Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Matthew McCain met drummer and idea man Phil Russertt in a recording class at Queensborough Community College at a time when neither knew what to do with their lives, except that they shared the same pipe dream - to be successful recording artists and to bring what was important about the art of Rock music back to the forefront. Matt had been in several bands, had live and studio experience, and was a local coffeehouse favorite but had never been the frontman or songwriter for a band. One day the students were asked to bring their recordings to class. Matt brought his very rough 4-track of "bash". Phil saw the artistic vision behind the poor sound quality. He stopped Matt after class and suggested they work together. He gave Matt a tape of his primal yet tasteful drumming and the two decided to collaborate.

A long road was ahead for the fledgeling duo. Numerous line-ups, hirings and firings, relocations, arguments, dry spells, spiritual upheavals, coffeehouse diversions, absurd auditions, and pointless projects all seemed to doom the band before its start but eventually they worked through the obstacles, or despite them.

Once Matt had finally gotten his head together after a born-again Christian experience in 1998, and the two had decided on a name and a concept they began to record underdrive's debut CD, "giving back the monster". They still had no bassist despite counless ads and try-outs, and no real connection to the industry. But there was also nothing to lose. They started recording and worried about crossing the t's and dotting the i's later. As it turns out they were to hook up with bassist Dave Peterson, a local favorite from glam-metal days who made a splash with the Queens based R.A. Roller. He was a simple yet creative player who added much needed seasoning.

They recorded "giving back the monster", an expression that meant refusing to take other people's projections onto oneself. Matt, an albino, is no stranger to that phenomenon, as albinos are often attributed the worst characteristics of humanity by movies, books, TV, and those around them, though the lyrics never dealt with the subject directly. "...the monster" was recorded in Matt's basement on a digital 4-track. The songs were a throwback to a time when melody and lyrics mattered. but the sound quality left much to be desired. The CD, though not friendly to an ever shallowing music industry with no tolerance for songs longer than 3 minutes without a chorus that repeats a maddening number of times, gained grass roots support and sold a few hundred copies, mostly at shows in such storied Manhattan clubs as The Elbow Room and CBGB. There was even the extremely hopeful event of the song "fool's gold" beating a song by Filter in a listener vote on KILO in Colorado. Phil's cousin got it into the station's hot little hands and they loved it. They ran it against the Filter track in a competition called "Newest Rock" and the monster got off the next nice shot. Only trouble is without a label the radio can't / won't play you on a regular basis.

To compound the modesty of the band's commercial success Dave was growing more and more discontented. He had trouble accepting his role as a non-songwriter, even though his songs were not in line with what Matt and Phil had originally set out to do. He was also somewhat intolerant of Matt's spiritual beliefs, and after hearing complaints from other intollerant friends decided he didn't like representing those beliefs with his participation in the band. The growing tension between frontman and bassist came to a head and it was time to part company. Phil's longtime friend Jonathan Moser filled in very well when the band needed a bassist in a pinch. However he wouldn't become a permanent member, as his muse was really death-metal and his instrument of choice was guitar.

Finally, an ad drew the attention of young Al Ford, a bassist with virtuoso talent in the making. Al had been traveling from town to town with his bass, getting work here and there in clubs and studios. Trained funk and jazz by a musical family and taught nu-metal while living on the streets, he found himself on Long Island looking through a local music trade and saw the ad. At his first try-out Matt and Phil knew he was the guy - great look and great chops. Al had played Woodstock and Vans Warped Tour with a band called Kickback '88, so he had experience on his side as well. They played a couple of island gigs and began recording the second CD, entitled only "underdrive"

The new CD is Matt's last attempt at self-producing and engineering. He believes he has finally improved the sound quality of his recordings to a radio-ready level. Stylistically it's a blender, like "...the monster" was but with more continuity and slightly more modern influences. The first CD was rough-edged and organic with elements of punk, folk, and metal. This one incorporates all that but ads jazz, grunge, and hip-hop to the mix. Phil and Matt have both improved at their respective crafts and have added a bassist with great technique and an ear for style. The entire project comes off as far more professional than the first and should be the precursor to a prolific career.

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giving back the monster
Cost: $7.00 (USD)
self-titled
Cost: $10.00 (USD)

	giving back the monster Cost: $7.00 (USD)
	self-titled Cost: $10.00 (USD)