Rocko—our best and longest lasting bass player due to Brendan kicking him out after one of our last shows.
I had actually known Travis for a few months prior. We got along fine.

Brendan Scholz

There was always a pressure cooker vibe to Absent Minded. We all had different musical tastes and a lot of alpha personalities in a small space. I was also a young asshole that wasn’t easy to work with. I’m still somewhat difficult to work with, but think I’ve improved the asshole part.

Rocko and I would get into fights on stage. One of our worst shows ever was in Ft. Collins while recording. We got in a huge fight in our motel room. Karl Alvarez [Descendents] said we reminded him of The Replacements so maybe it was so bad it was good? Probably just bad. I never knew how the shows were going to go. When we were on, we were on and when we weren’t it was fucking terrible.

Jarred Cooper

I was closer with Rocko than I was with Adam and yes—he was a wild man. He and I definitely got into some trouble together. I haven’t stayed in touch with him over the years, though. If you’re out there Rocko, I hope you’re doing well.

Travis Naegle

I think at the time that I joined, the band was already kind of on its last legs. I remember Brendan being burnt out and frustrated. Getting to play with Adam was fun, but I think we all knew that the end was near. It just felt like things were changing and something new was on the horizon.

Brendan Scholz

Travis was the first pick to replace Rocko. And he could sing, which was a bonus. He had been in a bunch of bands and we’d play together or go to each other’s shows. He had coincidentally left his band around the time I asked.

Travis Naegle

I joined Absent Minded, and the band started to morph into Lydia Vance. Brendan was writing some different stuff, less punk, more rock. I think the original idea was Thin Lizzy meets Elvis Costello.

Adam Fisher

Absent Minded ended on Brendan’s terms.

Travis Naegle

I think Absent Minded had run its course, and Brendan was looking for new people for the new band. Fresh sound with fresh faces, so to speak.

Adam Fisher

I dropped my gear off at his house after playing a show one night. A couple of days later I got a call from him saying he wanted to put that band on a hiatus so he can go to college.

Brendan Scholz

At that time, I was pretty sure I was going to take a break and go to college. I had a scholarship to UNLV.

Adam Fisher

This caught me totally off guard and I was blown away but said “Ok, I’ll come get my gear.” He responded with “No rush, just let me know when you can come pick your stuff up.” About 2 days later, a friend of my now wife had called her, and told her that her friend from Pittsburgh just moved out here, and is now the drummer for Absent Minded. This being another shocker, I immediately tried calling him but no response, so I went to his house. He wouldn’t answer the door and he was clearly home with truck in the driveway. His mom finally answered the door—acting like she didn’t know who I was. I walked in to grab my gear, and there was another drum set up. That was it and never spoke again.

Brendan Scholz

I was at work when he came to pick up his drums the last time, so I think he thinks I was afraid to face him or something. I was all set to start college, but was convinced to give music another go. I never would have been able to concentrate in school anyways, and needless to say—my scholarship went unused.

Part Two

Lydia Vance 2006-2011

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Brendan’s college scholarship did end up going unused, as his next project quickly came together.

Travis Naegle

Brendan—being the talented dude that he is—wanted to start over and do something different, so he wrote a bunch of songs and started a new band. We found Aaron [Weislogel, drums] on the web, I jumped in on guitar and Coop [Jarred Cooper] took over on the bass.

Brendan Scholz

My mother talked me into starting something new because she knew that’s where my heart really was, so I went for it. Since Coop, Travis and I had been friends in high school we came together pretty organically. My mom found Aaron looking at musician ads on lvlocalmusicscene.com.

Aaron Weislogel, Lydia Vance, Deadhand drummer

I had been in Vegas for about a year since moving from Pittsburgh, and was getting the itch to play again. I started looking on message boards—even creating a post for a “drummer looking for band.” Per usual message boards, a bunch of strange or downright creepy musical projects responded to the post, but I was eventually contacted by Brendan at the urging of his Mom, who found my post. I listened to the Absent Minded song “Change” and was pretty impressed. I was living in an apartment and didn’t have my entire drum set in Las Vegas yet, so I learned a couple Absent Minded songs playing on my knees. I went to try out in what I assumed was the band house, since equipment was set up in the living room and the place was kinda messy. It ended up being his Mom’s place. She’s a cool lady—not only did she find me online, but she let us practice in her living room. At that time it was just Brendan on guitar, and Travis playing bass.

Travis Naegle

Playing with Aaron for the first time was so exciting. We had done a few jams with a couple of other drummers—good drummers in their own right—but Aaron was the only one who came in with a sense of ambition. He wanted to play as much as possible. He did the homework and learned the songs and was ready to record the very first demo in two weeks. It may have been a matter of days before we were recording, I don’t quite remember, but Brendan and I were over the moon about having such a solid drummer for the new band. I still believe that Aaron is one of the best drummers out there.

