Is Unverified a media hoax, a conceptual art project or a band?
According to Kate Nelson in an article for the Albuquerque Tribune, "contrary to what you've seen or heard or read, the Albuquerque band Unverified doesn't exist."
Scott Warmuth a.k.a. Scotty Unverified would argue otherwise.
"In the sense that the Partridge Family is a real band, Unverified is a real band," he said.
One way or another, reporters who followed the story of Unverified, allegedly a local band made famous on the charts by a computer glitch, are probably sick of the whole thing.
Creating an "unverified" monster
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Two events occurred creating the story of Unverified that fooled Leanne Potts of the Albuquerque Journal and Megan White, a former reporter for KUNM.
First, CMJ New Music Report, a magazine that publishes the playlists of hundreds of college radio stations across the nation, came under heavy criticism from Katy St. Clair of the East Bay Express. The article, "Has CMJ Become the Monster That Ate College Radio," questioned CMJ's practice of replacing bands unknown to their database with songs off Certain Damage, a compilation CD CMJ publishes about every six weeks.
In an open letter of apology by CMJ Editor in Chief Kevin Boyce posted Feb. 26, Boyce explained the glitch. As of the letter's publication, a change was being made to CMJ's system - the magazine would now publish the word Unverified in the top 200 charts instead.
"It occurred to me that if there was a band Unverified, that band could say they were on playlists across the country," Scott Warmuth, founder of the pseudo-band Unverified and former CMJ intern, said. "I thought that was very funny."
Second, Steve Peters, head of Nonsequitur, an artistic organization that is sometimes promoted by 89.9 KUNM, sent out a call for submissions to Aether Fest: Festival of International Radio Art.
Warmuth or "Scotty Unverified" who also volunteers at KUNM, submitted his entry - Unverified's Web site. The site features a track called "Red Light Green Light 1,2,3" that Warmuth had previously recorded. Two new band members were added, Franky and Tommy Unverified, who don't actually play any instruments on the track and live in other states.
"I thought April Fools' Day would be a nice day to get the submission in," he said.
Warmuth wasn't accepted into the contest on the grounds that his submission wasn't visual enough. But CMJ liked the site so much that it agreed to include the track on its next compilation CD, a slot that is usually worth several thousand dollars.
Warmuth wrote a few more songs, one of which is called "CMJ" and outlines the "band's" rise to fame.
"The press machine just started rolling," Warmuth said.
The hoax
Potts, a reporter for the Albuquerque Journal, fell for the hoax and wrote an article that appeared June 1 about the local band Unverified who got big through CMJ's fluke.
She wrote, "the trio of 30-somethings plays Ramones knockoffs and does what all unknown bands do, working day jobs and hoping for the Big Break."
In a later article appearing June 22, after realizing the hoax, Potts wrote in her defense, "conceptual art and garage bands are the definition of off-the-grid - neither requires a business license or leaves a paper trail."
"Do I lie?" Warmuth said. "It depends on what questions they ask."
Still, Warmuth insists that he sent Potts an e-mail outlining Unverified as a conceptual art project for Aether Fest before she wrote the first article.
"I don't know if she read it and forgot it," he said. "I don't know if she never bothered to read it. Now she maintains that she has no recollection of ever receiving this e-mail."
Potts is out of town and unavailable for comment. Her editor Rene Kimball declined to comment on the articles.
Warmuth also did an interview with White on KUNM's nightly news program, an addition to the hoax that he said suited him particularly well as Nonsequitur had rejected his project.
"The radio station that held the contest that asked for the subversion and exploitation got what they asked for," Warmuth said.
Marcos Martinez, KUNM's program director, appreciates the intent of the contest and Warmuth's project.
"He was doing it to make a point and I understand his point," Martinez said. "I have mixed feelings about it because on the one hand, I'm all in favor of pranking the media, but on the other hand it's kind of embarrassing to have been pranked."
Warmuth feels no malice toward the individuals he has fooled, and claims his band is just as valid as any other in the pop-music, media spectra.
"My only intention was to answer the call for the project and be illustrative in a humorous way and my answer to 'is this a publicity stunt?' is always 'yes.'"
Martinez said he disagrees.
"That doesn't really hold up," he said. "He was deceptive and I don't think he can deny that he was being deceptive. He should be up front with the fact that he deceived us."
