Why Make Clocks

Why Make Clocks originated in Des Moines, Iowa, during 1998, when songwriters Dan Hutchison on vocals and guitar and Brian Wiksell on keyboards, accordion, and guitar first joined forces. Critics soon took note of the pair’s distinctive fusion of chamber pop and folk rock. Their initial recording, the EP The Transient Swivel, appeared in the final years of the decade. Shortly afterward the group grew into a five-piece with the addition of guitarist Karl Siemers, bassist Boonie Boone, and drummer Pat Curtis. The expanded ensemble secured a deal with New York independent label Rubric and tracked their first full-length project at Presto Studios in Lincoln, Nebraska. Fifteen Feet And Twenty Degrees reached stores in October 2002. Although Hutchison’s singing occasionally echoed Michael Stipe of R.E.M. too closely, the songwriting partnership he maintained with Wiksell drew favorable early attention from major music publications.