Sometimes, songwriters can find inspiration in the strangest places. For Ross Flourney, listening to a radio show provided the inspiration for him to break a long spell of writers block, which was partially due to the end of his band, The Broken West. He was down and out, living in Pasadena, until an unlikely source provided the inspiration for him to write again.

NPR’s Monitor Mix blogger Carrie Brownstein offered a challenge to her readers: write and record a single in a single weekend. The snafu was that they had to use the words “dog, firecracker, lampshade, Japan and NPR.” However, this provided the impetus that Flourney needed to resume writing music. He wrote the song “Under The Gun,” which in this case, wasn’t just a clever name, and began writing enough to the point where he was ready to form a new band.

Along with fellow Broken West member Brian Whelan and Andy Creighton, Flourney formed a new outfit, Apex Manor. They decided on the name Apex Manor, which is an apartment building in Los Angeles where Flourney’s close friend, frequent collaborator and bandmate Adam Vine resided and he felt this name that would express the honesty of his new songs.

“The Apex Manor songs definitely feel a lot more honest than what I’ve written before,” Flourney remarks. “Though it might not be apparent to the listener, every song feels like an expression of my feelings. That’s an accomplishment I have never been able to claim before.”

Recorded in multiple studios in Los Angeles in 2010, the outfit’s debut record, The Year of Magical Drinking, is an ode to the songwriter in the sense of it’s lyrics buoyant melodies. “Once the basics had been recorded, Brian and I set about discussing, deliberating, drinking, discussing some more, arranging and finally overdubbing,” Flourney says of the process. “As the songs began to take shape, an arc, a narrative of sorts, started to make itself clear.”

After overcoming a severe case of writer’s block, Flourney and his bandmates have written an album that would make Brownstein proud. Don’t be surprised to hear more from this budding band in the coming months.

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