Not that there had been any grand master plan for things to turn out like this. With Billie, Jason and Bill all wrapped up with Massive Green Day Business these past couple of years, and Aaron out on a whole other coast, the guys would meet up sporadically for Pinhead rehearsals and jam sessions, bringing ideas to the table as and when they were inspired to do so. During the pandemic there was some remote work involved, but crucially it was all about being together and making the most out of their unique musical connection.
“Once we decided we were going to try to put some songs together, Aaron sent us everything digitally, and then he and I would be on the phone trying to hash out songs,” Jason recalls. “We tried Zoom and we didn’t like it! So there was a little bit of prep involved, but most of the creative stuff happened while we were all together.”
“We were surprised that we had so many songs to record, and we were like, ‘Well, let’s just make a whole album,’” continues Billie. “It’s the first thing that we’ve done since, I think, 2008 or 2009. It’s been a while, and we were definitely inspired to get together with songs. Aaron had lyrics and songs, and I had a few, and Jason and Bill had a couple. It worked out great.”
“Yeah, we all got in a room together this time, and I don’t think we ever had the plans to make a full record,” Bill agrees. “We thought, ‘Well, let’s record a couple of songs and see what happens…’ and then over the course of a couple of days, we ended up with, like, 16 songs. I think we were all pleasantly surprised, and we just went with it (laughs). I don’t know if there were ‘goals’, but I think we were happy and we got more excited the more we worked on it. As it came together, I think it became all of our favourite things we’ve done in a long time – or ever. That spirit kept it moving forward, and kept us energised to make things better, and make sure it was the way we wanted.”
“One of my favourite records that we did was [1994 EP] Carry The Banner – that record was just us on fire for some reason,” adds Billie. “I was so blown away by that record, but now as we’re playing, I’m kinda looking at these guys going, ‘Holy fuck, I think we just made our best record!’ And everyone’s like, ‘Yeah, I think we did!’”