Formed in February of 2003, Nero's Torch began as three friends trying to get a group together to compete in their high school's battle of the bands. Starting under the name "Payton's News", which derived from a visit to the local Chicago hot dog stand (the official pre-rehearsal meeting place), practices usually consisted of Derek playing punk rock riffs under David's improvised classic rock solos with Paul trying to keep up with the unorganized mess on bass. A bass which, although an awesome antique, was impossible to hear (due to worn out and outdated pick-ups), even with a 500 watt amp cranked to full blast. Through mutual friends, a 'drummer' was acquired and agreed to compete with the band. 'Drummer' being a loose term, as there was probably only one time in which all the members of the band played at the same time.

At this time, we had about 4 songs written, albeit very simple, and half without lyrics. Using an electric keyboard for tempo, lovingly named "yamei" (Yamaha), early versions of songs such as Bent Wing, Thrown out at Third (then named The Hit, the song which was originally written for the battle of the bands), Black Chalk, and Stories From a Window Seat were recorded using Gold Wave. It became increasingly apparent that it was impossible for us to play the battle of the bands without a drummer, and the idea was dropped. Practice sessions were drawn out to once every two weeks, and interest slowly decreased.

However, high school graduation brought new things to the small band from Westminster. Offered a CB Drums drumset for only $100, the three of us finally had all the instruments needed to play, but still lacked a full-time drummer. David's talent in drumming, stemming from a stint in which he played for a few months in middle school, was discovered during a garage session on a rainy May afternoon, and added new dimension to every song. Interest was quickly regained, and practices jumped to almost every day. Further adding to the roundness of the band, Paul purchased an OLP 5 string bass, (this one with active pickups!), and an extra pedal was added to the guitar arsenal.

Disaster struck with a simple visit to Yahoo's search engine, beginning the longest and most frustrating time in the short history of the band. Payton's News was already taken! Big deal, right? It normally wouldn't matter, but we soon realized that our band name had the same moniker as a homosexual newsletter from Britian! Needless to say, the name was dropped, and the agonizing search for a band name was started. So, playing under a new name every week, with names as simple as Fuselage to ones as stupid (but funny!) as Sammy Sosa and the Corked Bats, or PC Load Letter nothing seemed to really click with the band, or it's small base of fans and friends. Finally, Nero's Torch was decided as an original, clever name for our growing rock band, and is now the official name.

Nero's Torch now practices at least twice a week, and is constantly becoming more and more talented and "tight" with every practice. With a future at Colorado State University, the band will easily stay together through college and beyond. Someday, you'll see us headlining Invesco Field. Even if it turns out to be a misprint in the concert listings.