The Lazy Universe was conceived in the middle of the Nevada desert, where Stacey Tolle and Hudson Flanigan were working on a movie called Nowhere Nevada. The two knew each other back in the 90’s in Reno where they both were involved in the music scene. Hudson played with the bands Trance, Source, and WEM3. Stacey played in Beaker and Gunshot Licker. They both moved away from the area, Hudson to Portland Oregon where he played in the bands AK Burning, The Vinos, and The Mello Outs. Stacey moved to Austin, Texas where she played in the band The People vs De La Rosa.
Hudson and Stacey fell in love out there under the influence of the high desert stars, the psychedelic laden gift bags and the movie lights. Stacey soon moved to Portland and the two immediately started recording this album. They went back to the desert and recorded the album in Reno with Tom Gordon at Imirage Sound Lab Studio. Enlisting the help of their old band mates (Nick Ramirez, Dave Rochelle, Matt Waage and Milan Luna), new friends (Virginia Bowman, violin on Shivaree) and family (Stacey’s sister Terri Snyder on backing vocals) the album Sake was born.
The lyrical content is unusual. Cowboys, self-harmers, schizophrenic teens in the 1940’s being married off to Pentecostal preachers, single mothers of down-syndrome children, alien goddesses and prostitutes from the old west are all represented. The music is as diverse as the subject matter. Psychedelic, country, stoner-rock, and a hint of Latin mix with warm female harmonies and reverb guitars to create a trip through the fringes of the human experience.
In Portland, Stacey and Hudson are lucky enough to have found bassist Eric Shirazzi to complete the trio and add another cosmic dimension. The follow-up album to Sake is in its nebular formation.