Album Notes

Lone Official began in the fall of 2002 as a two-piece band led by Matt Button on vocals and guitar and Ben Martin on drums. The duo's sound expounded on the indie-rock sound of Louisville and Chicago, drawing heavy influences from the likes of Will Oldham, Silver Jews and Pavement and combined it with left-turn chord progressions and jazz-fueled detours. Together they recorded a five-song lo-fi demo at a local studio.
After playing a few shows at local mainstay Springwater, the duo quickly attracted the attention of musicians from local groups Character and Trophy, both of whom have gained rapid local stardom and rave reviews. Lone Official expanded by adding Trophy members Sami El Amri on guitar and Brian Nichols on keyboards, followed by the addition of Character members Eric Williams on bass and Ryan Norris on additional keyboards. The newly expanded group went into a state-of-the-art Nashville studio to build on the songs that Button and Martin had already begun. Button continued writing new songs for these recording sessions providing five more tracks for their debut album.
The growing popularity of the band led local independent record label Set International, Character's own imprint, to agree to independently release their debut album. The songs grew to take new shape in the confines of the studio with the addition of steel guitars and trumpets to the mix as well as their standard two guitar, two keyboard, bass, drums and vocals. A total of ten songs have been recorded and released on Set International Records. They are preparing to re-enter the studio with a whole new slate of tracks sometime early next year while preparing for an official nationally distributed release of their self-titled debut album.