It was done for causers between tours [of This] over the course of about [two] Months. I never really consciously recorded a record. Causers was a series of demos that I just whipped up. But Unter der Kiefer was a little more conceptual as I wanted to keep everything natural and free of samples and loops. I worked on it alone at my parents’ house in South Carolina and recorded while they were at work and stopped when they got home. Recording UTP really got me started learning the right way to record with multiple microphones and acoustic space. I’ve listened to a lot of disco, funk, astral jazz and psych rock. The lyrics were once again the last thing I added to the songs. You can hear all the imperfections and happy accidents spread all over the record that make up so many great moments. When it came to mixing, I didn’t know what to expect that I had never mixed in a studio before. I ended up finding Chase Park Audio in Athens, GA, where engineer Drew Vandenberg helped me clear my insecurities about mixing my vocals. It was the last shot I took before moving to California, and a lot of the topics in my lyrics have been leaving home and keeping in touch with friends and family. For me, that record opened the door to records like What For? and Star Stuff (CBMM2). It was a statement to go beyond the bedroom. Many thanks to everyone who has supported me and the band for so long, without you we honestly wouldn’t be here.
