The album is a culmination of music with origins dating back as far as 1983. Each song has it's own story of where it was first created, and by who. Most (if not all) of the original riffs and general sound of each tune were born of either guitarist Chris Nickerson or bassist John Ardolina. All of the instrumental music you hear now is the result of when drummer Mike Flores joined Chris and John in early 2008. These were 6 of the several instrumental songs presented to vocalist Keith Reilly in August of 2008. What he is currently singing is what was written from the time he joined the group up until the recording of this album.

The menu above represents the content you would find on the inside jacket of an album case. Seeing that this is a free recording, available exclusively over the internet, this is the only place to find information on "Playing Scared" by The Red Desert.

By John Ardolina:

This isn't the first band bio I've ever written, but it's the first for "The Red Desert". In the past the bios sounded like a sales pitch, asking for approval, almost groveling for attention. But I don't think like that anymore. Just having the opportunity to play again feels like a pardon from the Governor in my hour of need. I've been in only two bands in my life and I'm equally proud of both. On March 19th, 2007, my great friend and singer, in the only band I ever knew, died tragically in a work related accident. We graduated high school together with our guitar player Chris. We made two full length albums and played some amazing shows, including opening for Yngwie Malmsteen once in front of 2000 people and kicked the shit out of it! A few months had gone by after Scott died, and by now our long time drummer and friend Casey decided it was time to move on with his wife and new baby girl. We'd been a band for over 10 years and Chris and I simply missed playing together. We got together with some acoustics to see if anything musical could happen. It was weird at first, but undeniable songs were being discovered. We casually put the word out that we might be looking for a drummer. It didn't take too long when Mike, a painter, stopped by the paint store that Chris worked at and said "yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll come by and hold a beat down if you want? Sure whatever, stop by. Well Mike didn't just step in, he stepped up and pretty much took the reins. This was just what the doctor ordered, someone who respected our situation but was driven to create original, progressive music. Within a few weeks structured songs, plural, were written and kept coming.

Well...looks like we need a singer. After a few "nice tries", by some very cool people, we were starting to wonder how anyone could fill this very important role. The job description was short but essential. # 1. Write lyrics that make us give a shit, and #2. Sing strong and make me believe, no bullshit. Keith was working in a local pizza place and recognized Mike one night. He asked if he could give it a try. After just two practices Keith was in. We couldn't believe that not only did he meet our literary and vocal needs far beyond our expectations; he also brought immeasurable talent on various instruments and wisdom beyond his years (and maybe ours). It was early August 2008 and we started setting goals, playing shows, and getting the feedback we were looking for. The Red Desert was born and we were ready to nurture this new creation into a collection of songs. We decided to set New Years Eve as a deadline and release this first album called, "Playing Scared" for free music download on our website TheRedDesert.com. Make no mistake, this is a basement demo, but we did our best with a Yamaha 16 track digital recorder that turned out to be very limiting to our needs. We are not engineers or producers but the goal is accomplished. No excuses here. We already have enough material for another group of songs. And that's how we're going to do it, one recording at a time.

This chance meeting of the four players turns out to be more than just chance. Chris and I learned through this collaboration that both Mike and Keith were fans of our previous band. That might not sound like a big deal to most, but knowing that our music influenced two musicians enough to want to join this new effort makes our union a hell-of-a-lot more than just a few musicians getting together two or three nights a week to make some noise. We all want this. So no this is not a sales pitch, but an invitation. We're inviting you to take this ride with us. If you like what you hear on the C.D. and feel you want to be involved with The Red Desert then lets do it. No bullshit. We'll be here creating, recording, and most of all thinking. But goals do need to be attained. We feel we can achieve a true following by getting on a bus and playing clubs across North America. We don't have the bus, yet, but maybe you do, or maybe you know someone who does. Either way it's time to accelerate this project into the future. It's time to bring it to the masses. Its time for THE RED DESERT!!!

Rock On! John