Velocity released two albums: “Impact” and “Activator”. “Impact” was released in Japan, Europe and in the U.S. where it received widespread airplay thoughout the country…quite a feat at the time, as Clear Channel was on a buying spree and access to radio and independent-minded program directors was becoming extinct. When “Impact” was released in 1998, the first single “You Don’t Amaze Me Anymore” was included on an Album Network sampler CD. This track caught the attention of PD Gary Michaels at K-ROCK in Salt Lake City. Despite being one of the newest stations in the market (and hence, having nearly the lowest ratings!) K-ROCK made “You Don’t Amaze Me Anymore” a breakout hit, and the song made it to #1 on the station’s playlist! As the single caught fire, demand for “Impact” in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area began to build, and the local record stores were soon contacting us asking where they could find copies of our album to sell! A great moment in any songwriter’s life. “Impact” continued to sell (outselling Metallica’s latest release at that point) and Velocity traveled to Utah and played seven shows within the space of a year. The largest show was a second billing on the 1999 “Rock Never Stops” tour with Quiet Riot, Warrant and Slaughter at which Velocity performed in front of 1800 screaming fans, who by this time knew Velocity’s music as well as any of the other bands on the bill: “Impact” had now produced 3 #1 singles on K-ROCK: “You Don’t Amaze Me Anymore”, “Janine” and “Love Is Dangerous”. Over in Japan, “Impact” was released to the usual buying spree in the first 72 hours, then sales taper off dramatically. By the end of the first week, “Impact” had made all the impact it was going to, selling just over 3300 copies. Even in Japan that’s considered low! But not at all terrible for a first album. Despite universally-strong reviews in all the melodic rock press, sales in Europe were low as well, as the record received no promotion from the european label MTM. MTM was essentially a melodic rock boutique label with minimal advertising budget and would simply release product and hope that the same 2 or 3 thousand folks would buy it as did the last un-promoted release. Hopes for an overseas tour died on the vine as “Impact” made little impact in Europe. However, here in the U.S., sales continued strong with several more radio stations picking up on “Love Is Dangerous” and “You Don’t Amaze Me Anymore”, including St. Louis’ giant KSHE and Oklahoma’s KATT . Ultimately, “Impact” sold over 12,000 copies worldwide including sales of over 6000 copies in the U.S., mostly concentrated in Utah, New Jersey and several southern states, largely due to airplay at Mississippi’s WSTZ in Jackson, MS and KSHE in St. Louis. Velocity returned to the formerly-green pastures of Utah one last time on April 23rd, 1999, only to find their fame had fleeted with the demise of the beloved K-ROCK. Following one last desultory gig at the Holy Cow, Velocity bassist Chris Thornton left to focus on his day gig (“learning HTML!”) and was never heard from again. Velocity had one last hurrah in them, giving a private showcase performance for rock guru John Kalodner, responsible for resurrecting Aerosmith’s career among many projects. Despite “Activator” being seen by many Velocity fans as “grunge”, Kalodner and Portrait Records (his label at the time) felt the music was too old-skool and would not be promoted by Columbia’s promotion department, responsible for Portrait promotions at the time. There was no further contact with the label. After a handful of Los Angeles gigs, Velocity finally ground to a halt after drummer Bob Gaut decided to leave the band. Guitarist Chris Dodge soon followed suit, both members having stayed in Northern California after bandleader David Victor moved to L.A. to pursue other musical opportunities. Is there another Velocity album left in David Victor? Only time (okay, and money) will tell!| |
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