By Andrew Ellis, Editor-In-Chief

Mark Stone and the Dirty Country Band have no ‘off’ button. They had just released an album of new material, but the creative juices would not stop. Inspiration struck, which lead to chords being strummed, lyrics being written, and new songs being created. So they decided to roll with the flow.

“We had the budget to do four songs with the same production,” Stone says. “So we got together and rehearsed the ones that held up.”

But there was more trimming to do be done to get the best of the best. They were able to land on four songs they wanted to put out into the world, and initially settled on the title of Four Stories because of it being their fourth album. However, at the last minute they decided to change the spelling of “four” to “for” a deeper reason.

“We decided For Stories is actually more like why we do music together,” he says. “And that stuck as the title.”

The songs deal with issues that were impacting the band at the time. The album opener “Until Someone Remembers My Name” is something relatable too all independent artists hoping each song will be the one that grabs people’s attention.

“I’ve been in the scene for awhile and people still ask who I am and probably always will,” he says, adding that there are still people who have never heard of greats like Keith Whitley or Steve Earle. “It was a way to say I’ll be doing this until I can’t breathe.”

Then they take a look at less-than-perfect relationships. “When Love Goes to War” looks at the struggles relationships can go through, and “Faster Than They Fall In” looks deeper into unhealthy relationships.

It all concludes with a first for the band. They go to church with “Before You’re Gone,” and Stone even played it live for the first time at House of Grace Church in Montrose.

“It started after hearing ‘Highway to Hell’ and thinking I don’t want all my friends to end up in hell,” he says. “I figured it was within my power to propose an alternative.”