Jarred Cooper

Aaron was, and is still, is an incredible drummer. I was blown away by how hard he hit and how tight his timing was at the time. I remember thinking “Man this guy is too old to be playing music with us.” I am now older than he was when we first met. I love Aaron to death and he still sleeps in my bed with me when he comes to town.

Aaron Weislogel

They asked if I would join their new project, different from Absent Minded, and I was all-in. I remember thinking they were kind of crazy because they wanted to record a demo right away with no new songs yet. After a couple weeks Jarred joined on bass and Travis switched to rhythm guitar.

Brendan Scholz

Jarred played guitar and piano but had never been in a band before. It was my mom’s idea to try Jarred. We had been bffs since 2003, and I didn’t want to fuck up our friendship, so I asked Travis to go over some songs with him. The rest is history so they say.

Travis Naegle

Jarred is a very disciplined musician. When he puts his mind to practice, he’ll really dig in and practice extensively. We knew he played a little guitar and bass, and because we were always hanging out together, it was the obvious solution to the bass player situation. Brendan wanted me to play guitar (my first instrument); Jarred learned the new songs. And he kept going—kept practicing, kept getting better and better, and better, and he’s still learning and practicing to this day. It’s amazing to watch. He’s legitimately one of my favorite bass players these days.

Jarred Cooper

I started playing piano at a very young age, and guitar at around 15, but I had never played in a band before. After Absent Minded broke up, B pretty much said to me “I’m starting a new band, here are 3 demos, you have one week to learn them on bass and if you do you can play in this new band if you want.” I learned them and here we are.

Travis Naegle

I remember it happening fairly quickly. Just a really smooth transition. We went right into the studio and did a three song demo, then started playing all ages shows every chance we could.

Brendan Scholz

We were all getting drunk after our first or second rehearsal, and I hadn’t been able to think of a name for the band. There was a copy of Women by [Charles] Bukowski and I started flipping through it and the name just kind of shot out at me. That was that.

Shows in Vegas

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The new band quickly began playing shows in the Las Vegas area, and through a development deal also played some interesting sets in California.

Brendan Scholz

Our first show was at some all-ages coffee shop off Rainbow and the 95. that the people who ran The Alley were doing shows there.. That place was short-lived, but the show was awesome. There had to have been 100 kids inside that tiny place.

Aaron Weislogel

I remember thinking “This isn’t a punk show at all” and feeling old as hell because I was in my late 20s and the place was full of high school kids. It was fun though and we played pretty well. It was an encouraging start.

Jarred Cooper

If I remember correctly it was either sold out or every fire code was being broken. It definitely set the “expectation bar” high and I loved every second of it. I really miss those days where kids truly loved coming out to see live music.

Travis Naegle

We did a lot of MySpace promo and physical flyers for those early shows. We were in a weird space where we still wanted to do all-ages shows but were newly 21, and trying to “grow up” so to speak. I remember that show having a pretty good turnout due to the other bands on the bill, and I think we played well, but we had to struggle to fit in with a lot of screamo/emo bands. Mid-2000’s were weird, man [laughs].

Aaron Weislogel

We played a lot of fun shows opening for touring bands. The ones that stand out are the weird ones. Playing a skatepark where only the dads watched us, and playing a parking lot on First Friday without a PA … Brendan just screaming as loud as he could. I think we played a real awkward sweet 16 birthday party too. And of course, Megaballs shows… but that’s a whole different article [laughs].

Travis Naegle

When you’re in your early twenties, being in a band and playing shows is a lot of fun. I’ve had some of the best times of my life playing shows with Lydia Vance. There was a show upstairs at Jillian’s that I remember being a lot of fun. I have no idea who we were opening for, but I remember there being a lot of people there, and it was sort of a small space for a show, if you forget about the bowling alley in the background. Fun night. The one I’m most proud of is opening for The Bronx. Still one of my favorite bands. One time, we opened for Everlast. That was weird.

Brendan Scholz

We had a lot of memorable shows:
On our second show, we were bumped off our stage at First Friday, so we set up in a dirt lot without a microphone. A shit load of people, friends, etc. showed up and sang the words. It was a really cool moment.
Our EP release for Fight Fire with Kids on Fire at Zia Records. We were the number one record for two weeks. Not Billboard, but that still makes me proud.
Any show at the University Theater, especially when playing with Junior Anti Sex League or The Skooners.
The second time we opened for Lucero, Ben [Nichols, frontman] came up and did “My Best Girl” with us, and in turn had me come up and do it with them. Total fanboy moment.
Opening for The Bronx.
Opening for Ratt and having them be total dicks, which lead me to announce every one of our songs as “Round and Round.”
Playing and seeing our name on the Roxy Marquee without paying for it [laughs]. Hanging out with Terrence Howard the next day while he was recording his first record.
When Atlantic flew us out to New York to showcase the first night, I ended the set smashing my head on Aaron’s ride cymbal. I felt all the warm liquid fall down my face. Thought it was sweat. There was blood everywhere. All the suits were pretty taken back.

