The Minus 5

Against all odds, it is perhaps the seventh full-lengther in a career marked primarily by catastrophe, shame and fisticuffs. (Leave triumphs to those that beseech them.) This record could not have happened without the superhuman efforts of Scott McCaughey. Even though Mr. McCaughey had the assistance of the usual horde of ragtag bandoleros (see below), it was Scott who hung the notes on the staff, gathered the orchestra (paying triple union scale, out of pocket), set up a microphone, manufactured the recording tape, invented electricity, and provided each participant with a sponge and a marmot. Therefore, regarding this project, it is at Scott McCaughey only that any projectiles or pearls must be hurled. The Minus 5 (a/k/a The Gun Album) features the McCaughey/Buck/Ramberg/Rieflin line-up, as well as two tracks recorded in Chicago with Wilco, and guest appearances by John Wesley Harding, Kelly Hogan, Morgan Fisher (Mott), Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger/Long Winters), and Colin Meloy and John Moen (Decemberists).