The revenge of the Also Rans, Has Beens, and Never Was.

https://victoryandassociates.bandcamp.com/

http://www.victoryandassociates.net/

Spotify.

Take the parts of huge classic rock you may actually WANT to turn up, mix it with the parts of indie rock that has stood the test of time, throw in a dash of post-punk sensibility and you are on the trail to victory and associates.

Victory and Associates were on a mission of the great unjading
Something to believe in. Something to sing along and rock out to.
Something fantastic.

The idea for Victory and Associates started at a pretty rough time of my life. I was living in my friends attic, I didn’t have a dime to my name, I was depressed, dejected, with neither a band, or other creative outlet and a long road ahead of me towards any of that changing. It was a bleak situation, and the hard fact that it was at least partially of my own making did not escape me. However, I did have a guitar, the ability to record and the desire to move forward some how. I had an epiphany. There were two roads I could take, one of which was the road of cynicism, negativity and bile. Why not? I was pretty good at that and it’s an easy release. The other was more difficult, I could try to write the kind of songs that I, and people like me, needed to hear. The world is a massive bummer sometimes, but you’ve got to keep up and keep trying, even when everybody says you are a fool or to pack it in.

So that’s what I did, I cringed slightly at the inevitable backlash towards something that wouldn’t be understood immediately… sucked it up and started trying to write the best possible rock songs I could with the idea towards uplifting and elevating instead of criticizing and tearing down. I mean, there was going to be a certain amount of sarcasm and cleverness involved, but not bitterly so. It would be honest, it would be true, we wouldn’t try to pretend we were anything we were not, but we were would be fantastic enough on it’s own. I started playing with people, choosing the players as carefully as can be. Without getting into the details, everybody that was targeted had some kind of rough go of it. Either through the random happenstance of life, bad judgement, or missed opportunity. Yet all of them were ridiculously talented in their own way, and just damn great people.

I realized that it was a group of second chances, tenacity and perseverance. Awesome! And you know what? It was pretty damn good. We were making triumphant music that stripped away all the things we didn’t like about rock and kept what we did. The assembled forces took the ideas in the songs I wrote, and put their own spin on it that meshed together wonderfully and brought new spirit and life to the songs. Most of all, I tried to remain aware of the difference between driving something forward, and recklessly pushing. This band was also about learning lessons from the past, and pressing on relentlessly, with a deep breath and a smile. Victory and Associates, loosely affiliated with success.

And, well… it sort of worked? We confused a lot of people. Were were punk rock? Arena Rock? Indie Rock? Post-punk?

The answer of course was: Yes.

and the response was: “huh?”

Ultimately things slowed down and it didn’t make sense to do it anymore. Perhaps we were too early, perhaps too late, definitely not that lucky… but we made a hell of a racket while we are around and it meant something to a few people, some of those people were us.

We decided to call it a day and left as friends. Not every story is an epic, not every band gets a Behind the Music. Better luck next life.

Conan Neutron
Vocals/Guitar

Primary songwriter, rhythm guitarist, singer and rock and roll jackass for Victory and Associates. Former frontman for band Mount Vicious, Former guitarist and vocalist for Replicator, occasional Rock DJ, full of tenacity, questions things, astigmatism. Yes, Conan is his real name, no it’s not pronounced like the barbarian.

Evan Gritzon
Bass/Vocals

Milwaukee ex-pat and former member of Radio Crimes, the Etiquette, Paris@2AM, Crossed Wires, etc. Evan’s bass playing is as ferocious as his facial hair. The man knows his coffee and his witty quips equally well.

(more soon)
Shane Otis
Guitar

Victory and Associates wizard of guitar.

Mouse Menough
Drums

From Chugiak Alaska, V&A’s drummer is a barrel of fun.

Oct. 2009- Dec.2010
Paul Miller
Guitar/Vocals

Former guitarist, singer and songwriter in My Sunny Disposition, Former Employee / The New Left Right. Paulie also played drums in Yellow Dancer and currently drums in Ghost to Atom. Also: WILDCARD!