Track listing: Bill, Nothing, Her, Sunshine, Zoë, Confusion, I Know You

Released: 1997
Best track: "Sunshine," with "Bill" right behind it
Track to skip: none!
Rating: 84 out of 100

Oh what a wonderful change! 2 years after our first demo we hit the studio to do our first proper CD. The first 4 tracks were newly recorded in November of ’96 and the last 3 are remastered versions from our second demo, the one we actually sent out to clubs and sold, that was recorded in fall ’95. But yeah, the change here is immense. The songs are better and those that are still around are so improved. We had been playing a lot by the time all this was recorded and we just hammered these out.

"Bill" is a powerhouse. It’s my favorite track Christine ever wrote and I always had so much fun playing it. Starting out the CD with it was the obvious and perfect introduction. We all just kicked serious bootie on this. Wiley rocks my world. He’s all over this thing. Everyone sounds fantastic on this. "Nothing" was another attempt at reggae and it turned out a lot better than "Where We Should Be." I wanted to do an alternate version that was full-on reggae, but we didn’t have time. This CD is the first instance of Bryan as a Good Guitar Player. His solos are very tasteful and tasty as well. Not to brag, but I’d improved a great deal too.

"Her" is a really good song too. I didn’t care too much for it while in the band, but hearing it outside of that context I really like it. I do some nice volume swells in the beginning and Bryan plays a great solo. I know of fans that said this was the best song on this CD. Could very well be. Ah, "Sunshine." We just ravaged this, esp. the guys. We destroyed it. I love it. Hey, you can actually hear my bassline on here! (See here for my beef with this) I love the breakdown section in this. The whole ‘metal’ thing Wiley and I are doing is great! This song is so good; I’m just sitting here smiling. Bryan, you wrote a great one here.

To the demo tracks, "Zoë" is such a fun song. I don’t care how stupidly simple it is; it’s still a fun song to listen to. I love how I put my "Spirit of Radio" licks in there. And those bass harmonics at the beginning of the second verse come out so clear! I rule!! Ha ha. In all honesty, I *am* happy with my playing on here. I do a lot of nice runs and fills all throughout. The beginning of "Zoë" has some fun tempo fluctuations, but it doesn’t bother me like it does the other guys. "Confusion!" My bassline on here is really nice, very proud of this one. OK, I gotta get off my ego trip. Well, one more: my fills in "I Know You" are pretty cool and there are others (music majors, no less) who complimented me on them. Rock!

I don’t know why certain players on this CD don’t like it too much. I still really do. Echo Juliet was a really good pop band and this CD totally shows that. We’re not in any way perfect, but the enthusiasm makes up for it. I’ve actually seen this thing a few times in Austin record stores, so it’s out there. You just might have to search a bit. If you like good pop music (and want to hear me!) seek it out.