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and all the other life changes that come with getting older . " Things have changed a lot ," said Pandav . " I think back in 1997 we were just kids , and a lot of it was egocentric . I wanted to get my songs out , even if it wasn ' t the best idea , if it was mine – I would push it . But on this record , I don ' t think it was like that for me or Adam . I think it was more about what ' s the best song , the best way to do this . I think that ' s the difference : maturity and selflessness .
"[ Someone said ], ' You have a whole lifetime to write your first album and a minute to write your next .' Well , since we hadn ' t written a record in 10 years we had 10 years ' worth of material ! Sure we were in bands , but we got to cherry-pick the best stuff out of that . When you ' re writing your sophomore record you ' re kind of like OK hurry up and write , hopefully it ' s as good as the first stuff – so that ' s the big difference
It was 2014 when they started writing together again , so it took about a year and a half to write the songs on Stormchasers . " I think we had about nine ideas when we biggest hook ' s at the end , I like it , but what ' s going on in the middle there ?' And I just looked at Adam and smiled , because that ' s exactly what we wanted : somebody to come in and get their hands dirty , in everything from pre-production to saying , ' Stubhy that lyric ' s stupid !' So - and no disrespect to Joe - but he became the fifth member of the band ."
" Everyone agreed we wanted to have somebody else in there with us to kind of call the shots ," Krier said . " I think since we ' d been working on the songs for a year and a half in the rehearsal room , we were too close to [ the songs ] to make the right decisions , like does it need the bridge , or other minor arrangements and vision . We all agreed after talking to a bunch of people and it all worked out that Johnny was the right one . He came to a rehearsal and was like , ' This is a punk rock band ; let ' s make a punk rock record !' He didn ' t change as much as we thought he would ; instead he focused us , which is what a good producer does .
When asked what recording was like
24 illinoisentertainer . com october 2017 started doing the producer hunt . We went and talked to a bunch of different guys , not that they weren ' t all great , but something wasn ' t right . So I texted Jason - Jason and I are really close ; sometimes I bounce ideas off him before I tell the rest of the guys . I said , ' You know , I have [ producer ] Johnny K ' s number in my phone , what do you think about me reaching out to him ?' And Jason said , ' The worst that ' s going to happen is it ' s going to be a crazy [ studio recording ] rate that we can ' t afford , or he ' s just not interested in working with us .' The last we had heard he was working with some really big bands ."
Chicago music aficionados and hard rock fans know Johnny K . He as produced bands in Chicago since the mid- ' 90s , working with local bands Plain White T ' s , Kill Hannah , and Disturbed as well as Staind , 3 Doors Down , Mushroomhead , Finger Eleven and many more . He was even nominated for a Grammy for Producer of the Year in 2008 . When Pandav got a hold of Johnny K , he told him , " You were the one band that I didn ' t get to work with at that time [ mid- ' 90s Chicago ]. I don ' t think , on your major label release , you got sonically what you deserved ." K showed up at a band practice soon after . " We played a song for him , and immediately he ' s like , ' Yeah the without Sell for the first time , Krier said , " Joe wasn ' t a songwriter , but he ' d make an OK song an incredible song . So that was a bit of added responsibility for me to have to take on . I ' d play my parts but I ' d have to ask , ' What would Joe do in this situation ?' " As we got older we naturally became more focused ," Krier mused . " I talked to many people who ' ve said , ' I was never a big fan of what you did [ in the past ], but you nailed it with this record .' This is one of my favorite records , but I think it would have been a better record with Joe on it ."
Whether it was the maturing of the LBC band members , the refreshing of the mind or " muse " that can come from a creative break , or the strengthening of character after losing a beloved member , or the addition of a powerhouse producer – the resulting record Stormchasers is arguably LBC ' s best compilation of songs yet . Out of the gate the first four tracks are a 1-2 punch , from the smarmy punk beat and hooky chorus of the opener " I Slept With The Devil " and " It ' s After Midnight " to the driving guitars on the title ( -ish ) track " Stormchaser " and to the radio-ready " Sun In My Eyes ." Then there ' s the infectious headbanger " Insomniac ." From lyrics about the past and present , to arrange-
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