Joanne Vitale, Smash Magazine/Bogus Entertainment

I saw Lydia Vance dozens of times. One of the shows that stands out years later was back in 2007 at University Theatre when they opened for Sparta. They always were so explosive on stage with their raw energy.

Blair Newps Devaney, ex-The Skooners guitarist/vocalist, current Rusty Maples frontman

Lydia Vance was always the tightest band in town. They were all true rock `n’ rollers. I remember them all blasting Andrew W.K. until sunrise. Brendan was super humble and modest off stage, but onstage, that dude would play solos behind his back, and with his teeth and shit. I always hated having to follow Lydia Vance when we did, but it honestly made us (The Skooners) try a lot harder.

Jarred Cooper

The shows were incredible. I can remember headlining Jillian’s to what looked like sold out crowds. It’s honestly hard to pick favorite shows —we just played so many intense and epic shows. They were truly really great times. Showcasing for Atlantic [Records] in Los Angeles was pretty incredible.

Brendan Scholz

We were in L.A., and this label that was interested in us took us to the studio they owned where Terrence Howard was recording his debut album.

Aaron Weislogel

We were outside hanging out, and he walked out with his people. We met and started talking music. He invited us in to hear the recordings. He played us one song while he acted out his idea for a music video.

Jarred Cooper

We ended up hanging out with him in the control room while he smoked ALL THE WEED and listened to tracks they had just recorded.

Brendan Scholz

He was pretty much the nicest dude ever. He was also wearing a flight suit with the badge “Captain Howard” on it the whole time. I assume this correlated with Iron Man somehow. Before we leave he’s like “come here” and he embraces us all.

Aaron Weislogel

He gave us all these long and intense hugs while he whispered some inspirational shit to wash of us. It was awesome and weird at the same time.

Brendan Scholz

And that’s that. One of the coolest things ever to be held by Captain Howard.

Aaron Weislogel

He was super nice and open. I think he was just stoked to talk to working musicians who were trying to make something out of it.

Brendan Scholz

Lydia Vance never really toured like my previous band. Things kind of took off pretty quickly so we really were only back and forth from Southern California.

Travis Naegle

We didn’t play out of town very much because we were working so hard on securing a record deal. We had this relationship with Elvis [Baskette, producer], and it was looking like we had a shot at getting signed the easy way. Believe me, we would have loved to have toured back then, but we went down the road of getting hooked up with a producer and trying to break through from the inside.

Brendan Scholz

In the end, that was a big problem because every label’s first or second question was “What’s their touring experience?” and there wasn’t any. We couldn’t tour because everything happened so fast without it. We were barely a band for two years before all the major label shit started.

Aaron Weislogel

Lydia Vance got all intertwined with recorded label reps, producers and labels and played more showcase type things than touring. Plus we we’re all broke [laughs].

Travis Naegle

None of us had much money to invest in a van/trailer and touring expenses. Or so we thought. Looking back, we probably did, but that money had been invested in Budweiser and Del Taco. We were dumb.

Jarred Cooper

For me, it was just being super young and honestly a little scared. I’m not exactly sure why we didn’t just make it happen. I wish we would have because it’s what I live for now.

Major Label Deals

studio (12)

Lydia Vance’s relationship with Elvis Baskette lead to a relationship with one major label. This resulted in an unreleased album. During this time Travis left the band.

Brendan Scholz

We met Elvis through Lydia Vance’s first manager Dylan Hanahan, who has since passed away. When we met with Elvis he wanted everything I’d written past and present. He liked “Again Tomorrow,” which was originally an Absent Minded song. It was recorded with Ryan Greene, who produced every 90s Fat Wreck release. I think it’s funny because it’s such a silly cookie cutter song, but everyone else thought “Again Tomorrow” held up, so we recorded it again.

Aaron Weislogel

Our manager was also managing the Vegas band Otherwise. I think he made a deal for both bands to go record with Elvis.

Dave Holdredge, producer

Elvis had a contact in Vegas from back in days when he used to live here. This guy was interested in the music business, and was getting involved with a handful of bands in Vegas. He paid for a bunch of bands to do demos with us at Elvis’ studio in Virginia in 2008. Lydia Vance was the first band to show up.

Aaron Weislogel

He had a studio on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia—right on the water, attached to a five-bedroom house. It was completely like a vacation. They had amazing gear, a laid back attitude, and were super easy to work with. We also worked long days. We tried different songs and different ways of playing them. We drank a lot. Probably too much. But as long as we were up and ready to go the next morning, it was all good. Recording the drums first meant I was done first, and could just drink and chill the rest of my time there. Elvis is a really good guy, and was great to us and his engineer at the time Dave lives in Vegas now.

