Welcome to Tucson, Arizona. The landscape is desolate and the weather is unruly. It's not exactly the place where dreams come true and to many, it's the place where dreams are broken. Versus The Mirror knows this all too well. The five piece has had their shares of ups and downs but has managed to keep their eye on the collective prize.
It was late 2002, bored with the band they used to be in, drummer Shane Ray and guitarist Gabe Borquez began writing music for a new project. They soon welcomed guitarist Kevin Ryan and bassist Brad Murray to complete the instruments. The only problem was that Tucson wasn't exactly a hotbed for dynamic singers. 'It was terrible just writing music and never completing a song,' says Borquez. It was a low point for us but we had to be patient.' After four months of searching and struggling, the band found Davey Siebold. He was in another band at the time but was looking to put down the guitar and do something a little different. Siebold's energy and passion for music was the perfect compliment for Versus The Mirror's frantic style of melodic hardcore.
The band wasted no time and began playing locally to a loyal and growing following. Eventually they completed numerous West Coast/Southwest tours sharing the stage with Unearth, Senses Fail, The Bled, Atreyu, Name Taken and more.
In September 2004, the band scraped together some money and got their pal Bob Hoag from Flying Blan-ket Recording Studio in Mesa, Arizona to record an EP. The songs on the CDEP were an emotional endeavor for the five piece. Most of the music was written without the presence of a singer and finishing the EP was a personal triumph for Versus The Mirror.
In December 2004, the band's record release show had over 500 people in a 300 max capacity venue. The local fire marshal and police made an appearance but realized it was a special occasion and let the show go on. Since the release of the EP, the band has moved over 1,200 copies in just four months. Their energetic and intense live shows have floored audiences and have earned the band a devoted and dedicated fan base. 'As much as it's amazing to see new faces come out to our shows, it's also great that the older fans still hold true to what you're trying to do,' adds Borquez. After a major buzz started to float around the band began to be courted by different labels and management.
Being patient and believing in their music, the EP found its way East and to the offices of Equal Vision Records. Versus The Mirror joined the Equal Vision family in June 2005 and will be releasing their debut album in early 2006.
