Released by Universal Music in 2004
Produced by Warne Livesey

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Notes From The Artist

The majority of this record was recorded in nine days, though I would return to the studio to record Alert Status Red, Buffalo Seven, and Fell In Love With A Bad Idea at the suggestion of the record company, who felt that the album didn’t have what they needed for it to be successful at radio (something that has occurred after the completion of numerous records). In this case I came up with three passable songs, one of which obviously became the album’s first single and was rammed down people’s throats to little effect.

While not a particular favourite of many fans, and certainly not those that idolize the band’s material, the impetus behind making the record was, unlike past recordings, just as important as the material itself. In fact, the material was actually written specifically to facilitate the recording process.

While touring Avalanche I became enamored with artists that, because of their time periods, were forced to perform records rather than track them. I spent a lot of time researching how artists like Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash recorded, and how limited their options were. It ultimately inspired me to start working on material that would be approached with those same limitations in mind, ending in a short nine day session in December of 2004 during which the bulk of the recording was made.

When listening to the recording you’ll notice that it has an antiquated sense of fidelity, that it is less broad than most modern recordings, which is a reflection of the equipment we used to perform and record it. And if you listen particularly closely you’ll be able to really spot the difference between the three tracks that were recorded after the fact and those that were tracked during the original session.

Probably my favourite story about the album has to do with Blue Skies Over Bad Lands. While playing it for the first time, with producer Warne Livesey in the control room getting sounds, we captured something that I didn’t think we could recapture. After listening back, it became clear that it was indeed something special, so we left it alone. Thus, the take on the record is the only take that was ever done of it.

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