The Wildbirds, a band devoted to constant road work, first assembled in 2005 inside an isolated hunting cabin buried deep in the Wisconsin woods. Nicholas Stuart (lead vocals, guitar), Matthew Reetz (guitar), Hugh Masterson (bass), and Jon Jon Fries (drums) used the remote setting to generate freewheeling rock songs, then mailed the unfinished recordings to record labels in hopes of attracting attention; Universal Republic responded with a contract in 2006. Greg Fidelman, whose prior credits include U2, Green Day, Tom Petty, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, was hired as producer, while engineer Greg Gordon, previously associated with Oasis, Hot Hot Heat, and Jet, joined the sessions to shape the material. Their combined efforts yielded the group’s debut album, Golden Daze, which reached completion and street release in 2007. The musicians next retrofitted a short bus into a biodiesel-powered mobile residence, enabling three lengthy U.S. tours, an east-to-west passage across Canada, and scheduled visits to the U.K. in 2008.
