Elevator Through

While still recording with Moncton, New Brunswick's indie rock outfit Eric's Trip in 1994, guitarist Rick White and drummer Mark Gaudet began the side project Elevator to Hell with bassist Tara White and keyboard player Ron Bates. After Eric's Trip collapsed in 1996, Elevator to Hell became the main band for White and Gaudet. In 1996 the quartet signed to Sub Pop, White and Gaudet's former home with Eric' s Trip. The label made a deal with Elevator to Hell on the strength of their live shows and their album, Parts 1-2, released by the group in February 1995 and later re-released by Sub Pop on vinyl. After the band released their debut, they followed up with a 7" single on Sappy Records, the label of former Eric Trip's bandmate Julie Doiron Claytor. It was then, in early 1996, that Bates left the band because keyboard parts weren't being written into the songs as much and also for the fact that he was busy with his other group, Orange Glass. By this time, the band had inked their official contract with Sub Pop and released their second full-length album, Part 3, which appeared on shelves in July 1996 in vinyl format only. Since both Parts 1-2 and Part 3 were only available on vinyl, Sub Pop released a CD in August that included both albums titled Parts 1-3. While continuing their affiliation with Sub Pop, the band released two more 7"s for Sappy and Squirtgun, before their next LP, 1997's Eerieconsiliation. Another series of releases would appear on labels like Astral Navigation and Murderecords in the following two years. Following those recordings, the band decided that they wanted to shorten their name, so they changed it to Elevator Through and released their fourth LP in 1999, Vague Premonition. The band changed their name once again in 2000 to Elevator and signed to the Toronto, Canada label Teenage USA and released the full-length A Taste of Complete Perspective. ~ Stephen Howell