Memento

Australian Justin Stewart Cotta and American Steve Clark served as touring and recording members of rock artist V.A.S.T., the project of musician Jon Crosby, performing in major venues and traveling aboard a million-dollar bus. After three and a half years contributing to both studio releases and live performances, the pair grew frustrated by their lack of creative input and official recognition. Clark later explained the situation in an All Music Guide interview: "It was cool but that's exactly why we left. When you're a supposed hired guy, they don't ask you anything. They just pay you and you just play. But in V.A.S.T., I was being treated like a member when they needed me to be treated like a member. I helped write and I helped do all the interviews, I helped get him up in the morning to make sure he would do phoners (interviews). But I wouldn't be compensated as a real bandmember and I don't mean financially. No creative (credits), no respect."

The two departed V.A.S.T., short for Visual Audio Sensory Theatre, immediately following an April 2, 2001, performance in Philadelphia. They flew to Los Angeles, where Cotta enlisted fellow Australians Leighton "Lats" Kearns on bass and Space on guitar to complete the lineup. Rehearsals began the next day, April 3, 2001. Clark had already recognized Cotta’s frontman potential during their V.A.S.T. tenure, noting, "If you ever saw V.A.S.T. play, that was Justin on guitar. He kind of stole the show. With his charisma and his whole trip, I thought, 'This guy's gotta be a frontman.'"

While playing shows around Los Angeles, the newly formed group landed a Columbia Records contract after an onstage altercation with a heckler at the Dragonfly club. Memento tracked its first album, Beginnings, with producer Toby Wright, known for work with Alice in Chains and Korn, and mixer Brendan O’Brien, whose credits include Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Stone Temple Pilots. Wright enlisted Grammy- and Academy Award-winning composer and arranger David Campbell, father of singer Beck, whose string arrangements surround the band’s aggressive guitar riffs and prominent bass lines. In summer 2003 Memento joined the Ozzfest tour, a pivotal showcase for rock acts such as Disturbed, Slipknot, and Crazy Town.