He and his brother, bassist Brad Vander Ark, had previously played in Johnny with an Eye, while drummer Donny Brown and guitarist Brian Stout were veterans of Water 4 the Pool. Both bands had been local favorites throughout Michigan, which helped the newly formed Verve Pipe become a local favorite on college campuses across the state.

They released their first independent album, I've Suffered a Head Injury, in the fall of 1992. Stout was dropped from the lineup in 1993 and was replaced by A.J. Dunning. The same year, the band released a second independent album, Pop Smear. Through constant touring, they developed a strong reputation and rabid following in their home state, packing large venues with converted fans and eventually selling a combined total of more than 40,000 copies of their first two albums.

In 1995, the Verve Pipe signed to RCA Records and began recording their major-label debut, Villains, which appeared the following year. The album spent 15 weeks in Billboard's Heatseekers chart, and its lead single, "Photograph," enjoyed respectable airplay on alternative radio and MTV. Keyboardist Doug Corella was added as a full-time member the same year. After spending 12 months touring and promoting Villains, including an opening spot for Kiss on the European leg of their much-hyped reunion tour, the Verve Pipe finally began to make some serious headway in early 1997, when a re-recorded version of "The Freshmen" -- originally found on the group's debut, I've Suffered a Head Injury -- was released as a single. By that spring, "The Freshmen" had become a number one modern rock hit and a Top Ten pop smash, sending the album into the Top 40 and earning a gold certification. Villains eventually went platinum, and "The Freshmen" became the band's signature song.

The Verve Pipe released a self-titled sophomore album in mid-1999, but its grungy songs sounded sorely out of place in a market now saturated by nu-metal groups like Limp Bizkit, and the record failed to produce any hit singles. The band returned in 2001 with Underneath, a considerably stronger album with production by Adam Schlesinger. It, too, failed to spawn any hits as big as "The Freshmen," and the group took an eight-year break from the recording studio while Brian Vander Ark turned his attention to a solo career. Reconvening in 2009, the Verve Pipe issued a collection of family-friendly songs -- the aptly titled A Family Album -- and toured in support of its release. Four years later, the Verve Pipe released their second children's album, Are We There Yet? ~ Chris Woodstra & Andrew Leahey