The Verve Pipe
The Verve Pipe is an American rock band from West Michigan. It was formed in 1992 in East Lansing by Brian Vander Ark, Brian Stout and Donny Brown.

History
In November 1992, Brian Vander Ark of the Band "Johnny with an Eye" signed a production deal with producer/engineer Thomas Jansen owner of Station C Studios Inc. After Jansen produced,recorded and mixed all "johnny with an eye" tracks, Jansen was looking for a little more from the band. During this same period of time Jansen was courting Don Brown's "Water for the pool" band to come over and record the rest of their album at Station C Studios. Frazer was then given the job of engineering the rest of their album project. In a conversation with Vander Ark Jansen advised Vander Ark to call Brown to join the band with one guitar member of "water for the Pool". Frazer then engineered brown's drums's,'vocal's and Stout's guitar's and vocals on "Johnny with and eye" songs" and Vander Arks's guitar and vocals on "water for the pool" songs. Frazer mixing the new band released their first album, I've Suffered a Head Injury. The original 10-song version of the CD is no longer available. A seven-song version, without the original recording of "The Freshmen",  was later released as an EP. The band, known for its energetic live performances, built strong followings during its early years, especially in the college towns of Kalamazoo and East Lansing.

In the fall of 1993, the band released a second album, Pop Smear, again working with Jansen for pre-production and basic tracks and Frazer with overdubs and mixing, which helped them gain a devoted following in their native state of Michigan and their eventual signing with RCA Records in 1995. A.J. Dunning replaced Stout on guitar for the recording of Pop Smear and remained in the band for their three RCA records. This album featured the popular tracks "Spoonful of Sugar" and "Victoria".

Their first major label release was 1996's Villains, which was a minor hit and launched two respectably selling singles, first "Photograph", then the No. 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit "The Freshmen", which was their one and only pop hit. On June 28, 1997, the band performed at Edgefest in Barrie, Canada. While performing, someone in the crowd threw a beer bottle towards the stage and it hit Brian Vander Ark in the cheek. The band then left the stage to seek medical attention.

The band came back with a new album, The Verve Pipe, in 1999. The album, however, failed to achieve the commercial appeal of its predecessor. The band's 2001 release Underneath contained the song "Colorful", which was featured on the soundtrack of the film Rock Star, and "Happiness Is", featured on the soundtrack of the film Joe Somebody.

On September 15, 2009, Brian Vander Ark announced on his website that the band would be releasing a new album called A Family Album in October 2009. The band had been approached to contribute a song for a compilation album called Calling All Kids, which led to them creating an "entire album of family[-]friendly songs". It was also noted in the announcement that a new album of rock material would follow the family album. Immediately after the release of the family album, the band undertook a series of small-venue performances, mostly around Michigan and the East Coast.

On March 28, 2014, the band announced on their Facebook page that their first studio album since 2001, titled Overboard, would be released on June 17, 2014, and would be followed with a tour. The first single from the album, titled "Crash Landing", was released on April 1, 2014.

Discography
Studio albums
Pop Smear (December 1993)
Villains (March 1996) No. 24 US (RIAA: Platinum)
The Verve Pipe (July 1999) No. 158 US
Underneath (September 2001)
Overboard (June 17, 2014)
Parachute (February 17, 2017)

Kids/Family albums
A Family Album (October 2009)
Are We There Yet? (July 16, 2013)

EPs
I've Suffered a Head Injury (1992)
A Homemade Holiday (December 18, 2007)

Compilation albums
Platinum & Gold Collection (March 2004)
Super Hits (2007)
Villains - Live & Acoustic (February 17, 2017)

Singles

Compilation appearances
Yikes! Records: So This Is East Lansing Vol. 1 - "Spoonful of Sugar" (original mix) (1993)
Aware Vol. 2 - "Spoonful of Sugar" and "What You Wanted" (1994)
Jensen International Sampler - "Spoonful Of Sugar"
Westwood One Entertainment Play Station Sampler (PSX)- "Drive You Mild" (remix) (1995)
Yikes! Records Vol. 5...So This is a Compilation...Best of Michigan - "Blue Beret" (XTC) (1995)
A Testimonial Dinner — The Songs of XTC - "Wake Up!" (XTC) (Thirsty Ear Records) (1995)
CMJ New Music Monthly Sampler - "Photograph" (1996)
WGRD RadioactivII - "Veneer" (live)
EdgeFest 1996 (Dayton, Ohio) - "Photograph" (live) and "Cup of Tea" (live)
LAUNCH CD-ROM (vol. 8) - Interview & "Villains" (live)
WKLQHometown Music Search III - "Villains" and "Reverend Girl" (live) (1996)
Aris' Big Disc 3 - "Villains" and "Reverend Girl" (live) (1996)
SuperSnax Summer '96 - "Cup of Tea"
SuperSnax Winter '96 - "Photograph"
Singles Mix 1 Volume 33 - "Photograph"
FMBQ Modern Rock Sampler 3/96 - "Photograph"
Pulse Cuts Vol.1 - "Cup of Tea"
Groove Wallet - "Cup of Tea"
Album Network's Rock Tune-Up No. 151 1996 - "Cup of Tea"
Virtually Alternative 70 - "Cup of Tea"
Virtually Alternative - "Villains"
81 Disc A - "Villains"
RCA Summer/Fall 1996 Sampler - "The Freshmen" (album version) and "Penny is Poison"
FMBQ Vol. 25 Morning Sickness '96 - "The Freshmen" (mix 1) and "The Freshmen" (album edit)
All-Star Cover Songs 4/28/97 - "Strawberry Fields" (live)
Hit Zone (BMG) - "The Freshmen"
Hits Post Modern Syndrome - "The Freshmen"
Airwalk Sno-Core Tour '97 - "The Freshmen"
WBCN Naked Disc - "The Freshmen" (acoustic live in studio performance) (1997)
WGRD RadioActiv3 - "Cup of Tea" (acoustic live in studio performance) (1997)
KNDD The End Sessions - "The Freshmen" (acoustic live in studio performance)
Sam Goody/Musicland Class Of '97 - A Year In Review Sampler - "Photograph"
MuchMusic Big Shiny Tunes Vol. 2 - "The Freshmen"
Y-100FM Sonic Sessions - "The Freshmen" (live in studio performance) (1997)
Sweet Digizine CD-ROM Vol. 1, Issue 2 (retail version)
Great Expectations (soundtrack) - "Her Ornament" (1998)
MTV 120 Minutes Live - "Villains" (live) (1998)
The Avengers (soundtrack) - "Blow You Away" (1998)
Clay Pigeons (soundtrack) - "1229 Sheffield" (1998)
Best Of Rockline - "Drive You Mild" (live in studio performance) (1999)
Rock Star (soundtrack) - "Colorful" (2001)