ABOUT SELF PORTRAIT

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By the age of 18 Riz Story had amassed a large body of original material.  The decision was made by Riz's mother and father, to finance a full length studio album.  The album would be Story's first full-length work and feature all original music.  Story began work at Sound Affair studios in Santa Ana, California backed by various drummers and his brother (Len Wittrock) on bass guitar.  Story was mentored and taught by engineer/producer and studio owner Ron Leeper, and immediately showed an astonishing understanding of studio technique and theory. The resulting album revealed an eclectic mix of influences including U2, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Rush, Yes, Alan Holdsworth and even classical music.  Impressed with what he heard, legendary mastering engineer Bernie Grundman (whose credits include Michael Jackson's "Thriller") agreed to master Story's first effort.  Album photography is credited to Ericson Core, who would later become a noted film director/cinematographer (Fast and Furious, Point Break, Invincible).

This rare recording was pressed into a limited vinyl release which inspired wide-spread interest from major record labels.  Soon the album would be abandoned by Story as 'juvenilia' and with only a limited amount of vinyl albums printed the recording became extremely rare and forgotten.  Today the album exists as a fascinating time-capsule and glimpse into Riz Story's early musical ambitions and is traded amongst collectors who pay a premium for copies of the rare original vinyl album pressing.