This album makes me think of our family trip down to Austin, Texas for a music festival the Avett Brothers were going to be playing at. We drove down in our 1983 Diesel Mercedes with no AC and all black leather seats in the heat of a Texas summer. As you can imagine that was not the most enjoyable experience but we weren’t in school and were about to go see a bunch of our favorite bands. When we got there though we found out that they weren’t going to be there because one of their wives went into labor. It stunk because we had been listening to them the whole way down, belting ones like “Live and Die” and “Geraldine” and couldn’t wait to sing them with the band at the concert. At the end of the day it was okay we got to see other artists and it was a good trip. I remember playing guitar around the campfire and trying to make songs with my brother at our campsite.

When I hear “Pretty Girl From Michigan” I also can’t help but be reminded of the time we met the band in a Best Buy in Detroit. Why they were at a Best Buy? I have no idea but they were, and we brought a guitar and got it signed by them. Me and my brother took pictures with them and it made up for them not being in Austin.