Q-How did the recording process begin for Not Fighters?

John:
First, we (all of us) had to clean up Josh's basement and get it set up for recording.  We gave Josh so much grief for keeping old beer bottles, empty cases of beer, sausage and old golf equipment all crammed into his basement.

Next on the agenda was setting up the recording gear.  Mind you, we were turning Keehr's basement into "Abidition Studios", so we needed to throw some vibeage around.  We got a lava lamp, a poster of Jimmy Hendrix, beer signs, etc, all strategically placed around the studio so the feng shui of the place would be conducive for summoning the spirits of the rock and roll gods to shine their mind-numbing bad assness upon our gear. 

After that important step was done it was just a matter of picking songs, throwing down tracks, picking more songs, throwing down more tracks, and finally picking even more songs.  Levi and I both had allergies, Keehr showed up to the studio with beat up rough hands from doing tile work, and A.J. would drive from Missoula to Bozeman with no sleep. We sang with runny noses, Josh played his congas with his hands covered in hockey tape, and A.J.'s tracks showed no hint of the copious caffeine that coursed through his blood stream.  Abidition reigns my friends.

Levi:
The nationally accredited banjo and slide guitar player, Tony Furtado, played on the first batch of songs. Tony has played with the likes of Béla Fleck and Alison Krauss.  He happened to be touring through town so our schedules just worked out.  You should have seen the look on his face when he walked in and saw the two mattresses propped up in the corner of Josh’s basement for the “isolation booth” that he was about to record in.  But it actually sounded amazing and the added texture really got us excited. You can hear some banjo in the bridge of Grant but he’s mostly featured on Out of Her Mind and Walkin on Air.

Rick Winking, the long time guitar player for Montana Rose, came into Abidition Studios the same day as Tony.  It turned into a 14 hour day for me.  Unlike Tony, who hadn’t heard any of the tracks before recording banjo and slide guitar, Rick had been writing guitar ideas for over a month.  He and I had gotten together once before so I could review and help focus some of his initial guitar ideas to fit the vibe that I was going for. We recorded his ideas, each on a different track.  Some songs had well over ten different guitar tracks when we were done recording.  In the final mix down, no song ended up with more than a couple electric guitar parts which means that picking and choosing which tracks to use was quite a chore but it was nice to have the options.  Rick is an amazing guitar player and the ideas he brought to the table really helped shape where this album ended up going.

Q-What brought about naming the album "Not Fighters"?

John:
My original idea for the album title had been "John Is The King Of All That Is Right With The World," but that made Levi and Keehr feel like I should buy every round of beer for the rest of time, so ultimately I conceded on that title.  On that same theme, I tried to talk the guys into the title, "Hey A.J., Go Grab Us A Cold One," but A.J. pulled some Jedi mind trick on me and talked me out of it.  That guy is GOOD.

After recording 18 tracks for the record, we chose 11 songs that sort of embodied a feeling of "Make Love, Not War."  It sums up not only the record, but the band as well.  Basically we're all a bunch of insane guys who are incredibly devoted to our quirky families.  When it comes to love, we're hopeless romantics.  We're lovers!  Well, not together, of course.  When it comes to fighting, we just don't have enough drama in our world to fight that much.  Maybe someday we'll make an album titled, "Drama Queens," but we've gotten along pretty well for this long, so my guess is we'll be around for a little while longer.

Levi:
I was looking through some old photos that Joel at Rocket Dog Studios had given me so we could find a direction for the cover art.  They were a bunch of really vintage photos of wheat fields and farmers.  I came across these two dudes with pipes in their mouths and they had their dukes up.  It was hilarious so I told Joel “we need to find a way to use this!”  We’re a quirky band so I thought the photo would work just fine since it fits our collective personality.  Joel’s obvious response was “ok, well if you use it for the cover what are you going to call the record?”   By this time we’d gone through tons of names and decided on Undercover World, after the song that John had just written.  Obviously this image didn’t fit the name and by now the song had been pulled from the record because it’s reggae vibe didn’t fit with the rest of the songs.  I was staring at the photo thinking to myself “well we’re definitely not fighters or anything like that…but we could be considered lovers…but that’s a little too soft for an album name.”  For an album full of hints of abidition, songs about love, and plenty of girl references, Not Fighters seemed to be a great fit.  Especially since none of us could fight our way out of a wet paper sack.

Q-What was the mission going into the recording of "Not Fighters"?

