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In 1989, Christian Wentz, Markus Gatz, and Kevin Ellis put together one of the most ass-kickin power/prog metal bands in the San Francisco Bay Area. With band mates Kyle Longmiur and Jay Mallory, Randall Flagg became a serious force to be reckoned with, selling out nearly every venue they played with thier engergetic live show and thier powerful brand of heavy metal. In 1992, BAM magazine had sponsored a tri-state BATTLE OF THE BANDS, feature 6 months of fierce competition between 519 bands. When the smoke cleared, and the votes were tallied, Randall Flagg was the first place winner. Shortly after, Christian left the band, jus a few months short of thier first booking with Californias biggest promoter, Bill Graham Presents. Less than a year later, Randall Flagg was no more.
Markus had gone off to play with Picture This with shredder Marc Pattison and and one time Zero Hour vocalist Fred Marshall. Kevin had formed what would become OVALL with monster bassist Larry Smith and guitar master Bill Cannaly. Christian had gone off to Vegas to play with Raydawg Hancock in Dirt Road Gang. After a brief re-union of Randall Flagg in 1995, it looked like these guys wouldnt be playing together anymore.
2005 rolled around, and Christian had been back from Sin City for awhile and decided to put together a Maiden Tribute act. Markus was on board, and both of them began discussing the slot of the second guitarist. In came Jeff Baker. Jeff was an amazing player that fit right in and was eager to play. With tour experience with King Diamond, as well as his work with Talizman and Maximum Force under his belt, Christian and Markus knew he was the man for the job.
As Christian, Jeff, and Markus began working on getting thier Maiden sound together, the inevitable took place and they began writing songs together. After a short time it became obvious that these guys should be playing original material together, and Surface Tension Project was born. Christian and Jeff made the ultimate twin guitar team and the songwriting began to define a sound that soon began to draw attention.
Kristina Archuleta has been singing all her life. She was introduced to the band by Master Magician, Michael "Ichazod" Peterson. As soon as the band heard her, they knew that they had found a star. With Bay Area Drum God Marc Shcwarz to round out the lineup, the band began to define thier sound. After just 2 practices, Marc announced that he was moving on to play drums for one of the best Lynrd Skynrd tribute bands in the country.
Kevin Ellis had been playing with some of the most talented players in the Bay Area in his band Ovall. After 10 years the members of Ovall had decided to go thier own ways, and Kevin got together with the band to see if the project would work for him. It was a perfect fit. Rehearsals began.
Jeff Baker had become quite ill right around the time of thier first full band rehearsal. Sadly, it would be the last time Jeff would play with Surface Tension Project. Jeff passed away on December 14th, 2006. He was an amazing and talented player that brought a unique and innovative styel to the music of Surface Tension, and he will be terribly missed.
Ron Keeler had been jamming off and on with the members of the band for many years. After becoming the "Official Unofficial" photographer for the band, Christian suggested that he take the guitar spot left by Jeff Baker. After only one rehearsal, it was evident that Ron's dedication and style were a match for the project.
It is official. Surface Tension Project brings a culmination of a combined 30 plus years of musical experience and song-craftsmanship to the Metal World. As the band works toward thier first official record, we will be keeping you posted on everything that happens with them right here!
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