Vue

by Jason BirchmeierOne of the West Coast's trendier garage rock bands of the late '90s/early 2000s, Vue brought a modern sense of decadence and punk attitude to the age-old blues-rock garage sound. It wasn't a revolutionary sound for its time. In fact, bluesy garage rock bands are a dime a dozen in the indie rock underground, but few manage to deliver their music with as much style as Vue. The San Francisco band garnered a substantial following on the West Coast and managed to score a label deal with Sub Pop for its full-length self-titled debut.
Sub Pop didn't exactly sign Vue on a whim, though. The band had already recorded an album as the Audience, after having originally formed under that name in 1997. The debut Audience LP appeared on Hymnal Sound, followed by a 1998 7" single, Young Soul, on GSL Records. Just as the Audience were beginning to make strides toward greater popularity, they encountered conflicts with the Brit-pop band of the same name. This led to the band's name change from the Audience to Vue. After changing its name, the band never looked back, releasing the Death of a Girl EP on Gold Standard Laboratories in September 1999.
Months later, Vue -- then consisting of Rex Shelverton (voice, guitar), Jonah Buffa (guitar), Jeremy Bringetto (bass), Jessica Graves and Robert Peterson (keys), and Jason Riddle (drums) -- finally released its self-titled full-length debut on Sup Pop. The album was actually recorded before the Death of a Girl EP and, like many of the band's other recordings, was produced by Davy Vain. The record scored impressive reviews in a number of major indie rock publications like CMJ, Magnet, and Alternative Press, garnering Vue a substantial reputation as an up-and-coming West Coast indie band. A year and a half later, Vue returned with its second Sub Pop full-length, Find Your Home. In the interim, Vue acquired a new drummer, Rafael Orlin, and decided to feature only one keyboardist, Jessica Graves.