John:
We again turned to Levi to produce this project for us.  He had a pretty concise vision of how he wanted the record to sound.  We all wanted it to be raw and real with less vocal effects than we've used in the past, even a bit more acoustic in places.  We are a pop-rock band with country influences, but have never really had any hints of country in our records due to the fact that none of us play banjo, fiddle, or steel guitar.  This was going to be a grand experiment. 

As the recording process went on, we brought in some friends of ours to lay down other tracks.  They ROCKED!  We might be a four piece band, but don't be surprised to see us in the future with fifteen guys on stage.

Ultimately, we all wanted to throw down on a record that would put people in a good mood.  When you're done listening to the record, we wanted you smiling.  Only time will tell us if we nailed our objective or not.

Levi:
We initially thought that this record was going to be “the country record” for us.  Kind of like Madonna reinvents herself every time she comes out with a new record.  I didn’t feel bad about the thought of changing our sound drastically because I knew that the next album would probably be completely different too (maybe more of a Chili Peppers meets G Love).  What we ended up with was not a country record.  It was a pop record with a couple full-on country songs and a couple full-on pop songs and then a couple songs with both pop and country influences. 

The other fun thing about this record was our decision to re-do one of our all time most popular songs, Little Miss Perfect.  We wanted to make it more current and more danceable than the first recording on the Kinky record.  It ended up having tons of energy and I think it’s one of the strongest songs on the record.

Q-Can you give us some insight into the making of these songs?

PARTY (YOU KNOW WE'RE THERE)

Levi:
It’s the first song on the record.  We wanted to kick it off with Party because the song truly embodies the essence of The Clintons.

John:
Any party isn't a real party until the ladies start dancing.  Any pro knows this, and I’m confident in saying The Clintons are party pros.  I can't tell you how many times the band has been playing a show when the club turns on the lights to get us to stop playing.  We don't mean to go past quitting time, but when you're playing music and the ladies are dancing, why quit?  The lyric "you know that we're not stopping 'til they pull the plug" is pretty autobiographical for us.  It's the same at any type of house party.  If there's a guitar to be played and a place to dance, you can guarantee that The Clintons will bring our own cooler.  Free beer is nice too, though.

L*M*P

Levi:
If I had a quarter every time I heard a girl say “this is my song” I’d probably have a solid $2.55.  Yup, that many times.  And yes, I know that you can’t make $2.55 with quarters, I was just testing you.  Hopefully this version will turn my $2.55 into $1000.

John:
I wrote this song after playing a gig in the mighty LBM lounge in Sheridan, WY.  This gal on the dance floor looked straight out of 1984, complete with lots of hair spray, too much make up and massive hoops on her ears that could've been used for short wave radio antennas.  I won't lie, I found her sexy as hell.  She could dance and she was having a blast.  It's been years, but I still get turned on by the thought of that little hottie.

On a side note, I really like how this song turned out on the record.  On our first record it was very "jam band," and now it's more of a "Caribbean meets Nashville" feel.  Don't tell Josh I said this because I don't want him to get cocky on me, but he kicks the piss out of that conga part.

WE COULD BE

Levi:
John and Josh were playing an acoustic duo gig at the Bay Bar and Grill when John first played me this song at least two years ago.  I remember thinking that it was far too poppy for my taste, which in turn made me realize that it needed to go on the next record.  It’s now one of my favorite songs we’ve ever recorded.

John:
The lyric, "I wanna be more than just the story of the guy who wants to be with you, stuck somewhere in between your old fear or new routine," is basically saying, "look, I know you've been hurt, but you and me, we're gonna be different and kick some ass together.  Wanna give it a go?"  However, rather than hide from the gossip that will surely circulate after you start dating, this song invites the gossip.  "We could be what everyone keeps talking about."  Bring it on!

I had been listening to a lot of Jason Mraz when I wrote this song, and you can tell, especially when verse two rolls around. 

TIME OF DAY

Levi:
This song was in the last minute batch of songs to be added to the record.  We all fell in love with it the first time John played it for us.  Because it was recorded in the heart of allergy season we struggled for weeks trying to get the right vocal take out of John.  He found out that if he went for a jog he would have clear sinuses for about ten minutes afterwards.  Everyday John would jog to my house, where the last batch of songs were all recorded, and run upstairs straight into the guest bedroom where the mic was set up.  I’d say it was about the 12th take that we finally captured the magic we were hoping for.  You can still hear the effects of his allergies in the final vocal take.

