THE STORY

re·demp·tion

noun

The action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.

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The concept of redemption is as old as time itself; based on looking for ways to right one’s wrongs or in more famous cases, righting the wrongs of some - if not all - others simultaneously. Our ambitions, while noble, are not quite that grand.

Myself, Todd, and Jamie have been making music together for as long as we can remember. At various stages throughout that journey, we’ve had others join us along the way - some for longer than others - but ultimately the core of the group was always us three. Around the turn of the century, we decided to hang it up - permanently, at the time. Patience was growing thin, tempers were growing thinner, and though we’d had some critical success, commercial success wasn’t exactly beating down our door. Plus, life was moving us all in somewhat different directions both physically and mentally, and the cohesion we once had as a bunch of twenty-somethings was starting to wane. Goodbye to all that, then.

Yet, despite not making music together, the three of us stayed in touch, saw each other frequently enough, and kept making music - individually, anyway. Things being what they were, towards the end of the COVID pandemic, Jamie joined me in Idaho for a weekend mountain biking trip. While COVID was, of course, quite terrible, many of the changes that occurred as a result opened our eyes to the fact that we could probably take another shot at making music together as a trio, even living hundreds or thousands of miles apart. Not long after, we raised the idea with Todd, who agreed, and so this new version of whatever we had done twenty years prior was born.

Soon enough, we were swapping demos and songs in various stages of completion over Google Drive, exchanging thoughts and notes on them, ruling some in and others out, and ultimately culling the list down into the six songs you have here today. Once the songs were set, we began developing them in earnest into fully-formed demos, and ultimately into the studio and the finished product you are hearing today. Two years in total, more or less, but not all that long after waiting twenty years.

So why “Redemption?” A couple of reasons. It felt to some degree that our last recordings and shows were less than great, to say the least. As a trio, we let ourselves down certainly, and we probably let our fans down as well. We also left what was arguably some of our best material in the vault, so to speak, and we generally agreed it would be a shame to leave those songs unfinished. With the band distilled down to its true essence and fewer “personalities” involved, it seemed like a great time to exorcize our demons and make a great album in the process, and so that is what we did. Certainly we have redeemed ourselves in our own eyes anyway as this collection of songs has demonstrated the potential we knew was there all along and validated our approach to doing this largely as a threesome. Most importantly, we did these songs for ourselves - not what we thought other people desired. In doing so, we’ve created our best and most uncompromising music to date. We hope that you, the fan, will find these songs redeeming as well, whether you are joining us twenty years since we last spoke, or for the first time.

Will there be more? That remains to be seen. But never say never.

-MM