Hoping to remove the stripper-slash-meth-dealer element from the recording process, Orgy's record label sent the group to Lake Tahoe to wax their debut album, Candyass. The plan, of course, backfired, as the band opened the studio doors to anyone looking for a party. Almost immediately, every drunken 20-year-old in the vicinity was popping out of the snow and demolishing the place—riding snowboards down the stairs, using Hewitt's drum case as a sled. Some folks attempted to water ski on the snow by way of a nylon rope lassoed to the back of a truck.
"There were even people riding this little bicycle off the roof of the studio into the snow," recalls g-synth player Amir Derakh. "One guy was so wasted that he broke his tooth when he landed, and then he tried to pull it out with a pair of pliers."
"We had no idea who the guy was, either," adds vocalist Jay Gordon. "He hung around for days. People just kept coming to the studio, because they heard it was the place where the big party was happening. We soaked the floor with beer every night. We had a maid, but when she came, she just drank beer and did drugs with us. The record label was a little pissed that we did so much damage, but we paid a lot of money to record there, so we thought that we deserved to have a little fun with the place."
Though partying became the band's calling card, Orgy proved that they have more to offer than Vicodin-influenced death-pop. While Candyass marked the first release on Korn's Reprise-distributed label, Elementree Records—thus making the bands' relationship the focus of preliminary headlines—Orgy quickly distinguished themselves with a cover of New Order's "Blue Monday," which took off at radio just as the group had finished a national jaunt on the Family Values Tour. They then enjoyed a respectable follow-up single, "Stitches." Proof-positive that Orgy had arrived: Gordon and Shuck lent their rock-star status to some oh-so-fashionable Calvin Klein ads.
And so Round 1 of the Orgy saga came to a climactic close.
Earlier this year, following some much-needed time off, the band quietly began work on their upcoming album, Vapor Transmission, with producer Josh Abraham (Candyass, Coal Chamber). This time, though, their label knew better than to send them away to record. So the quintet holed up in Los Angeles, where they worked meticulously for six months in a Hollywood Hills studio/home. During this time, they reared their heads only occasionally contributing "Dissention" to the Scream 3 soundtrack, for instance. For his part, Gordon, formerly roommates with Crazy Town vocalist Epic Mazur, made an appearance on that band's new album, The Gift Of Game.
With their sophomore album in the can and slated for an October 10 release, Orgy are gearing up for what could be the make-or-break moment of their career. They recently shot the video for the disc's first single, "Fiction (Dreams In Digital)," and they're rumored to be negotiating a return appearance on the upcoming Family Values Tour. Clearly, the band is ready for Round 2. So let the debauchery begin. "Everywhere we go, crazy shit happens," Derakh concludes. "And think about it, we're still just getting started."