John:
Ever been "in the mood" but it's too damn hot to do anything about it?  Welcome to "Time Of Day."  The lyric "I love just taking it easy with you baby ‘cause you always look so fine" sums it up.  You love hanging out with your girl, but even though it’s friggin’ hot as hell she looks damn good and it turns you on.  What do you do?  Chill?  Make a move?  "It's that time of day when no one feels like moving, but I'm so in the mood."

Listen to the first verse when the whole band comes in.  A.J. does this tasty fill, Levi throws down a turbo chill groove and Josh sounds like a friggin' machine as he locks in that shaker.  I sing, "you mosey across the room and you flop down next to me," and seriously, that's the sexiest moment in music I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. 

GRANT WANTS TO BE A PIRATE

Levi:
This song is not for everyone.  It’s quirky and weird.  And like the huge boys choir intro to Free Ride in a Cop Car on the Strange Day in Mexico record, we had to put Grant on this record because it’s so different.  I had a lot of fun really going crazy with the production.  Paige sang her ass off and really took the song over the edge.  The moog bass line in the chorus and the funky clav in the verse is Scott Morales who was the last guest musician to record on Not Fighters at my house.  Scott was the perfect man for the job. Back in 2000 he recorded the organ on the first version of Little Miss Perfect.  He walked in the studio with a half drank forty of Old English and we never forgot how funny that was to us.  So this time around I was prepared for his recording session. By the time we got around to recording keyboards on this song, he had downed about half of the forty of Old English that I had waiting for him in my refrigerator.  There’s no doubt that the level of funkiness was influenced by that high quality malt liquor. 

John:
If you ever meet Grant Gershmel over there in Billings, Montana, be sure to give that guy some good man loving from us!  Grant is an incredible friend to all of us.  He's an engineer, but he could easily have been an actor or a stand up comedian.  He is one of the most entertaining guys I've ever met.  His biggest quirk is, he sincerely wants to be a pirate.  His wife, friends and family all have given him crap about it for years.  Well, The Clintons have now immortalized his eccentric quirk with this song!

OUT OF HER MIND

Levi:
There’s no doubt that this song was written from the heart.  We affectionately think of John as a quirky weirdo and the fact that he’s STILL getting married to an amazing girl blows our minds! 

John:
Falling in love was (and is) the best thing that has ever happened for my song writing.  I understand how amazing it feels to be so wrapped up into somebody that I can now talk about it in my songs.  However, when you take a step back and see that they feel the same about you, it makes you wonder, what does this girl see in me?  It's summed up perfectly in the lyrics, "If I'm the one in her head, she's out of her mind to love someone like me who's crazy all of the time."  Of course, she might be thinking the same thing.  "I'm crazy!  What does he see in me?  He must be crazy too!"  That's the cool thing about love.  We see past the bad and indulge in the good.  Love rules. 

SLEEP LIKE YOU

Levi:
If you listen closely you can tell that John is choked up while singing this song.  When you’re looking for the perfect vocal take there’s not really a list of strict requirements.  You just know you got it.  John had recorded three vocal takes in Josh’s basement.  We were getting a little frustrated because we knew none of them were “the take”.  We decided we’d take a five-minute break and come back downstairs for another try.  The first take after we got back just didn’t do the trick.  The second take mesmerized me while I listened through the headphones.  It gave me the chills.  I asked John what he thought and when he answered I realized by his voice that he was crying his eyes out by the end of the song. 

John:
I had been living with a girlfriend for a while and one morning at breakfast she hadn’t said anything to me since we’d gotten up.  I asked her, “what’s up?”  She answered, “John, we need to break up.”  She said it with a finality in her tone that made it very apparent she’d made the decision to break up with me days, maybe a week before she’d actually pulled the trigger.

That memory was the catalyst behind this song.  I imagined myself sleeping well while she was restless; knowing the break up was approaching.  If anyone has ever had the experience of laying in bed at night next to your lover knowing in the morning that you have to break up with them, this song will tear you apart.  Of course you're not sleeping for crap but your soon to be ex is sleeping like a rock.  "I wish I could sleep like you, the way you're lying next to me, because it's over in my head, I just haven't told you yet, it's over.”  This song still chokes me up when the moment hits me just right.

ALRIGHT TONIGHT

Levi:
This song is like nothing we’ve ever done.  It’s fun to play and you never get tired of hearing it.  The feel good vibe represents the way we want people to feel while listening to our records.

John:
Originally I’d begun writing this song as a “the band’s on the road, but we’re done with a tour and I’m coming home to my sweetie” sort of song.  The lyrics didn’t have any magic for me though.  I’d missed the mark and the song sort of sat there for a half of a year.

