Discography

Gang of Losers

  1. Stories/Anectodes

    1. EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT "GANG OF LOSERS" by Murray Lightburn

      I don't think that it was our intention to re-invent the wheel in constructing this record. In many cases, being "inventive" usually comes out of: 1.) not being able to write songs; 2.) not being able to play an instrument well. This "inventiveness" is often lauded and sometimes merited. At any rate, this is not where the Dears are heading with GOL. We wanted to make a record that was more or less easy to swallow.

      It seems with popular music, there is the ridiculously low brow and then there is music made by and for bookish bougie snobs. Most of it is rather fraudulent stuff, trying to appease various markets, be it Britney Spears fans or the Pitchfork Media congregation. I think the cardinal rule (perhaps the only calculative element) of GOL was that it should land somewhere in between, while not trying to please anyone in particular. Preaching to the converted was never our thing and neither is making compromise. We can, however, be amenable.

      We spent roughly three years touring NCL. Despite a couple of personnel changes, we became a tight unit and loving family. Near the end, we began to talk about what we wanted out of a record. With Natalia being pregnant, it was difficult to foresee how we would make it all work. One thing is for certain was that we were determined to make it work. We all dealt with coming home differently. Some of us pretended it wasn't over and tried to maintain the 'lifestyle', some of us just wanted to forget about being in a band altogether. For a little while no songs were even being written. Neptune was about to arrive so much time was spent in preparation for that. When the smoke cleared, inspiration set in.

      Concept
      I fielded an interview request a few days prior to our baby's birth and one of the questions regarded the subject of The Dears next record. After a few seconds thought I wrote back,'Winners, losers, and fate.' I wasn't even really sure what that meant but I knew that I was asking myself a question.

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