Vertical Horizon

Keith Kane – vocals/guitar
Sean Hurley – bass
Matt Scannell – lead vocals/guitar
Ed Toth – drums

It all started at a Georgetown undergrad party in 1991.

Keith Kane was strumming an acoustic guitar and asked fellow student and guitar player, Matt Scannell, to join him. The chemistry between Matt and Keith was evident and soon after, Keith invited Matt to perform with him at his weekly gig at a local pub. Taking their name from two words that Kane thought reflected the music of an acoustic duo, Vertical Horizon was born.

Kane and Scannell graduated from Georgetown in 1992 and decided that they
would try their hands at a career in music. At the end of a summer spent gigging on Cape Cod, they went into a recording studio at Matt’s old high school and recorded the songs that would become their debut album.

“There and Back Again” (1992) saw the duo performing their original songs on
acoustic guitars with tight vocal harmonies, a testament to their live performances. After completing the record, Kane and Scannell returned to the DC area where they had already built a devoted following. There, they hooked up with Jackopierce, a duo from Texas performing similar music, and were invited to join them on the road. Thus began the band’s touring career with performances along the East coast. In between trips, the duo spent time in the recording studio and out of those sessions their second album was born.

“Running On Ice” (1995) showed an expanded sound with the addition of a
rhythm section on many of the tracks. The album was produced by John Alagia
Doug Derryberry and Carter Beauford from Dave Matthews Band lent his hand on percussion. The band continued touring and expanded their fan base by playing with such acts as Shawn Colvin and the Allman Brothers.

While the band was touring for “ROI,” Ed Toth was working for Borders in
Chestnut Hill, MA. Matt’s mom was in the store one day looking for a
Vertical Horizon CD and Ed’s boss assisted her. As repayment, the band
invited him to its show in Boston that night. Ed went along and was very
impressed with the band’s performance. After the show, he learned that they
were looking for a new drummer. That week, he sent in a tape and secured an
audition. The word is, he blew them away!

In September of 1996, the group performed two shows at Ziggy’s in Winston
Salem, North Carolina. These shows, which the band recorded, became the
group’s next release. “Live Stages” (1997) captured the band’s energetic
performance and introduced their hard rocking electric guitar style.
While touring in support of “Live Stages”, the band found itself in need of
a new bass player. Sean Hurley was the first to audition. He clicked with
the band both musically and personally, and before long, was the newest
member of Vertical Horizon.

In late 1997 Vertical Horizon signed a deal with RCA. They went into the
studio in 1998 and began working on their major label debut. “Everything You
Want” (1999) continued the edgier, electric sound the band had begun
exploring in their live shows and featured some of their best songs to date.
The certified double platinum album yielded four singles, “We Are,”
” Everything You Want,” “You’re a God,” and “Best I Ever Had.” The song
” Everything You Want” was the most played song on Top 40 radio in the US for the year 2000 and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition, it
remained at the #1 position on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 chart for 16 weeks.
It won two Radio Music Awards and three Billboard Music Awards. The band
also won a Billboard Music Video Award for Best New Artist
Modern Rock Video for “You’re a God.”

The band toured in support of “EYW” for two years playing with the likes of
Third Eye Blind, Dave Matthews Band and Barenaked Ladies. They also had
their first European tour, performing in England, France, Germany, Holland
and Switzerland. After taking a break at the end of 2001, the band returned
to the studio and has just completed its second album. “Go” is scheduled
for release in 2003.