Story Behind the Song: Fairground Saints, ‘California’

California-raised country trio Fairground Saints almost always write their own songs, but after they moved to Nashville, they wanted to also avail themselves of the robust songwriting community that they had made their new home. Ironically enough, it was in Music City that the group found "California," an ode to their home state that seemed tailor-made for them to record. Read on to learn more, in the band's own words.

Mason Van Valin: We took quite a few pitch meetings, and really wanted to be engaged with the songwriting community of Nashville and know that you can't out-write Nashville. We listened to a lot of songs.

I think sitting down with Marshall [Altman, our producer], for him to present that song to us, it was very telling of how much he knew about us as a band even before we were working with him professionally. To find a song that feels so tailor-made to what we do, we knew immediately that we wanted to cut it.

Megan McAllister: It's one of those feelings you get where you wish you wrote it and you feel like you almost did. It just really resonated with all of us immediately, so we were like, "Let's do it."

Elijah Edwards: I think, in pitch meetings, it's not unusual [to all agree on songs], but for it to be so unanimous, immediately [is special] ... And to come to Nashville to have a song called "California"!

Van Valin: I don't know that it's always super conscious [to make music about California or that draws from a California style], but just listening to the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, the things we grew up on are a part of who we are. Growing up on a California country sound, you love it, so you wanna make it. And to me, actually, it is very conscious, because we're writing from our hearts, and that's a very conscious place to be writing from.