Seven Mary Three’s day&nightdriving, their sixth album (and first for the Bellum/ICON label), represents a return to the band’s original motivation – to make music for themselves, unbound by expectations or constraints. The group, founded by singer/songwriter Jason Ross while a student at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA, released Churn in 1994, an album they recorded in the basement. The single, “Cumbersome,” picked up local radio airplay, leading to a deal with Mammoth Records, and a platinum-plus major-label debut in American Standard, for which they re-recorded most of the songs on Churn. That instant success was both a blessing and a curse, according to Ross.

“We were under a microscope right away,” he explains. “We hadn’t even decided on who we were and we were already being identified as this grunge-rock band.”

If Jason Ross is a grunge singer/songwriter, then so are Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Richard Buckner and Sam Beam of Iron & Wine. . On day&nightdriving, produced by Brian Paulson (Wilco, Son Volt, Beck, Uncle Tupelo and Slint’s influential cult classic Spiderland) Ross delivers a compelling set of songs that lives up to its dichotomous title. The album combines surging, dark, rock anthems like the first single “Last Kiss,” the ringing Gaelic guitars of “Was a Ghost” and the heavy swagger of “Break the Spell,” with the Americana roots feel of the country-flavored swamp stomp “Dreaming Against Me” and the twangy slide guitar on “Upside Down.” The album also boasts soulful contemplative songs like “Hammer and a Stone,” the after-hours drinking ballad “Strangely at Home Here” and the domestic meditations of “She Wants Results” and “Dead Days in the Kitchen.”

For those only familiar with Seven Mary Three from the hit “Cumbersome,” they will be surprised by the band’s new direction. It’s an album about reconciling a career in a rock group with home life, and balancing commitments to band mates with those of family, in a highly personal, reflective, yet raw and honest work.

About two and a half months ago this project was just starting to get off the ground, but the story starts a few years back.  after kenny left the kid rock camp he immediately started recording new songs with long time friend shannon up in michigan.  going through several singers and band names they decided to travel south to the booming metropolis of nashville.  here they would continue recording and searching for the right voice for the project...  enter me!  one evening in mid september kenny and shannon were at a local watering hole and ran into a dear friend and booking agent from APA.  they asked if he knew of any singers and well being that he worked at my booking agency and had heard ligion had called it quits, he mentioned my name.  i think frank may have over sang my praises, but i will appreciate what ever he said eternally.  not but a day later kenny and i had talked on the phone and the next day i was in the studio listening to all these tracks they had cataloged.  i heard one in particular that really hit me at that moment and told shannon to throw up a mic and let me try some stuff.  i didnt have lyrics or anything just a vibe.  so we did a pass of the song as i "scrambled eggs" for lyrics. and boom ambulance was born.  as i finished at that moment kenny offered me the job and here we are.  so here you have it...  the motorflys.