Over the past couple years, we’ve thought a lot about what we want our music to say, what we want it to sound like, how many cheese curds we could possibly eat in Wisconsin. Now, after much exploration and many changes, we finally sound like ourselves — like the band we want to be. Our next task is to put the cheese curds down and focus on getting that sound on tape. Or, computer. Or whatever they use these days.

The challenge was to find a producer to help us realize our vision. We wanted to make a big record, one that combines the intensity of our live shows with the intimacy of a living room. We wanted an in-your-face record set at a distance. We wanted trashy and sweet.  We wanted Joe Strummer and Bob Dylan. Ray Davies and Leonard Cohen. We were asking for a lot.

After some searching, we found our guy.  Sam Kassirer has a lot of great credits to his name, but more important, he’s got a rare gift for summoning intensity and urgency from every instrument, whether it’s an electric guitar or a fiddle. He produced Josh Ritter’s So Runs the World Away and The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, and he plays keys in Josh’s touring band. He’s also produced records for Langhorne Slim, Erin McKeown and the David Wax Museum. Now, he’s ready to help us make an explosive rock record.

After a few months of pre-production – working out riffs, structuring tunes, talking about instrument sounds, being pushed around by Sam in rehearsals – we’re ready to record.

We’re heading to Sam’s studio, Great North Sound Society, a converted 18th century farmhouse in rural Maine. In between takes, we’ll breathe clean air, fight off birds and badgers, and maybe shoot BB guns (but not at said birds and badgers). And we’ll find a way to get Sam’s dog Lucy onto this record.

We’ll be launching a Pledge Music campaign to finance this record, offering you the chance to directly support the making of this thing. Gifts – demos/outtakes, scrapbooks, cookbooks, Naseem’s smelly old hats, etc. – will be involved. We’re excited to get you more involved in our music, and grateful for your ongoing support.

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