Dave Holdredge

We recorded three songs over a week, and totally hit it off with the whole band. We just had a lot of fun and got along great; it felt like we’re had already known each other for years. The recording process was so fun and easy with them, and that is something that rarely happens!

Travis Naegle

I really love being in the studio, so recording was always my favorite part. I’m that guy in the band that likes to hang out in the studio while the other dudes are recording tracks. I like hearing it all come together. When you’re in the studio, you find out very quickly how good your drummer is, and Aaron is one of the best drummers I’ve ever played with. Watching Brendan record guitar solos is a lot of fun, I highly recommend it. And Jarred is always just such a sweetheart. He’s an okay bass player, too. I’m really proud of all of the recordings we did. Each one was better than the last, and those songs will forever be important to me.

Brendan Scholz

Atlantic ended up loving the “Again Tomorrow” single, but it ended up not being enough to sign us. So they sent me to go write three more songs with Tim Pagnotta (Neon Trees, Sugarcult).

Dave Holdredge

Elvis got his management excited about them, too, so they worked together to try to get some buzz on the band, and get them a deal. Elvis and his manager thought it would be good if the band had a whole album to shop to labels, rather than the just the three songs. So Lydia Vance came back in the winter, and we recorded around 8 more songs in a couple weeks.

Jarred Cooper

Recording the unreleased album was so incredible—totally off the grid in some giant house on the water. The album ended up being completely overproduced, and sounded nothing like we did live but still was fucking awesome. I remember listening back for the first time and my jaw dropping to the floor.

Dave Holdredge

Doing the rest of the album was awesome. Once again, it was fun and easy, and everything just flowed. We all had the same vision for what the vibe should be.

Brendan Scholz

Only one co-write came out as a result of the Pagnotta session, and the label didn’t care for that one either. In that time, our A&R guy ended up leaving the company and going to Fearless Records, and everything pretty much went to shit after that. Volcom offered to put the record out, but couldn’t offer enough for us to buy the recordings or make a new one. The album—which didn’t have a name—was never released.

Aaron Weislogel

We never officially released that because we didn’t own the recording. So it was a unique experience in the recording process, and as an introduction to the business side of music.

Dave Holdredge

I don’t know exactly why it didn’t get released. Things just got complicated between Elvis, his management, the band and their management. As with lots of projects, it just kind of fell apart, I guess. We were all bummed because we felt like it was something special.

Brendan Scholz

Things also got rocky [in the band] going into recording. It was not too long after that Travis quit. We totally saw it coming. Travis left the band due to internal issues—both professional and personal.

Travis Naegle

I left because of personal stuff. I cut ties with everyone in the band because I was going through some heavy shit, and didn’t know what was good for me. I recorded about 80 percent of my guitar stuff on the album. The other 20 percent was Brendan because I had broken bones in my right hand right before we went to go record the first three songs.

Aaron Weislogel

Travis leaving was bittersweet. It had become a bit toxic and it was necessary on both sides. By that point, our interactions with label had slowed significantly, so nothing really changed. It was kind of refreshing to reset and start writing new songs and just going forward as a three-piece.

Music Videos

While the album remained unreleased, two music videos featuring songs that would have appeared on the album were made public

Ryen McPherson, music video director

Typically, record labels and bands will contact me to direct music videos, but after I shot Lydia Vance performing on Deep Rock Drive, I immediately contacted them and asked if I could direct their first video. They were, without a doubt, the most impressive band I had seen in Las Vegas.

Travis Naegle

Deep Rock Drive was this live music webcast thing that we did a couple of times.

Aaron Weislogel

It was a streaming concert startup that had corporate sponsors. This was way before smartphones could do that shit.

Brendan Scholz

We were one of their beta test bands. The footage is still on YouTube. The videos were both kind of a blur because that’s when I was still drinking. I know I had fun [laughs].

Jarred Cooper

Ryen is incredibly talented at what he does, and having that level of creativity and production value going into our first music video was again surreal. We were very lucky to have met such a beautiful young man.

Aaron Weislogel

We did a couple shows and Ryen was on the crew. We all got along and had fun shooting the stuff there. Ryan wanted to direct his own stuff, so a music video was good for both of us. He had the idea for the shoot and I just remember “One More Fatality” being fun days and no pressure. We didn’t know what to expect and had zero demands. When we saw the final shot, we we’re all stoked and impressed with Ryen’s skills.

Travis Naegle

We were very fortunate to become friends and do the “One More Fatality” video.

Ryen McPherson

We met up at their rehearsal space to discuss video concepts for “One More Fatality.” The majority of the ideas were beyond inappropriate, so we landed on the least offensive one—which was celebrating the life and performances of the late Patrick Swayze (he had just passed away that week, I believe). We shot the entire video for $250, and I collaborated with Bertrand Pare, who came in as a co-director.