The song was dusted off and re-wrote after a road trip to the beach.  It was a pretty mellow night with the stars everywhere and my girl singing along to the radio.  I was having a blast, but I found that I was speeding home.  Even though I was completely content to be road tripping with her, I found I couldn’t wait to get home so I could chill out with her at home.  It wasn’t the typical, “I wanna get home a fool around” either.  The lyrics “we’ve got nowhere to be, I’ve got you with me, I think we’re gonna be alright tonight” nail it perfectly.

LEAVE ME ALONE

Levi:
Leave Me Alone was the other old fan favorite that we put on Not Fighters.  We just felt that it was now or never.  It’s never been on a record and our fans have ALWAYS asked us to record it.  My concern was that it would be tough to match the energy of the recorded version with that of the live version.  It’s the high point of every Clintons show that gets the crowd jumping up and down and chugging beer.  I wanted fans to be able to crank it up in their jacked up pick-up trucks or at a crazy party and have it create the same affect of us playing it live. I recorded drums for this during the first of two drum sessions in Phoenix with Ken Mary as the engineer (search “Ken Mary” on Clintons.tv to see the footage).  It just didn’t have the energy I was looking for so we scrapped the whole song even though we already had all of John’s vocals and guitar, the bass and Rick’s guitar (it was basically done) and we started from scratch.  It was all worth it.

John:
I wrote this song on a sleepless night when I was living in Missoula.  I had a really cool blue parakeet named Cosmo, and at 2:30a.m. I got him out of his cage, put him on my shoulder, and started writing this song out of thin air.  It took the bird and me about two hours from start to finish to write the entire thing.  Typically, it takes me ten to twenty hours to finish a song.  This one just sort of spilled out of me.

The band had just wrapped up recording the album that would become our debut record, Kinky, so it was too late to record the song for that album.  We debuted the song live at our Kinky CD release party a few months later.  It quickly became a fan favorite even though there wasn’t a studio recording of it.  We recorded a studio version of the song in November of 2000 to release it on our website as a “Christmas present to the fans,” but I don’t think more than a handful of people ever downloaded it.  As a result of that studio recording, we never really thought to re-record it and put it on a record.

As the years have worn on, the die-hard Clintons fans have requested this song damn near more than any other song at our shows.  We had an overwhelming demand to finally put this song on a record, so seven years later we’ve finally done it!

On a personal note, I want everyone to know that I’ve never been busted for having someone else’s pipe on my dash.  The story is just a fun, crazy story that fits the song really well. 

WALKIN ON AIR

Levi:
This song is just fun.  It ended up being arranged quite differently than the way John and Mike had initially written it.  Tony Furtado is featured heavily on this track.  It’s a great moment on the record when everything falls out and it’s just drums, bass, Tony’s guitar solo and Josh playing the cowbell!

John:
Mike McLellan, my father, wrote this song years ago about his wife, Judy McLellan, who also happens to be my mom, but he only had the song half done.  I told him I was going to finish the song because it was so fun to play and his exact words were, "do it up kid!" 

The first time I played the finished version for Levi was when he was living in the basement of our old bass players’ girlfriends’ house.  That guy always seems to be living in basements.  Anyway, he liked it, and then next thing you know there's a love song from my dad to my mom on a Clintons record. 

I MAKE MY OWN MONEY

Levi:
This was my first experience writing a song with John.  We had a blast writing it and I bet I lost a good 5 pounds of water weight from crying while I was laughing.

This is a woman-power song.  I love when girls get an attitude when someone doesn’t appreciate how hard they work.  The confidence it takes to stand your ground turns me on.  You go girl!

John:
After attending a three day music business seminar out in Hollywood, California, on the 22 hour drive back to Montana, Levi and I wrote this song in our rented, sunflower yellow Chevy Aveo while driving 85mph through the Nevada and Utah desert.  I can't convey to you the euphoria of how hard we laughed while writing lyrics like, "that's what you get baby, for being A MAN," and "I kept the receipts, I can always take this stuff back but you know I aint gonna, cuz I make my own money."  After hours and hours of laughing, the line "Quit nipping at my heels cuz I pay my own beels," still made me laugh to the point that my cheeks were in pain.  It has to be the dumbest lyric of all time, which of course means, I LOVE IT.  Ladies, we make our OWN money.  Let's go shopping!  Wanna hit the guitar store first?