In the beginning, there was Mantis. In the late '70s and early '80s, Kevin, Dean, Tom and Bob played together as Mantis. Bob was invited to join this reunion but couldn't make it back from the alternate universe he's currently living in.
In 2000, Kevin proposed that a studio should be built and we should all write some new songs and record them. After a meeting over a barbecue, things got quiet for a few years until Kevin started making noises about having the studio almost completed. We got together for the first time in the studio in August, 2004.
We spent just about every Sunday for the rest of the year experimenting with the board (a Roland VS2480) and figuring out how to mic the drums. Writing and recording went on through 2005. We were planning on finishing by the end of the year but still had only scratch vocals. Kevin came up with another great song right at the end of the year. Recording of music finally came to a close around February 2006.
We finally arranged for Paul to come in and do vocals. Paul was tough to schedule. It took us most of 2006 to finish the vocals and some other final touches.
At the end of 2006 we all got together to listen to the mix. The rest of the winter was spent making final adjustments to the mix and premastering. We finally had a product we were ready to send out for mastering around March, 2007.
Spring and summer were spent trying to get the cover art done. A cover painting had been comissioned but not until everything else was done. Finally, Kevin couldn't wait any longer. While going through some old photos at home with his mother, he came across the firehouse picture — that's his grandfather at the wheel.
Autumn 2007 was spent getting the mastering right. Finally, in November, 2007, Kevin had 1000 CDs stacked up in boxes outside the studio — complete with misspelled names.