Travis Naegle

In retrospect, it’s kinda nuts that they just did that video with us. It just happened. We thought up a silly idea with Ryen at a bar, and a month later we were shooting … for no real reason other than it seemed funny. Good times.

Ryen McPherson

“Again Tomorrow” came next. For this one, I think we actually had $500 which was insane for us. Bertrand was back for this one as well. This was our stab at “sex appeal

Jarred Cooper

The “Again Tomorrow” video took it to the next level. I think we all agree—it was that video that got us involved with Atlantic in the first place.

Brendan Scholz

I really thought the concept was silly, but at that point I was just really willing to roll and trust Ryen’s vision.

Aaron Weislogel

“Again Tomorrow” was after Travis left the band. Again, we were just excited to shoot with Ryen and shoot at his house. Drinking beers and going in the pool was a whole lot of fun. We also shot at Jarred’s Dad’s garage so we got good production value for free. When we saw the final video, we could easily see how Ryen’s team and skills had gone to another level. I still think the cinematography and story were great.

Ryen McPherson

A few of us at the time were dealing with some form of a mentally abusive relationship, so we worked off that. The video was shot at my house and Jarred’s garage. There’s a behind the scenes video lurking around somewhere that is pretty epic. Oh, and one of the girls that Aaron is sleeping with in the video would go on to marry me about a year later. You could say this video sealed the deal for me.

Aaron Weislogel

Both videos were completely stress-free, and felt like a party the entire shoot. I would done it if it wasn’t even my band.

Demise

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With an album in limbo and down one guitarist, Lydia Vance decided to play their last show on April 5, 2011 with TheCore. and Random Orbits.

Aaron Weislogel

Lydia Vance really ended when Travis left. We couldn’t do a lot of songs as a three price, and I think we owed people money, so it just made sense to start something new.

Jarred Cooper

We thought it best to just change the name and press forward as a new three piece.

Brendan Scholz

I think we were all just generally over it. We were burned out. And we didn’t own the recordings, so it was kind of a wash. Aaron actually quit too, but came back for the ill-fated Deadhand shit.

Aaron Weislogel

Near the end, I was going through personal shit, and was completely burnt out. One day at practice I just said “I think I’m done.” Brendan and Jarred were cool about it. It was weird for sure, but after a couple months, we got back together. I’m glad we did, because when I finally moved to San Diego about a year later, it wasn’t a sudden thing.

Tyler Gibson, Random Orbits guitarist

Playing with Lydia Vance… it was a classic case of judging a book by its cover. I remember rolling up to the venue and hanging out, being amazed at the liquor spread and getting drunk fairly quickly.

Jarred Cooper

I remember they gave the Random Orbits guys a full bar and drinking with them all night. I had the worst sunburn of my life and Tyler Gibson thought my name was Jyrus. That show was a blast, and I’m psyched we were able to play it with them.

Tyler Gibson

I saw these dudes standing outside who looked like they were probably REALLY into Hawthorne Heights. At the time, Brendan and Jarred I believe both had medium, shaggy black hair and just looked like total douchebags—especially Brendan, who was smoking cigarettes outside with a group of cool looking people with his super awesome face tattoo looking all badass. I really didn’t know ANYTHING about them at all, and up until the moment they played their first song I just had the worst expectations for this band.

Aaron Weislogel

I remember the last show being really fun. More people than usual showed up considering it was out final one. People were screaming lyrics with us. By that point, we had played over eight years together and I remember just feeling proud of all the things we did together.

Tyler Gibson

Once they started playing, I wanted to kick myself in the dick for being such an ignorant asshole because I was unaware that they would be such a tight, well-rehearsed sounding trio. I saw Brendan throwing down licks left and right, and I yelled out for him to play “Winds of Change” by Scorpions, and he did, which was rad.

Brendan Scholz

I remember my two oldest kids came to that show, and they both came up and sang on the microphone and stuff which is something I’ll never forget.

Tyler Gibson

Basically, I found a great band that I would have written-off completely because of what they chose to wear. That was the day I realized I was a bully, and it definitely put my ego in check as a guitar player.

Part Three

Deadhand 2011-2013

Lydia Vance was over, but Scholz, Weislogel and Cooper soldiered on under the name Deadhand, playing their debut gig June 11, 2011 at the Divebar with Pigasus, Jesse Pino and Nothing With Numbers.

Brendan Scholz

Deadhand, which was pretty much the worst band name ever, really came out of the frustration of the whole Lydia Vance thing.

Aaron Weislogel

We quickly realized that some songs couldn’t be duplicated with one guitar, so the decision to start anew was unanimous.

Brendan Scholz

I felt like the songs I was writing were slightly more straight-forward with less filler. I went in deliberately writing it that way. I wasn’t trying to please anyone but myself.

Jarred Cooper

Really, the only change was the music slowly getting harder and faster… and the name going from being great to arguably the worst band name ever [laughs].

