We basically went into the studio very prepared, just as we did with the last album. VR was never a band to go into a recording unprepared like some groups do. There would be no last minute song changes or writing/finishing of tunes while the clock was running! We went in with the idea of recording the 10 songs we had written for Digital Dictator, as opposed to laying down tracks on dozens of tunes and picking the best ones for the new album. Many bands do that, but VR never did, nor would we take that approach on any of our records. One of the main reasons for this philosophy was that our label at the time (Shrapnel) put all of its bands on a rather strict 100 hour recording budget...so we had no time to fool around!

This time around, we entered the studio with a stronger "band" feeling. On "Soldiers", we had little time to get to know Vinnie either musically or personally. Also, Larry and I had not been in the band long ourselves by the time recording had begun. At the start of recording of the new album, Carl and Mark had been with us for about 7 months and they were seen as long term band-members as well as long time friends.

Many fans consider Digital Dictator to be the greatest of all of the bands releases. I have a hard time myself deciding the one I would vote for as the best of all. I do know though, that Digital Dictator has some truly awesome songs and really great musicianship, along with the special magic of having the 5 of us recording for the 1st time.

Also, this album was the only one the band would ever record where all of the members would write material. Larry and I had really begun to find our groove at this point, and Mark and Carl would really shine with their new energy and talent that they brought into the band. Mark would even bust out his Ibanez Mandolin and add its special sound to "Worlds and Machines". Geoff and Mark were a perfect fit with their different soloing and writing ideas blended together. One of the great things about those guys was that you could easily tell who was soloing. They each had a distinctive style and trademark sound on the guitar that set them apart. I often would refer to them as a Tipton/Downing type of guitar team. I once read that "All that is gold does not Glitter", and that would have to apply here. I think that "Towns on Fire" was one of our worst songs ever! Oh-well...you can't win them all! But great songs like: "Digital Dictator", "Condemned", "Out of the Shadows", and "Worlds and Machines" would make this a great album that still sounds great today.

I made more song writing contributions on Digital then on any of the other VR records that I was on. I also mixed down the album with Geoff and Mark. I told Geoff that I was not happy with the bass sound in the final mix of the Soldiers album, and that I wanted to correct that this time around and be in the studio with him and Mark for the whole process.This would prove to be a nightmare! Before doing that, I had reviewed all of my bass tracks and was not happy with the results. So I erased all of them, and along with the help of engineer Dino Alden, I re-recorded all of the bass tracks in one night!
I don't think Geoff really wanted an extra ear or opinion in the final mix-down, (his thinking was that to many cooks spoil the soup) However, I insisted and Geoff finally gave in. I think he had the idea that if he made me as miserable as possible during the mix-down, that I would never want to do it again! This turned out to be true. Looking back, I'm glad I was there but we were at each others throats the whole time, and after it was over...I swore that I would never mix-down a record with him again!!

The record was released in April of 1988, with a record release show at the Omni in Oakland. After this show we would be off to Europe for the first time! Digital Dictator was a great time for VR. It was and is today a great record. I think it was much better than our 1st album in all aspects. The first effort from the lineup that would eventually be known as the "REALVR" was indeed a triumph and success!

Next up....VR heads to Europe for the 1st time !