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HBI Timeline
Sept. 1986
John and Mark meet as college roommates
Sept. 1987
Mark buys first bass
Oct. 1987
Mark and John form HBI, write "HBI" and
"Stay With Me"
Nov. 1987
New HBI lineup:
John-guitar
Mark-bass
Kevin Armant-drums
Rich Single-Keyboards, sax
First live performance--
David Marks-guest vocals
Recording of SUNY Albany Jap Rap
Spring 1988
HBI writes more original material
Adds guest vocalist Dave Waldman for a
brief stint in cover songs
Summer 1988
HBI disbands and goes on hiatus
1989-1990
Mark joins Stupid Elvis as
bass player
Early 1991
John begins writing new music, ressurects
HBI with Mark as a duo group
March 1991
John and Mark meet to work on new songs
and to revamp some old material
April 1991
HBI enters the studio to record five
originals. Mark assumes lead vocalist role.
Guest drummer--Ben Stone of Stupid Elvis
Summer 1991
HBI records "The Distance Between Us" and "Pain"
December 1991
HBI re-records "Distance" and five other new songs
to create the Graven Images album
Spring 1992
HBI records two new songs, "A Call To Action" and "Smash."
December 1992
HBI records ten more songs to create their second album,
Itch.
November 1994
"Lovesong" is recorded.
June 1996
"Glue" is recorded.
October 1998
The Itch album is digitally remastered
and released on CD.
HBI begin serious talks about working on their third album.
Spring 1999
Mark completes lyrics for new album. John begins writing music,
creates three new song demos.
Fall 2000
HBI begins digital remastering of the
Graven Images album.
May 2001
HBI completes the re-recording and digital remixing of the
Graven Images album. Records
seven new songs for the Red December
album.
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Archived News Updates (From the Front Page)
UPDATE: July 23, 2001--Additional photos of HBI Posted at HBI Rules;
Nears Completion of Songwriting for New Album
The photo to the left shows John recording a guitar track for the upcoming HBI album,
Red December, during the May 2001 recording sessions in
Washington, D.C. This photo is of special interest because the apartment building seen
in the background (through Mark's window) is the home of
Chandra Levy, who was last seen on April 30, 2001. Please follow this
Chandra Levy link to the news summaries of her disappearance at the
Washington Post website. John and Mark recall taking breaks in their recording
schedule to watch the television news reporters' live broadcasts
from across the street. HBI sends their thoughts and prayers to their missing
neighbor, her family and her friends.
(Photo right: Mark jamming the bass)
In other news, John has completed sketching out the basic chord changes and riffs for the
three remaining songs for the new album. All that remains is to "iron out" the transitions
and develop the refrains as needed. In this sense, HBI is happy to consider the songwriting
DONE. Now, John and Mark must plan for what they hope to be one final recording session
to get these last three songs committed to tape, which they hope to have done before the
end of the year (thus honoring their 2001 release date commitment). Unfortunately, a
significant obstacle presented itself this past weekend. The four-track recorder used by HBI
since the days of Graven Images has decided to cease operations.
Yes, after ten years of faithful service, the heart of the studio called it quits. Until the machine
can be either repaired or replaced, HBI recording has ground to a halt. Any fans who are
desperate to hear the last three songs should feel free to send a $500 check immediately to
either member of HBI. Please email us for mailing instructions!
(Photo left: Guest violinist Mary Malefyt practices her solo for 'Roofdeck')
Finally, more photos from the archive have been posted to the Photos
page. Note that some of the photos will actually link to another page featuring several photos
of the same topic. Future website updates to be expected include--MORE photos from the
archive, lyric pages for songs from the Itch! album, and (hopefully)
some recording news!
Archived news items and updates can be found on the History page!
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:
Never doubt the positive effects of HBI!
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John before joining HBI
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John after joining HBI
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UPDATE: July 13, 2001--There are many new updates to Home Base: Internet. Most importantly,
all songs are now available for downloading in Real Audio format. Please use the link above
to download the FREE Real Audio player if you do not already have that capability.
In addtion, lyric pages have been posted for all songs on the upcoming new HBI release,
Red December. As for the completion of the new album,
John is currently working out the music for the remaining three songs. If all goes well,
these should be completed before the end of the year!
Although not ready yet, please check back soon for updates to the
Photos page.
HBI is also pleased to announce their plans for an email newsletter. Anyone interested in
joining the HBI mailing list can email HBI at
[email protected].
Update: June 27, 2001--HBI RELEASES SURPRISE BONUS CD - EVOLUTION
As a secret project, Mark Schaefer of HBI recently converted numerous live recordings of HBI (from
1987 and 1988) into digital format for a new CD compilation, entitled Evolution. This CD includes
early demos and live performances of some classic HBI songs, including; "Stay With Me", "HBI",
"Killing Frost", and
"Truth". What makes this collection unique is that the final versions of these songs immediately follow
each early demo to show how each song evolved from its demo to its final form. In addition, it includes
all three parts of the "Truth" trilogy (plus the introductory "Prelude") in sequential order.
As a bonus, there are a few other rare tracks, including; "The SUNY Albany Jap Rap", "Metal Peanuts", and
an excerpt from the 1987 Holiday Concert.
Update: June 27, 2001--Website Updated With Lyrics for Graven Images
Songs
Lyrics and behind-the-scenes information have been posted at this web site for all songs from the
Graven Images album. To access the lyric pages, please visit
either the Graven Images page, or the
Discography page and click on the song title in the song list.
Please check back for status on the posting of lyrics for the Itch! and
Red December albums as well.
Update: May 24, 2001 - HBI Records Seven New Songs in Two Weeks for
Red December!
HBI returned to recording this past weekend, completing four more songs for the upcoming
Red December album. With the three songs completed last weekend
and two songs completed from 1994-1996, HBI now has a total of nine songs ready for release. Please
see the Red December page for information about the completed songs.
After experiencing a bout of intense productivity, HBI will now take a break from recording
to concentrate on writing the three remaining songs due for the new album. Recording dates
for the remaining songs have not yet been set. We hope it will not take another eight years.
As a marketing gimmick to promote the new album, the band is considering changing the spelling
of their name to HBÏ.
Update: May 24, 2001--It seems that our efforts to prevail upon
Yahoo/Geocities for technical support have failed. We are still unable to explain
why Netscape users can access our MP3s, but MS Explorer users cannot. Our requests
for assistance from Yahoo/Geocities remain unanswered. Therefore, we will now
endeavor to find additional file storage space in the internet arena. When we do,
MP3 files of HBI original music will be posted. We apologize for inconvenience.
Update: May 14, 2001 - HBI Completes Preparation of Songs for Graven Images
CD Release, and Records Three New Tracks for Red December!
In a fast-paced working weekend, HBI re-recorded the guitar track for "Trisha" and completely re-recorded the
song "Pain," both of which will be featured on the CD Release of HBI's first album,
Graven Images. With the re-recording complete, HBI can now begin production
of the CD (available upon request--pending completion and printing of the liner insert).
In addition, HBI has also recorded three new songs to be included on their upcoming release,
Red December. The songs completed are "Grind," "A Ship Comes,"
and Fright." Expect an update next week with more news of song completions for the new album!
More NEW pictures:
John recording "Trisha"
Mark working on a song mix
John drumming for "Roofdeck"
Update: May 8, 2001--Although we have posted two MP3 files to this website,
it appears that some Microsoft Internet Explorer users are having difficulty
accessing the files. We are working with Geocities to determine the cause for
this problem and hope to have it corrected as soon as possible. We
apologize for the inconvenience.
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