Aaron Weislogel

Starting Deadhand felt way more focused and raw. With Lydia Vance, Brendan and Travis would spend a lot of time working on guitar and vocal harmonies and melodies. With Deadhand, it was straight from Brendan to us and a song would be done quickly. By that time, we all knew each other’s tendencies, and thought very similarly about song structure and stuff like that. Plus early on in Deadhand, Brendan went sober. The shows mimicked the music. We we’re playing heavier songs and I felt our sets had more energy.

Brendan Scholz

The Deadhand album was recorded at Hurley studio with Davey Warsop (Sharp/Shock) and then engineered locally by Ian Maltzman. It was a really tense session, and I feel like all of us were in a real shitty headspace. I never learned how to stop, so I felt like I needed to keep going, even though that’s probably not healthy.

Davey Warsop, producer

I first became aware of [Deadhand] because the manager of my band at the time,Stewart Teggart, had just began managing them also. I listened to some of their music in Stewart’s car, watched some videos at his house, and was totally impressed straight away—Brendan’s voice and guitar work really standing out to me. I remember they covered “The Cowboy Song” by Thin Lizzy, and that earned points with me instantly. So when they asked me to produce a record, it just made total sense.

Aaron Weislogel

We stayed at Davey’s house on the floor and busted the album out quickly. I think I was only in studio for two days. Davey was great to work with. We all had similar influences in Leatherface and Descendents. Less booze, more rock this time. I like that record.

Davey Warsop

We would work a 14=hour day and get home late, but it was the summer so we would sit out talking and smoking to wind down. The whole time was nonstop laughter and Brendan’s INCREDIBLE SONGS. I can be a bit of a songwriting snob, but I always respected Brendan’s writing style so much. We were very much on the same page, so I was more than excited to be involved recording his music.

Jarred Cooper

Doing the Deadhand record with Davey was another great experience. Just recording at the Hurley studio all day, and then hanging with Davey after and sleeping on his floor was all I could have asked for at that time in my life.

Brendan Scholz

We had recorded the Deadhand album, originally, with the idea that it would be released as Lydia Vance. Aaron’s hiatus from the band came when we finished recording, so when he came back, that’s when we decided to change the name. In hindsight it was probably a dumb idea for the name change, but at the same time it felt like the Lydia Vance thing was dead so who knows really.

Davey Warsop

It was actually one of the most fun records I’ve ever made. It was like spending a few weeks with old friends—even though we hadn’t known each other that long. We definitely clicked. The process was easy because all Brendan’s songs were so well put together. All I really did was offer a few arrangement tweaks if I thought necessary and we maybe co-wrote a chorus melody or two —just trying to see if we could beat what was already there. The lads were incredible players. Jarred’s playing is the closest to Karl Alvarez’ that I’ve ever worked with, and that’s saying something. Their solid musicianship made for such an easy recording process, so we didn’t ever butt heads once. I remember it really fondly. I’ve got so much love for Brendan and that band!

Brendan Scholz

I feel like we had some good shows during that time. Some bad ones, too. The best show never happened because Leatherface had visa issues [laughs].

Jesse Amoroso, Pigasus guitarist

I have known and worked with Brendan for ten-plus years. He is, by far,one of the best guitar players and songwriters I know. Deadhand was “B” at the top of his game—tons of energy and guitar playing. That, plus Jarred and Aaron holding it all together—power trio supreme.
Deadhand was just a progression for the band; they slimmed down the lineup. The songwriting and arrangement were just perfect: Great pop hooks without being cheesy. B writes a good tune. Those guys pour everything into their music, and it shows.

Jesse Pino, singer/songwriter

Lydia Vance had already acquired lots of popularity among the scene, so I had high hopes that whatever Deadhand was going to be; that it wasn’t going to be lame. The first thing I noticed was the raw power. Deadhand’s songs would hit you so damn hard. They were like watching the MMA match between Rousey & Holms—the crowd was Rousey, and Deadhand was Holms. Deadhand would be dominating on us, then just before the song was over, they would kick us in the face so that we wouldn’t forget the feeling.

Jarred Cooper

I really loved playing bass in Deadhand. It was “fuck you” music—totally in your face and balls-to-the-wall.

Disneyland

The guys, once again, teamed-up with Ryen McPherson to record a video to help promote the album. They filmed it at the ‘Happiest Place on Earth.’ .

Aaron Weislogel

We shot with Ryen again for the “Places” video. Again, tons of fun… and less booze. Just some booze. I remember throwing a bottle of whiskey and it hit Ryen in the face on accident. He had a pretty good welt…oops.

Jarred Cooper

That was another crazy experience. We took a limo to Disneyland, shot a music video, went on a couple rides and took the limo back home all within a 24-hour period.

Brendan Scholz

The “Places” video was amazing and filmed completely guerilla. We also had a free limo ride from Vegas to Anaheim back to Vegas, which was amazing.

