The month after we played at the party with the all the others 6 winner bands.
We just ripped to Eng his help for the recording sessions in studio, but after that we were bare, we needed a drummer for the future.
Party gig of the contest’s winner: Marmo – Eng – BJ – Pav
Like always we found our fate drinking beers: after the party we went in an old pub in the town center, the “Blaues Schiff” (the “Blue ship”, now there is a high-fashion store….), for celebrating the win.
With us there was other guys from some other bands. Between those, there was Secco.
We needed just a few minutes to convince him to play the drums for us.
Great, we had our demo and we had our new drummer, then we canned prosecute with our plan.
The month after we entered in studio for collecting our prize: the recording our 3 songs.
G.A. in the studio for the demo: Eng – BJ – Pav – (Marmo was in session)
Be honest, the studio phase fitted on us very good. We completed the takes very fast, concluding all the recordings in only one day and a half.
In the February 2001 we participated to the release party of the compilation with a hybrid line-up: Secco was our drummer and was right that he sat behind the drums, but Eng helped us for several times and won the contest with us and was correct that he played on that gig.
So, Eng accepted to switch on the guitar, and so played the rhythmic parts of BJ, leaving him only the solo and the freedom of sing without carrying to much on the guitar playing.
Compilation release gig: Marmo – Secco – BJ – Pav – Eng
The experimentation gave good results, but the chemistry wasn’t so good as it needed to be, so Eng leaves (for the last time) the band.
The following months were great, we continue to play a lot, playing practically every week. Sometimes happened to play two times per Saturday, like in the X’mas period of 2001, we had a matinée gig in a school and in the afternoon a private party. Great.
Open air in Bolzano: Pav – BJ – Secco – Marmo
In the meantime, Marmo took the initiative and sent the fresh released demo to all the independent labels he knew.
It passed only a couple of months when we received a letter (in the common mail… not email… lovely beginning of XXI century….).
It was sent by Vacation House Records, proposing us an 1+1 contract: the release of one album with the option for a second one.
We knew the label, the label knew the scene of our city. They produced other 3 HC bands of the city: Last Man Standing, No Choice & Bound. We accepted in one day.
New goal reached, new problem to solve: we needed a way to reach the recording costs, or at least gave us the money to build a base instrumentation for recording our album in DIY.
Open air festival: Marmo – BJ – Secco
The second scenario was the cheapest one, and so after some investigations, we fixed our budget at 2’000 eruos.
The next step was to spread out our story and find a sponsor that will cover or participate to our project’s costs. We found our partner some meters nearby the theatre where we won the contest some years before: a youth Center was searching about guys who helped them in the management of the music events and the rehearsal organisation.
We propose ourselves in counterpart to their sponsorship. The acceptance came almost instantly: we became their resident band, take base in one of the rehearsals we had to build and a manage. We also guaranteed to perform a gig every two months for them and to develop the younger bands.
The new place took gave us new resourcefulness and we decided to try to evolve our sound offering something new: a night Pav led to the rehearsal a childhood friend of his, Master One.
He was just known in the underground scene of the city for his good technique as DJ. After a month of reworking and try-outs on the songs, we decided that was the way to follow: the samplings and some turntables tricks were completing the musical base giving something unusual and interesting.
Master One in the rehearsal
So, we started to record the album with that line-up:
BJ at rhythm guitar and first main voice, Pav at bass and second main voice, Marmo at lead guitar and choirs, Secco at drums, Master One at turntables, samplings and back-up voice.
Marmo – BJ – Secco – Pav – Master One
For the DIY recording, Pav putted on his technical skills learned in the university and covered the “seat” of sound engineer. Everything ran goods, and the quality that ensued was the maximum that we can reach with that tools. The artworks were commissioned to a local artist.
In the January 2003 the Vacation House Records released “The Sky”.
The track-list derived from 4 years of continue evolution and reworking, with the constant research of experimentation and the tries to giving something new.
The base was the HC, but the result had to be something new from what heard since that date.
We can’t look at that album with the critical eyes of this days, we had to understand of what there is behind.
It is an evolving of musical and life experiences of a group of post adolescent guys, a pure manifestation of the strength of will. This album is the result of continue reaching of goals and the overcoming of problems. The meaning of the band’s name is itself a “mission”, we were young and angry, we couldn’t act otherwise.
GREEN ARROWS 