Bullet Proof Messenger - Formation (2001 - 2005)

2005)

Prior to being named BulletProof Messenger (BPM), the group was originally named Gone To Earth (GTE). GTE was formed by DJ/Programmer Matt Litwin, bassist Josh Rieger and guitarist Jon Maisel in 2001.

Rieger and Maisel met while attending the same high school while Litwin joined the band through an introduction of a cousin of Rieger. Due to the band’s use of programming and electronics it was a struggle to find a drummer who could keep up. After unsuccessfully auditioning multiple candidates, the band's drummer Voley Martin (current guitarist) was found in 2002 through an ad posted in a music store.

At this point the band still didn't have a vocalist and all of the music being played was instrumental. In Farmingdale, NY the band played an open mic at a venue called The Downtown in hopes of meeting a potential vocalist and after a few performances, paired with vocalist Marc (last name unknown).

With Marc the band added vocals to some of the instrumental tracks and recorded a demo at a friend’s local studio. Because of the success at the open mics the band was invited to be the opening act for Derek Sherinian at The Downtown in the summer of 2003. For this performance, most of the songs performed were instrumental while Marc joined later in the set to perform a few additional tracks.

However, a few months later Marc ended up parting ways with the group to pursue a different style project. As a result of Marc’s departure the group began a search for a new vocalist. Making the search more difficult was the fact that the group attended different colleges at the time. Litwin and Rieger attended SUNY Binghamton, Martin went to SUNY Cortland and Maisel attended Miami University. The group was forced to try out potential vocalists through demo tapes sent via email or CD and writing new material came to a slow down. Over the next 2 years, Litwin and Martin spent time writing and recording parts of new songs sending each part back and forth over the internet to each other, piecing songs together part by part.

In November 2003 the band received an email from Marcus Klavan expressing his interest in the project. However, since Klavan lived in Maryland at the time the band sent him an instrumental track to prepare something to. Upon hearing his demo the band believed that he was the right person for the project. After some discussion the band met Klavan in January 2003 for a live tryout, after which the group decided to bring him on board as the group’s vocalist.

During the 2 year period without a vocalist, Litwin and Martin had written a significant number of new instrumental tracks. With these instrumentals in hand, Klavan spent the next few months traveling back and forth between Maryland and Long Island to join Litwin and Martin in writing and recording vocals. Apart from the demo Klavan recorded over named “Eight” the first two tracks recorded as a group were entitled “Break Outside” and “Wasted” respectively - (“Wasted” appears on Arm Yourself). Also recorded over the following months were songs entitled “Everyone”, “And You Say” and “Like a Drug” (An updated version of which appears on Arm Yourself)

In the summer of 2004 Klavan relocated to Long Island. The band had rented a studio and began rehearsing on a daily basis. During this time the band was working on their live performance as well as writing some new songs including, “Next To Me” and a song entitled “Tomorrow” (which appeared on The Crucial Line).

Over the next few months the band played live at local venues including CBGB, The Crazy Donkey and The Knitting Factory. In October 2004 the band secured an opening slot with national rock act Incubus. This opportunity lead to spots on MTV, CBS, FOX, as well as being voted one of the top unsigned acts in the country by XM satellite radio.

In early 2005 the band was alerted about a Clear Channel Radio battle of the bands being hosted by 92.5 KGB-FM and "Magic City Music Hall” in Johnson City, NY. The band agreed to play the gig with the exception of Guitarist Maisel who declined to participate.

The band had wanted to move Martin to guitar and bring in a new drummer due to Martin’s military obligations, as an attempt to prevent the band from coming to a standstill if he was deployed. Through Klavan’s introduction, Alex Straiter, a friend from Maryland traveled to NY a few weeks before the show. Despite the last minute lineup change, the band went on to win the contest.

Straiter ultimately relocated to NY to be the group's full-time drummer and Martin took the role of the band's second guitarist. With the new lineup the band played shows with Collective Souland Trapt in 2005.

In the winter of 2005 Maisel, upset with the groups refusal to sign a 3 song demo recording contract, attempted to bring the project to a standstill by sabotaging the band's MySpace page. Frustrated with this situation, Straiter left the band to play in a side project of From Autumn To Ashes guitar player Scott Gross. Rieger left the group to attend law school and Klavan’s involvement decreased briefly, leaving Litwin and Martin to determine which way to go with the band.