What happened is we got Lucky.
Better than that, we got Lucky Early. Early enough to stay at it for a while.  In this case, long enough to put out a sixth CD.

The lucky part was obvious enough.  We’d play Biker Bars on Irving Park Road like the Iron Rail and Slates and some of the Bikers would dig it and follow us to Penguin’s in Old Town. When that got shut down after a midweek Narcotics Raid, and we moved to Rush Street, The Bikers and the Penguin’s people went with us. And so on.

We know that we’ve been Lucky. Or Blessed. Or whatever you choose to call it. We know we didn’t get here on our own and the first song on Thread says it as best we can…

Here we are, a Rock & Roll and Stoner Soul Convention.

While there are those who maintain this is our “Darkest Record”, I have to disagree.

Yes, the cover art is a little disturbing. And, yes, we’ve gotten a bunch of inquiries about what it specifically means (for the record, we are not answering or explaining anything as that would take a lot of the fun out of it).
Also, Yes, the Music is a little harder or more Rock-ish on this one, but the brighter tempos and sometimes heavier feel of some of the songs do reflect where we were musically-speaking around the time when we were writing, arranging, and ultimately recording them.  The Lyrics, though, really tell a different story…

As kids who devoured 33 RPM Albums, we always liked to have an Entrance to our CDs. It has been pointed out to us that Here We Are kicks into a heavier mood right at 4:20. Accident? As we’ve said, we’ll never tell…

In Peter Today, the Lyrics point out that tomorrow’s promised to no one.  As a result,  we are glad we are grateful that we got to be together today. Carpe Diem, everybody.

The third variation of this is in Nietzche Stares which describes a few moments of being in a Band, at least in this particular Band.  It goes on to say that it’s great to feel the “bright love that you shine on Me”. We’ve never taken that for granted and it may be obvious, but certain obvious things need to be said anyway or they get missed. And that would be a shame.

So, along those lines…

“Even if you’re leaving
There’s just one thing to ask before you go.
Ask yourself do you need anybody
That’s the only thing I need to know…”

So, yes, the CD is a little faster (sometimes) and a little louder (sometimes) than our other ones, but it also digs a little deeper (hopefully) in an emotional sense at the same time. These 2 concepts pull in different directions throughout the CD, but that’s intentional, even if it’s only held together by a Thread.

-Chief