There are a lot of uncertainties in the making of a record, and one of those is the question of how long it will take. Having been handed the reigns as solo RK producer for the first time, and with American Jackpot being a complex project, I wanted to make sure we were afforded the luxury of giving each track as much attention as it needed without feeling rushed. So I booked 18 days at our home away from home, Arlyn Studios in Austin, TX.

Either we made really good time, or I booked too many days, because about halfway through, I realized we were going to have a lot of time left over. I started digging through old songs each night after we got home from the studio and worked on them. I sent the guys a bunch of half-finished or finished songs, and we used the extra studio time to record them, thinking we’d find a home for them somewhere down the line. But the extra songs came together so well that we decided we wanted to include them on this record. Every album has its own story and its own feel, so it didn’t feel right to leave these half dozen songs, which were part of this session, on the cutting room floor. The problem now was that I had to

either adjust or abandon my vision for the album of American stories.

A couple months after we’d finished recording, I realized we were only four songs short of two really good records, and that we could release them together, as a twin set of recordings – One with the original American theme, and a second of songs about girls and relationships. We already had the perfect title track recorded – “American Girls.” Now, all that was missing was some more songs.

I went to Idaho and came up with a couple new ones and a good couple starts. Luckily, Jeff Crosby was touring with us all summer, playing lead guitar, so he and I wrote a lot, and, before too long, we had enough to go back and see if they’d live up to the batch we already had.

We were soon back at Arlyn with the same old gang. The second batch met or exceeded my expectations. American Girls was a reality, and those extra songs recorded eerier this year had become the two-headed monster you hold in your hands.

I wanted this one to be just a straight up rock-n-roll song about girls. It opens with a band being overseas and getting attention from all the girls, but they just don’t compare to the girls in the USA, so they head back to the states. Very simple and hopefully old school rock-n-roll. Masterson played some bitchin’ 12-string on this one, giving it a little swagger that played well with his “rocking horse” lead part. Kelley sang some sweet harmonies that make it all the more poppy and really tied the room together with Cody’s stacked background vocals. We changed the rhythm section’s parts on this one about 100 times before we found the right groove. Hats off to Joe and Jazz for rolling with it and finding a vibe that was just right.