'Sumday' Has Come for Grandaddy

Defined as a self-proclaimed symphonic and lyrical culmination of their lives as professional musicians, Grandaddy recently completed recording its fourth studio album entitled "Sumday," considered by the members to be their best work to date.

"After the first six songs were mixed and this half of the album was completed, all of us, other than Jason who knew earlier on, became a little more aware of what was going on with the record," said drummer Aaron Burtch. "A lot of the record-making process occurred late at night with Jason working by himself, and we'd come in the next morning and hear what happened when we were gone. It becomes a very interesting record-making process."

The quintet -- comprising Burtch, bassist Kevin Garcia, guitarist Jim Fairchild, keyboardist Tim Dryden and lead singer Jason Lytle -- grew up in the tiny, rural town of Modesto located in Central California, an area where they all still reside.

"Talking about where we are from on our albums is the utmost importance to us. It always ends up bleeding into the product we make," said Burtch. "Especially this record, there is a lot of Modesto on this one."

The group spent more than two years on the preparation and production of "Sumday." The group made the album in a modest suburban house Lytle bought specifically for the recording sessions. The band spent about six months preparing for the sessions and six months recording the album. The work followed a nationwide tour promoting 2000's "Sophtware Slump."

"Our whole band, since the beginning, has taken from our life experiences outside the realm of music," added Burtch. "This is one of the reasons why it takes us so long to make a record. We tour for a long time behind a record, and then when we're done and ready to sit down and make another record, we don't really have those life experiences because we've been living inside that tour bubble for so long. We can't really write songs about touring. Some people can, Bob Seger can, we can't. It ends up where we sort of have to live before the material can surface."

The members of Grandaddy think of "Sumday" as a lyrical reflection of their Zen perspective on the world grounded in their personal lives in Modesto. Many of the tunes delve into the path of self-realization the band has experienced throughout a history that dates back to the early 1990s.

"I think one of the neat things about this record is that there are a few things from way back in the day that ended up making their way onto the new album like segments from old songs," explained Burtch. "I think that this observation assisted in bringing us full circle and this is what made us more aware of what was going on. Knowing your surroundings, that's really what we're all about. We notice the little things and know the little things make an impact. That's definitely a part of what we do."