Aaron Weislogel

Ryen’s media company had some account with a car service, so we took a fucking limo from Vegas to Disneyland. A broke ass band with no label takes a limo to record a music video in Disneyland…it was ridiculous [laughs]. We knew what shots we needed, and we’re being all stealthy because Disney has some pretty strict rules against filming there.

Brendan Scholz

Security stopped for smoking, all the while, we shot Jarred putting a bag into a trash can multiple times with no problem. Let that sink in.

Aaron Weislogel

We got the shots real quick and then went on rides. It was awesome because I had never been to Disneyland before. We shot a couple more days at a hotel and throughout Vegas. I think the final video is great. Also, it was in the limo on the ride back that I threw the whiskey bottle that hit Ryen. I think DMX was blasting and we were getting rowdy.

Burying the Hatchet

Deadhand by Steven Matview

After some time apart, Brendan, Jarred and Aaron reconnected with Travis, becoming friends once more.

Brendan Scholz

We’ve since buried the hatchet with Travis and have a somewhat normal relationship again.

Travis Naegle

When I left the band, I was making a lot of bad decisions in my life. It wasn’t cool, and I was definitely the asshole. I didn’t talk to those guys for three years. All is well now, we talk to each other all the time and we hang out whenever I’m in Vegas.

Jarred Cooper

Losing Travis when we did sucked, but we all knew it was coming. He was going through dark times, but thankfully he’s doing well now and we are friends again.

Travis Naegle

I didn’t talk to the Vegas guys for maybe two years, but that was not their fault. I was in an unhealthy relationship, and I was not in a good place mentally.

Brendan Scholz

I remember Travis calling me out-of-the- blue to make amends. This was maybe 2012/2013. Since then, we’ve maintained a healthy long distance relationship.

Travis Naegle

I moved up to Fargo to give myself a fresh start and a mental/emotional reset, and I reached out to the guys shortly after. I owed them an apology and an explanation. I felt guilty about the way I left things. And now we’re all in good places, which makes me happy.

Brendan Scholz

Jarred, Travis and I actually spent Christmas Eve together in 2014 just jamming in Jarred’s garage. Travis was the first and only guitar player that felt right being there coexisting with me. That added something. The only time I’ve ever had another guitar player in anything I’ve done. I’ve been in a three piece my whole life practically. So props to him and his immense talent.

Travis Naegle

I try and see Brendan and Jarred each time I go back home to Vegas. Sometimes it works out, sometimes we miss each other. I haven’t seen Aaron in years because he lives in San Diego now. I’ll buy him a beer one of these days.

Dead Endings

Aaron’s move to San Diego also meant the end for Deadhand, who played their final show at Bar 702 on July 13, 2013 with Burning Agrestic, Lambs to Lions, Direct Hit! and Lipstick Homicide .

Aaron Weislogel

Leaving Deadhand was tough. It’s so easy to play with those guys, and we are such close friends. I love them both and enjoyed everything we did together—band related or not. We never had any real drama or infighting (at least no non-booze related issues), so it wasn’t an easy decision to leave.

Jarred Cooper

Becoming friends and making music with Aaron is a major highlight in playing in both those bands. I love that man.

Aaron Weislogel

I’m ten years older than they are, and I started to feel older. I truly felt like they were better-suited with someone else on drums, and maybe that change would be positive for Brendan and Jarred. I feel like they found that in Rye [Martin, Mercy Music drummer]. I’m not from Las Vegas, and the only thing that kept me there was the band. I simply needed to move my life in a different direction, and relocating to a new city was my next step.

Brendan Scholz

When Aaron moved it sucked. I guess the blow was only softened by me already starting my solo project, Mercy Music.

Part Four

Mercy Music 2013-Present

mercy music at church

Despite Lydia Vance and Deadhand both coming to a close, Scholz and Cooper have continued to make music together as Mercy Music, sometimes with Weislogel filling in on drums.

Brendan Scholz

Mercy Music really came out of personal frustration. I was going through a lot of life changing events at the time of its inception. I wanted to tour, and Deadhand couldn’t really get it together. I also think we may have been a tad burnt from all the things that had transpired previously. Furthermore, Aaron had decided to move to San Diego, and it wouldn’t have been the same band without him. So after he left, I just kind of toured on my own as Mercy Music. The first tour was with Sal Giordano (No Red Alice) and Jesse Pino. I’m not even sure if I had recorded anything yet.

Jesse Pino

Hearing Brenden jam those songs by himself was a treat. Sure, it was the first draft, and he was getting use to jamming without the band for this run, but if you were a first time listener, you had no idea how deep the water you were standing in really was. It seems shallow because it was just Brenden by himself, but the weight was deep because you still got every ounce of emotion from that dude.

Brendan Scholz

I did a few more solo tours after that, I put out an EP and a split, and then decided playing alone all the time really wasn’t my thing. It just didn’t feel right without a band. Jarred and I talked about things, and he totally committed himself to the project. I’m grateful every day for that.

