Cryptic Void!

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CRYPTIC VOID Heroes of West Windsor and Hightstown 1986-1990.

Welcome to Run Scream Hide Die, my Cryptic Void tribute page. Cryptic Void was a heavy, inventive thrash band in the mold of Metallica and Megadeth, with a good dose of originality.

Lotsa Memories The following stream-of-conciousness text will probably make no sense to most of you; but hey; it's my web site & it's what I remember :) It was a long, long time ago, in a world far, far away. An oftentimes simpler world than it is today. Well, here we go; ridin' the Crazy Train Over the Mountain... CBGB. Electric Playground. Obsessions. Extension Tavern. The two conversion/equipment vans: the Void Van and Cryptic Cruiser. George breaking two strings at once at Obsessions. Mark asking how many of the female patrons of CBGB "swallow". Oops. Putting on their own shows at Electric Playground. That $&@#^% P.A. system & the basement stairs. The outdoor gig that fizzled and turned into a huge party in Caldwell's basement. 15 metal head freaks eating at this posh Chinese restaurant courtesy of managers Sal & Sandy. The drum riser! Hangin' at Marks in Camden. Riding with Eric into NYC; in July, with the heat on full blast because if it wasn't his piece of $&$# Camaro would overheat. Returning from another NYC gig in the Cryptic Cruiser; totally loaded; head against the speaker; barely able to make out the sounds of Metallica coursing through my brain. Practices in Caldwells basement. The fender bender I had on the way to one that left more paint on the other car that it had before. My transmission dying on the way home from another. Carpeting the Schultz basement in preparation for the Void Invasion. Hanging out on the stairs watching it all take place. Smoke breaks! The various characters that showed up to help pack the band up for a show. Chris Nicoletti learning the songs in a heartbeat so he could fill in for Weber, who was going on a trip to Germany. That show, the sound board was BEHIND the band. Weird. New songs taking shape: Witness. I Believe. Lion, Tigers and Bears (Oh My!) . Mutation Limitation. Your Move. Jason Voorhees strikes again in Terror in the Woods. Folly of Nations; the song Eric refused to play. And of course, Armageddon. And many more.

Cryptic Void.

A great ride.

THE BAND

Mark Bainbridge - Vocals

John Schultz - Lead & Rhythm Guitar John Weber - Lead & Rhythm Guitar George Schultz - Bass Mike Caldwell - Drums (circa 86-88) Eric Gottlieb - Drums (circa 88-90)

THE NAME and THE HISTORY So where did that name come from? Where all good band names come from...the dictonary! The original fivesome went through several possibilities (Chalice comes to mind) before ole Webster came to the rescue. The band started up with George & John Weber wanting to create something. George's brother John came aboard shortly thereafter along with drummer Mike Caldwell. The foursome jammed for awhile, learned some covers, wrote a couple original songs, and even played out a couple times as an instrumental unit while searching for a singer. Preferably one with a lot of hair; this being Heavy Metal and the '80s.
Enter Mark Bainbridge, who had the requisite head of hair, and looked cool holding a mike stand. Mark wasn't Geoff Tate - which doesn't really mean anything; neither is Ozzy, but he's done alright for himself! , but he had the image, and he fit the music well. The band at this point was jamming in Caldwell's basement; and doing any battle of the bands they could. In February 1988 they went into the studio to record Inception, their first 'real' demo after several attempts at a basement recording didn't quite cut it. In the fall of 1988 Caldwell jumped ship for college in California, and the band set about looking for another drummer.
Through the grapevine, they found Eric Gottlieb. Eric was an excellent choice. A powerful, fast drummer, he solidified the 'heaviness' and technical aspects of Cryptic Void, and allowed them to expand their base of original material. Eric was also the contact for their future managers, who collectively went by the name Earwaves. Plans were made to record in New York, whore the tapes around the industry, and tour Europe. The first two happened; with four of the songs of the tape (Done in RCA Studios) mixed down and sent around. Europe never happened; and to see the the rest of the story, read on.

INCEPTION

The long awaited demo tape was recorded in late winter/early spring 1988.

Terror In the Woods featured Jason of Friday the 13th fame, and was always a crowd favorite.
Folly of Nations was the first of a string of politically themed songs.
Moonless Night was one of the first written, and I don't think they had a show without this song.
Armageddon was a nightmare of speed and brutality, sort of a "let's see how fast and pshycotic we can play" effort. Wasn't played very often, but always a crowd pleaser.

And on the inside:

This, sadly, is the only 'Official' output from Cryptic Void (save the "The Afterlife" post mortem). There was a recording session with Glen Kolotkin (Joan Jett, Ramones) at RCA studios in New York City which was shopped around, but unfortunately (albeit typically) the labels couldn't see a good thing if they sat on it. Eventually I plan to put up .wav files off of Inception, as well as the RCA recording. There's also the boot of the first CBGB show that will show up here sooner or later.

WHAT HAPPENED?

So, you ask, what happened to this amazing entity? What could cause such a juggernaut to come to an end? Well, after a whole lot of nothing happened with the RCA tape, George and the two Johns started to take the music in a different, less heavy direction. Still aggressive, but not Cryptic Void. Mark and Eric didn't go for the new style, and left the band, with Eric joining local thrashers Technakill. The remaining members continued as Third Degree. Such was the end of Cryptic Void (moment of silence).....

But all is not over...there was a mini-reunion at John Weber's Wedding on September 28, 1996. He and John and George jammed on Metallica's Seek and Destroy (A 'Void favorite).

NOW I think it's over :(

*WHERE ARE THEY NOW?* Mark Bainbridge: Married, two kids. Works in software development.
John Schultz: Married. Two kids. Living and hiking and skiing in Colorado.
John Weber: Married, three daughters. Good luck!!
George Schultz: The 'band whore' of the bunch. Has played in Third Degree, Hit -N- Run, Asylum Choir, The Diablo Sandwich band, MT Glass, Granian The Roadies, and probably others-I can't remember! Married to Pam of Hit-N-Run; they welcomed son Nicolas in April 2004.
Mike Caldwell: Found! Recently married, living in San Diego. Still plays the drums... most recently with Kitten with a Whip. Others include: Waiting for Randy, Blakey Dixie Down and the Basements, The Next and Raise Plow
Eric Gottlieb: Married with two kids, recently back in the area after a stint with the Marines - and now...back in North Carolina!

***What is the connection between Cryptic Void and Granian? Read and learn...***

"Dedicated to the band...and its afterlife" The Afterlife is a CD burned by Mark. You can't get much more Limited Edition than this!

The tracks are taken from the RCA sessions, live work and an interview:

Nothing to Fear
Terror in the Woods
Wipe Out
NEW! I Believe
Your Move
NEW! Witness
Lions & Tigers & Bears (Oh My!)
The Last To Stand(live track)
WDNR (Widener University) Radio Interview

PICTURES! The following pages contain pics covering the entire career of The Void. Page One is the early days,

Page Two is the band with Eric,

Page Three comes courtesy of Mark and continues the Mk. II lineup. Page Four is the July 2001 almost-complete reunion....
If you came here directly, Visit the Home Page! Much more to see!

This page linked to at:
http://www.cbel.com/hair_metal_styles/
http://www.somusical.com/rock-and-roll/heavy-metal/hair-metal/personal-pages/
EZ2find.com
and more!

Last updated 11/19/07

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