We Are All Strange Friends

We Are All Strange Friends
We Are All Strange Friends is the second album by American power pop band, The Paper Jets. It was recorded from June 2011 - August 2012, released on January 28, 2014 and produced by Brian Erickson, the first time an individual bandmember received production credit for a Paper Jets project.

Strange Friends is characterized by the adoption of more mature lyrical content and sophisticated song structures that involve changing time signatures, and elements of jazz, heavy rock and progressive music being incorporated into the group's signature power pop style.

Producer Brian Erickson described the album's inspiration coming from some of his favorite albums, including Big Star Third, Cosmos Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ram by Paul & Linda McCartney, and Nilsson Sings Newman by Harry Nilsson. In addition, he had been listening to a number of free jazz albums such as Ornette Coleman's Skies of America, and Jack Johnson by Miles Davis.

The band admits that certain songwriting themes came to them following an extended period where each of the three principle bandmembers had gone through periods of loss and distress. And in an interview, Erickson recalled, "I was listening to Laurie Anderson's album Big Science which contains a line, 'This is the time; this is the record of the time'...it was inspiring to hear such confidence.  At that point, I knew what I wanted."

Background & Recording
The band hit the road following the release of Bored In Town/Sorta Bored. They hired a new manager in Bill Greenwood, an old WRRC-FM DJ during Lettieri and Erickson's time at the station. He had been a fan of The Invisible Solid and kept up with The Paper Jets in the ensuing years. Greenwood's first move as manager was to help the band decide its next move: revist and complete Pictures Like This One, or begin work on a new concept-oriented song cycle that Erickson was calling We Are All Strange Friends. Erickson showed the band the new demos he had been working on and it was ultimately decided that Pictures Like This One would be shelved indefinitely.

The Strange Friends sessions officially began at Erickson's house in Hopewell, New Jersey. He put down guitar parts and called in his old high school friend Tim Ryan to lay down keyboard and synthisizer parts, as well. The sessions then moved to MOSHI Productions in Bordentown, NJ where engineers Ian Bennett and Jeff Sarafinas took over. The rhythm section put their parts down next. Most notably, Frank's drum tracking was done as Hurricane Irene was bearing down on the East Coast. Erickson added his vocal parts next, then Tim Ryan put down piano and backing vocal tracks.

On the strength of his performance during the recording sessions, his considerable musicianship, his long-standing friendship with Erickson, and good working relationship with Lettieri and Maloney, Tim Ryan was brought on board as a full-time member of The Paper Jets. Ryan - a strong songwriter in his own right - had his own material he had wanted to contribute. The plan became to finish and release Strange Friends. Following its album cycle, The Paper Jets would then annoint Ryan a full-fledged member and begin considering his compositions for their albums.

Ryan's Death
In the small hours of the morning on September 29, 2011, while driving Eastbound on Interstate 80 through Rockaway Township, New Jersey, Tim Ryan lost his life in an automobile accident. He was interred at Holy Sepulchre cemetary in Coram, NY on October 4, 2011.

Ensuing Tour
Prior to the release of We Are All Strange Friends, the band hit the road, this time playing college campuses. In order to help themselves through an understandably difficult time, The Paper Jets hired Jim McGee as a touring member. The tour was brief, only lasting three months, afterwhich the band completed the recording of Strange Friends. McGee would contribute guitar to the songs, "I Said You Don't," and "Friends of Friends." He was invited to join as a permanent member of the group but politely declined. Following the completion of The Paper Jets' 2012 college tour, Jim McGee amicably went his own way. It was at this point the band decided it would continue on permanently as a trio.

Release and Reception
After numerous delays, We Are All Strange Friends was released on January 28, 2014. Because advance copies were circulated up to eight months before the album's official release date, pre-release reviews were both prevalent and positive. Jersey Beat Magazine named LP one of New Jersey's Top 20 albums of 2013 (despite it not being officially released until 2014). The group's fortunes continued as the album's first single, "Cooking Up An Accident" received considerable airplay on influential Philadelphia rock station, Radio 104.5 FM. After a successful appearance on their Live at Five program, the station christened The Paper Jets one of Philadelphia's Top 25 Local Bands.

Track Listing (Composer)
1. Cooking Up An Accident (Erickson)

2. Friends of Friends (Erickson)

3. Set of Rules (Erickson)

4. Lena Lena (Erickson/Maloney)

5. It's Only Talk (Erickson/Fiedler)

6. Father's War (Erickson)

7. Making Me Run (Erickson)

8. Now You're Gone (Erickson/Fiedler/Lettieri)

9. I Said You Don't (Erickson)

10. Misinformed (Erickson/Ryan)

11. Getaway Car (Erickson)

Personnel Brian Erickson - vocals, guitar

Scottie Maloney - bass

Frank Lettieri Jr - vocals, drums

Tim Ryan - piano, keyboards, backing vocals

Jim McGee - guitar on "Friends of Friends," and "I Said You Don't"

Ian DG Bennett - tambourine on "Set of Rules," harp on "Father's War"

Bill Lambusta - rhythm guitar on "Set of Rules" (uncredited)

Miscellaneous

 * Brian Erickson had begun compiling material for Strange Friends as far back as December 2008.  This broke a two-year spell of writer's block he had been suffering.
 * 30 demos were recorded prior to the album sessions beginning.  Of those 30, 19 songs were unique; the remainder were repeat songs done in different arrangements.  The band recorded 14 of the 19 unique songs.  The remaining five - "Strange Friends Pt II," "Take My Place," "In Twain," "Monster Movie," and "The Tour," - were never serious contenders to be fully-realized.
 * The songs "Of An Extrovert," "Elizabeth Distressed," and "Frank's Van," were recorded during the album sessions but left off the final product.
 * Lettieri edited a video of "Elizabeth Distressed" which remains unreleased.
 * Bill Lambusta plays rhythm guitar - uncredited - on "Set of Rules."  It is also his voice that can be heard shouting, "Hey!" just before the "Set of Rules" refrain comes in.
 * Following Tim Ryan's death, there were a few backing vocal parts of his that remained unrecorded.  Erickson had contacted Kristen Leu to sing on "Set of Rules," and she initially agreed.  However, due to scheduling difficulties, Leu was never able to make it to the studio and Frank Lettieri sang the parts instead.
 * The Paper Jets met their future booking/tour manager Lisa Grosso during the Strange Friends sessions; she was working as an intern for MOSHI Productions.