Jarred Cooper

Coming into Mercy Music just felt like the natural progression that B and I have always followed. We work really well together, and I love playing music with him.

Brendan Scholz

Mike McGuiness took on drum duties for the first record and the two following tours. We parted ways in Spring 2015 on good terms, and then Rye [Martin, drummer] took over.

Mike McGuiness, Mercy Music drums

B needed a drummer for the record, and I had free time since I just finished tracking drums for [my band] Black Beans and Hippie Liver, so I told him I’d help out. I ended up covering pretty much the whole USA on two separate tours, then decided to part ways, though we still see and support each other.

Brendan Scholz

I met Rye through Mike Lavin and Ronald Corso [National Southwestern Recording] while demoing some stuff at 11th Street Records. He jammed with us once and we played our first show two days later. It just clicked. He’s a monster drummer/musician and most of all an awesome human being. It felt like I found the missing piece to the puzzle.

Rye Martin, Mercy Music drummer

My good friend and talented recording engineer, Mike Lavin, was tracking some demos for Brendan, and the topic of a drummer came up. Lavin brought my name up as an option, and Brendan messaged me on social media, and we set up a time to jam. We played for a few hours and then we had a show the next night. It was just a really good fit —not only musically, but we all just get along really well, which is extremely important. You can’t find more dedicated and hardworking guys. I’m really proud to be a part of this band!

Jarred Cooper

Rye is the best drummer I have ever played with and has the voice of an angel. He is exactly what Brendan and I had been looking for all those years. He is also the most attractive member of Mercy Music.

Travis Naegle

I fucking love the Mercy Music stuff. Love it. I own the vinyl, own the shirts and can’t wait until I can get them a tour date in Fargo.

Brendan Scholz

Travis is an amazing multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. His new stuff is no exception.

Travis Naegle

I wrote some songs and put an EP on the web. This dude Cory produced and engineered the record in small studio in downtown Fargo. So I started a band, it’s called The Righteous Songs, and we’re rehearsing and writing new shit right now. I’m still playing music; never going to quit.

Aaron Weislogel

I’ve been filling-in with Mercy Music during times when Rye is unavailable, and it’s been great. Playing together for that long, the three of us have developed enough chemistry that it is easy to start up again. Brendan’s songwriting is so consistently good and done in his own way, it was pretty easy for me to get into the songs just like they were Lydia Vance or Deadhand songs. The only thing that wasn’t the same was my stamina…and hairline.

Brendan Scholz

Playing with Aaron when Rye can’t make it is always a pleasure. We played with each other for so long, it’s like muscle memory.

Aaron Weislogel

It’s beneficial for all of us. I get to play with them again, and hang out while they have a reliable backup who isn’t expecting anything from them.

Part Five

Epilogue

MMaaron-tn

Brendan Scholz

I feel when Lydia Vance started, that was the beginning of the Vegas scene doing what it does now, in my eyes anyway: Bands and friends sticking together, regardless of genre. We’d play countless shows with bands that were different from us, but we’d come out, the people would come out, and we’d all have a good time. I feel like I’m still in that position here today, even more than then really.

Rocko

I never stopped & never will stop following Brendan’s music (or Adam Fisher’s music who currently plays for CodeRedRiot). He’s beyond talented and I make a point to go watch him play whenever they come to L.A. (where us douches reside) and I am stoked to see Mercy Music out here on April 13th at Resident & then on May 27th at Punk Rock Bowling! And yes Brendan, that’s my way of asking for tickets to both shows! Love ya, fuckface!

Tyler Gibson

Brendan is still my favorite guitarist that I’ve ever played with, and I hope Mercy Music goes as far as they can. There’s absolutely no reason why they aren’t selling out clubs by now.

Kyle McAulay, Spanish Love Songs

Brendan’s relatable lyrics and his melodies, along with the rest of bands structures and foundation, draw me back to their songs over and over again. I find myself telling anyone who will listen about Mercy Music.

Travis Naegle

I remember the vibe in Lydia Vance was great. Strong friendships, fun attitude, and not a care in the world. That was my favorite time in the band.

Jarred Cooper

Just meeting all three of those guys was definitely the best part of Lydia Vance for me. I made three lifelong friends there. As a band, recording with Elvis for Atlantic was a gigantic highlight.

Aaron Weislogel

It’s tough to think of just one favorite memory, but for me it’s the time spent recording in Virginia because we all lived together and just recorded music and partied.

Brendan Scholz

There was a lot of cool/surreal shit that happened during those times. But to be movie-esque and overly sentimental, [my favorite is] the first time all four of us rehearsed together in my mom’s living room. That feeling was amazing. Everything seemed possible and I felt it was just meant to be. All the pieces had fallen into place.

Written and compiled by Emily Matview. Edited by Emily Matview and Ian Caramanzana