Take Me Back To Spectre was JVA's one shot at a big-time album. Presto Studios, our home for the bigger releases had recently opened ARC in Omaha, a studio build into what was one a full-size basketball gym with a pool and a guest house for bands. Trolley Bus records in Japan ponied up enough money to buy a decent used car as an advance, and the band took out a loan to cover the rest. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? To make this album, the band traded the titles to Matty and Nick's cars plus the title to the Megavan X (Eric's car) to raise the extra cash needed to spend three weeks at ARC. Because the fate of our collective vehicles was on the line, the band dubbed the month before the recording "The Month of Sadness," which was simply a month of no drinking or smoking. Basically, for Nick and Mike and Matty, it was a month to dry out and focus on the most expensive recording the band had ever (and would ever) make.

The studio itself was like something out of a movie. It had a private gate and a parking pad for tour buses. The guest house had enough space to sleep 7 or 8 people, and the studio was jammed with racks of vintage amps, drums, guitars, other acoustic instruments. Everything about that place was top-of-the-line. Nick spent most of his time playing "The Need For Speed: Most Wanted" on a gigantic flat screen in the "lounge" area, while Matty, Eric and Mikey drilled away at their instruments. The Faint stopped in for a day, making a remix of "Meet Your Master" for a NIN tribute album, which was both really cool and a little unnerving. They were on a mission, remixing their track in a day. Nick may have inadvertently offended Dapose of The Faint by trying to clarify his name.

Nick: "Your name is The Pose? Its Dapose? I just want to say it right... Duh Pose? Ok. Shit, sorry."

The band made Matty a Beer-a-mid -- a triangular pile of tasty beers, all of which would be his as soon as he finished drum tracks. When Matty had finished drum tracking on the second day, he tore into his beer-a-mid, which had been replaced by even tastier Red Stripe Jamaican Lager. About 6 beers later the band realized that the drum tracks for "Zombie Attack!!" had been recorded two measures too short, so a partially inebriated Matty Sanders waltzed back into the studio and fixed his goofed up double-time intro in one take.

A big shout out needs to go to the dudes in Hercules for letting us stay at their house down the street from the studio. I forgot what they called their place -- we just knew it as the "Haunted Hardcore House." So many nightmares...

The album was finished in its time frame and went to our friend Doug for mastering. Kip Marshall whipped us up a pastel colored logo that served as the bands primary logo for the next few years. The loan we had taken out was paid off successfully, but not without some serious financial struggles. If we missed a payment, our vehicles could have been seized. It was very stressful, especially for Matty who ended up paying for more of his fair share of the payments. A new record meant more touring. We hit the road shortly after recording.