b'and sentiments, song structures that rejected theMountain Boys did, but I was already branching outbest friends at the time. We had great chemistry. strict verse-chorus-verse format, and a keen inter- musically. Bruce is a fantastic guitar player with aWe had a lot of fun together. It was as much of a est in the kinds of 60s and 70s pop sounds thatunique style, but he was getting more into playinghang-out than a band at that time.were considered outre or kitschy at the time. Whenpedal steel, as he should have. He had a real they covered Chers 1971 hit Gypsies, Tramps &knack for it. But I was hearing a grand piano andWhen he broke the news to Linehan, she didnt Thieves, there was no irony or condescension ina harp and an oboe. I didnt want to turn my newquestion his decision. Instead, she only asked what the way they slowed it way down and reveled insongs into country songs.he needed. I was excited about it, she recalls. I the historical milieu. Instead, they appreciated theknew he had different kinds of music he wanted storyline and especially the alienation that definedJoe found himself at a crossroads. Did he want toto explore. Band breakups are always tough, but the narrators world.spend another two years or more writing, recording,he had a really well-thought-out vision for what he promoting, and touring a new Scud Mountain Boyswanted to do. And it didnt sound like just nostalgia. That friction between pop and country was alreadyalbum, or did he want to figure out how to get hisIt had a modern feel to it.subtly ripping the band apart. I was writing songspop songs on tape? Could he make that work? that were more like pop songs, says Joe. IdWould Sub Pop even release a record with a grandIn March 1997 the second iteration of the Pernice always been into Burt Bacharach as a kid. I lovedpiano and a harp and an oboe? Despite his doubts,Brothers convened at Bobs home in Carlisle, the Beatles and Nilsson. I loved Barry Manilow andhe made the difficult decision to put the ScudMassachusetts, just outside of Boston. It was the Bee Geesnot the disco stuff, although I grewMountain Boys out to pasture. There was a lot ofBob and Joe, with a rhythm section comprised to love that. I was starting to get an ear for moretrepidation, he recalls, because I knew what I wasof Desaulnier on bass and Garret Fontes, from orchestral stuff, and I was trying not to get pigeon- walking away from. We had an immediate vibe inthe Northampton band New Radiant Storm King, holed as a country singer. I loved what the Scudthat band. Not unimportantly, those guys were myon drums. With Bobs wife and kids away for the'