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January 2001
The band commences work on their latest opus at the state of the art Rockhill Studios
in Montreal, QC with gus again
manning the mixing board. Danny George, fresh out of rehab, attempts a comeback but his manager and
wife Lisa Moreno advises against resuming his rock star career due to a
likely relapse. Catalysis are forced to forge on without a frontman.
February 2001
The trying times threaten to halt the production of the new album, when
something close to a miracle occurs. Recounts gus: "I remember this one cold
February afternoon.. I was recording derek's sad attempts to sing, akin to a
squealing pig at the slaughterhouse, and could just see my young and budding
career going down the drain right before my eyes. I broke down and totally lost
my cool. I stormed into the vocal booth and took it
out on the unsuspecting and soft-spoken bassist. Minutes after administering the
beating on my stunned bandmate, and ashamed of what I had just done, I came to
the realisation that that
was the end was nigh. But it turns out that I accidentally left the tape
running during the squabble. A few minutes later while playing back the tape,
we were taken aback by derek's powerful delivery of his profanity-laden shouts.
And the rest is history. Guy, if you asked me a month ago I'da said I'd rather do an
instrumental album than have Derek sing. I mean this cat was
wack."
April 2001
In a surprise move catalysis refuses to renew their contract with Capitol
records in the USA (EMI the rest of the world). It is later discoved that that
Madonna expressed major interest in signing Catalysis and arranged to secretly
meet the band at her home in London. England. Days later the band announces a 2
record deal with Maverick records.
May 2001
The recording is halted 3 weeks as gus goes on a promotional tour in Europe
with stops in France, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The catalysis
guitarist does a few in store autograph sessions jam packed with screaming
prepubescent girls, as well as two acoustic performances on French and German
rock radio. He unveils the then unreleased songs "As Above, So Below", "Cold
Dish" and "For The Last Time" months before the release of silence.cunning.exile.
Then one night in a smoky Prague dive while having a drink with his entourage,
he is recognized by the lead singer of Hypnotix, the Czech band playing that
night. He then graciously accepts to join them on stage to perform a couple of
Catalysis classics namely "Deception" and "Anno Domini. "The patrons were
singing along, and they knew all of the words, it was beautiful. I love this
city" recalls gus.
A few days later, Gus meets with Guy Ritchie in Paris and the band announces that
Ritchie will
direct their first video for "Driving The Last Spike".
June-July 2001
Catalysis announces a world tour but is soon forced to cancel the Japan/Australia
leg of the tour due to more production delays. The initial plans to release a
double CD are scrapped after months of internal turmoil. Derek begins a
relationship with British fashion designer Stella McCartney while Steven Seth is
spotted by paparazzi at a trendy South Beach, FL spot in the company of MTV
personality Ananda Lewis.
August 2001
silence.cunning.exile
s released, is released to
massive critical acclaim, achieving gold status within a month of
release. It sold more than 130,000 copies the
first week alone. The band embarks on
a sold-out tour across North America.
January-March 2002
The band take a much deserved break from each other and the music business.
Derek Saul begins putting more emphasis on his writing career. Steven Seth
disappears again.
April 2002
The Catalysis management announces plans to release an EP before the end of 2002, marking
only a year since the release of "silence.exile.cunning". The EP is said to
contain three new original compositions, two live recordings and two covers.
May - August 2002
Derek Saul announces his retirement from the recording industry. The search
for a replacement begins, while the band begins recording material for "The
Downside of Advantage" EP. Says gus "pfft, you have got to get a load of
this - this is going to be the best EP we've ever done". With Steven Seth
de-facto out of the fold, gus announces some some surprise high-profile guest contributors.
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