Vertical Slit

Vertical Slit was spearheaded by the prolific and uncompromising Columbus, Ohio-based singer/guitarist Jim Shepard, later known for fronting the band V-3. Formed during the mid-'70s, the loosely constructed Vertical Slit took its cues from Shepard's piercing, feedback-intensive guitar and corrosive lyrical outlook, first documented on the barely released 1977 cassette Slit and Pre-Slit. Only a later feature in Forced Exposure magazine brought Shepard and Vertical Slit any kind of national attention, prompting collectors to begin futilely scouring bins for the band's by then long-out-of-print subsequent releases. 1990's Vertical Slit and Beyond assembled highlights from the group's catalog, but excepting the 1991 cassette Your Wife Is Licking My Strobe Light and Grinning, Shepard now focused virtually all of his energies into V-3.