My name is Mike. Bob and I started this band over some beers in Gainesville, Florida, after playing a gig with Company of Thieves in 2009. It was on a tour opening for Plain White T’s, and so we escaped after our set to a bar across the street, whose jukebox fortunately featured several Tom Waits records. The bartender was a huge fan.

Bob and I didn’t really know each other well yet, having been hired hands in a band together for just a few months at that point. So we talked music. We loved a lot of the same music. Honest songs, raw recordings, no studio bullshit. Tom Waits, Elliot Smith, Nirvana… more. We decided to record music together.

Soon after that decision, we called Chris Faller to see if he wanted to play drums. Bob and Chris knew each other from playing in Chicago bands for years – Hush Sound, Wax on Radio, and whatnot. I knew Chris because when I moved to Chicago after quitting my job as an auditor in Cleveland, I lived on a couch at the I.V. Lab.

PS – There are 2 other bands called “The Mutts,” one based in Los Angeles and active from 1983 – 1996; the other based in Brighton, England from 2001 – 2006. Them ain’t us.

Session Tracklist
1. No One Left
2. Prizefighter
3. If It's Hot, It'll Sell
4. Bury You
5. Well, Well, Well (John Lennon Cover)
6. Terranaut
7. Pray Like a Vigilante

Hometown
Chicago, IL

Visit the band’s website

For our friends who live in countries where YouTube is blocked, watch the session on Vimeo.