Determined as he moves out of the shadow of his past, the guitarist recounts the origins of the Verve Pipe and the recording of a definitive Nineties anthem, “The Freshmen”
By Andrew Daly
HAILING FROM EAST Lansing, Michigan, the Verve Pipe’s Brian Vander Ark and his cohorts quickly built a following among a vibrant Midwest indie rock scene. The recording of 1993’s Pop Smear did nothing to slow the momentum of the young band, leading to their signing a deal with RCA, a label that saw the Verve Pipe as its ticket to the top of the alt-rock charts.
“I think the whole reason RCA wanted us, to be honest, was that they were severely lacking in rock bands at the time,” Vander Ark says. “They had Dave Matthews, who no one knew at the time, and they had ZZ Top, but they weren’t relevant at that point. We got a ton of attention from RCA because they had hung their hopes on us. I remember going into that album; I was living in a storage unit with all our gear because I’d been kicked out of my apartment. That’s when I started writing.”
With a record deal in hand and his creativity invigorated, Vander Ark put pen to paper, crafting the songs that would lead to the Verve Pipe becoming alt-rock darlings in the wake of Villains (1996). For the members of the Verve Pipe, the sudden success of Villains, linchpinned by the unexpected smash hit “The Freshmen,” brought forth incredible pressure to continue to deliver.
“I wanted to write another hit song, and ‘Hero’ from The Verve Pipe [1999] did OK, but it wasn’t in the cards for us,” Vander Ark says. “I wrote another song from that same album called ‘The F Word,’ which is my sort of commentary on how fleeting it all can be. I was a bit bitter at the time, but I got over that. It’s like I said; ‘The Freshmen’ came about when I knew nothing about songwriting, but I still managed to create something poignant with an enduring message.”
Now 27 years later, Vander Ark no longer harbors the bitterness and anger that led to the Verve Pipe falling mostly silent for years in the wake of their biggest hit. Now as creative as ever, the contemplative rocker is embracing his legacy, basking in the glory of “The Freshmen” in all its Nineties glory.
“I’m not bitter anymore. I’m happy to be still riding the wave of ‘The Freshmen,’ ” he says. “I feel nothing but pride and happiness when I play it. I know it brings a lot of joy to people, and it’s one of those songs that allows people to remember wh
