Formed by Russell Pollard (who formerly played with Sebadoh, The Folk Implosion, and Earlimart) in 2007, Everest caught national attention with the release of 2010 sophomore album, On Approach. While the record helped propel them onto bigger stages and put them in front of bigger audiences, most of the band felt the record only scratched the surface of what they could do. Thus the story of Ownerless begins in early 2011 when the four members of Everest found themselves at creative loose ends. Having been recently freed from a deal with Warner Bros and still slightly road-weary from touring relentlessly behind On Approach, the band set up shop with longtime friend and musical compatriot Richard Swift at his National Freedom studios in Cottage Grove, Oregon. After several weeks of recording, the band eventually returned to LA and enlisted another old friend, Rob Schnapf (known for working on Beck’s Mellow Gold & Odelay, Elliott Smith’s XO & Figure 8, as well as Foo Fighters’ eponymous debut) to produce additional recording sessions for the record. It was the kind of creative kick in the pants that the band needed. “He’s a no-bullshit kind of guy,” says front man Russell Pollard, “If something isn’t working or something isn’t right, he’ll totally bench you. No bullshit, no drama. We didn’t have to rush this time either. Doing things at our own pace, we were able to put our egos aside and just concentrate on making the best record possible.”