This project called Wrenclaw commenced over a few beers between Dan Walkner and Brian Knapp in Madison, WI. They decided to record the tracks in Brian’s in-laws’ cabin outside of Rome, WI (there are two Romes, by the way, they were in Adams County Rome). The band consisted of Dan Walkner playing all the guitars and harmonicas, Matt Crane on drums and a few strange percussion items (some kind of a cheese grater?), Dan Plourde on bass, Jacob Miller on percussion and vocals, Nate Gray on keys, and Dan’s dear ol’ daddy, Bill Walkner, on bass, vocals, and the cooking of chili to sustain us through the process. Brian set up a studio in the living room and a “booth” in the bedroom to capture the magic. All of the pre-amps and other recording apparatti (?) were made by, and on loan from, Dan Probst. They recorded it on a Friday night, drank a bunch of beer, played ping-pong, had a bonfire, slept, and recorded the rest on Saturday. Sunday they were greeted with a downpour of snow, and everyone fled except Dan, Jake, and Brian to finish the vocals with the natural reverb of the Great White North. When they got back to Madison, Anna Laube and Corey Hart joined for some vocal dubs, and that was it. Little to no effects, just rooms, instruments, and souls. The LP was mixed by Brian. They then sent it to be mastered by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering in Brooklyn, NY. The art was created by my boyhood pal Matthew Lange in Kansas City, MO. It was colored and edited by my cousin Zack Guyette (also quite the musician himself, check out his band “Zeal of Dinosaurs“), and the layout was created byMaurice Thaler using pictures taken by Erica Krug and a typewriter owned by WORT 89.9 DJ Dave Watts.
