Saffron Falls
Abbey and Andy
When I was in Masterplan, I started a relationship with a girl who was close to the local punk scene. She was more Tori Amos than punk rock, but she loved music the way I did. We went to shows constantly, talked about music endlessly, and started dreaming about creating something of our own. She’d been trained on piano since she was young, loved singing, and eventually wanted to learn another instrument - so I started showing her the bass guitar.
Showing her unlocked something in me too. My idea of a “rockstar” was shaped by Tony Sly from No Use for a Name and Pete Steinkopf from The Bouncing Souls. Because of them, the guitars I loved were Gibson Les Pauls through Mesa Boogie or Marshall half-stacks. Eventually I bought my first black Les Paul and upgraded my whole rig. Abbey bought a bass setup, and together we started writing original music - completely ours.
The only thing missing was a drummer.
Abbey - Vocals, Lyrics, Bass Guitar
One night we wandered into a venue and saw a local band playing. Their drummer, Andy, immediately stood out - he was everything I had ever imagined in a drummer and more. Even though we barely had a band yet, I introduced myself.
He told me he wasn’t looking to play with anyone else and I uncharacteristically pushed that I would still love the opportunity to show him what we were working on and thanked him. Eventually he called, came to practice, and the moment we played together, everything clicked. Andy was expressive, creative, and unbelievably skilled. It was amazing.
With that, Saffron Falls was born.
We spent the next year writing and refining songs. Abbey writing lyrics and melodies and learning to sing while playing for the first time. I was learning to shape songs and build harmonies. And both of us were trying to keep up with Andy - challenging, but motivating.
When we finally had enough material, I already knew where we wanted to record: The Blasting Room in Fort Collins.
Back in 2003, Andrew had started working there, and after visiting him and seeing the studio, I knew it was the dream place. We saved everything we had and spent four weeks recording and mixing with Jason Livermore, Andrew, and Bill Stevenson. We lived at The Blasting Room while we recorded, which was an amazing experience in and of itself. And Andrew, Bill, and Jason, all worked incredibly hard and supported us the entire time.
Andy finished all his drum parts in two days...
Andy Grimm - Drums
Those weeks at The Blasting Room remain some of my most memorable experiences.
Saffron Falls - Someone
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A Dream and a Change
After spending that month in Fort Collins - living and breathing music every single day - we all knew this was where we wanted to call home. Abbey and I had been together since 17, engaged at 24, and for a long time our paths were growing together. But she had matured faster than I had. While I was immersed in music, she was in grad school - thoughtful, capable, and growing in ways I hadn’t yet.
Shortly after we were married, our relationship ended - fast and devastatingly. Because so much of my musical identity had been wrapped up in that partnership, the breakup didn’t just hurt emotionally; it broke my connection to music. For the first time in my life, music wasn't bringing me joy.
But our plans to move were already in motion. Andy, Dave, and I still had everything ready. A month later we drove from Maryland to Colorado, found a place in Old Town, set up a band house, and started our next chapter.
