VICTIMS OF CIRCUMSTANCE

In the fall of 2005, two veterans of the Florida Punk Scene, guitarist Michael Smyth and drummer Glenn Stewart were working together at a debt settlement company owned by Stewart. With passions leaning very heavily toward their music, the two found themselves returning to the office late at night to work on songs that would eventually become Do It Yourself, their debut album.
"We had a full drum kit, a half-stack, a bass rig and half-a-dozen guitars lying around Glenn's office", says Smyth. "We just kept the door closed and no one seemed to notice."
Eventually the boys converted some unused warehouse space next to their office into a rehearsal room. The space grew and grew until they had actually built a state-of-the- art recording studio.
Buoyed by that accomplishment and with of a ton of original songs in their back pocket, they decided it was time to form a band to flesh out all the creative ideas they had brewing. So they brought in bassist Lindsey Pittard, trombonist Aaron Zylman and saxophonist Jay Atheney to complete the line-up. Blending pop hooks with their distinctive fusion of punk and ska, Victims of Circumstance quickly made a name for themselves among the sea of Central Florida bands, both for their energetic performances and their commitment to the local scene.
Victims of Circumstance tapped the talents of Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones to produce their debut album Do It Yourself." When the album was released in late 2007, the band locked down airplay on over 150 independent and college radio stations and a healthy amount of media attention.
Hot on the heels of the in-store date, the boys supported the release with gigs with the Pietasters, Big D and the Kids Table, and, most importantly, with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones at the revival of their legendary Hometown Throwdown in Boston. Road warriors in spirit, they continued to play in the Southeast throughout 2008 opening for
bands such as Time Again, Whole Wheat Bread and The Voodoo Glow Skulls.
Under the watchful eye of Big D and The Kids Table Bass player Steve Foote in the producer's seat, the band entered the studio again in early 2009 to record the follow-up. The resulting album, Roll the Dice, will be released in August of 2009. Jam-packed with tight punk, ska and pop tracks with melodic hooks aplenty, this album pushes the band even further, exploring different rock styles and rhythms. From the getgo of opening track "The Final Flight of D.B.Cooper" that eases in with instantaneously-infectious punk rhythms to the celebratory skank of "This Riot Used To Be
A Party" to the cheekily-named (but not too far off) "Number One Hit Single", their second album packs energetic melodic ska/punk/pop into fifteen tracks.
Roll the Dice was produced by Steve Foote (Big D and the Kids Table) and will be released on August 25, 2009 on Financial Records.
The VOC released their third Studio Album - "Acupunkture" On October 25th 2011. After a busy 2011 touring schedule and a tour in the UK and Europe, The VOC will be supporting this Album with Shows around the South and another trip to Europe in 2012.