Soon before their September 2003 appearance on the German television show Rockpalast, The Great Crusades found a new rehearsal space in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. Rough, gritty, and raw, the neighborhood and rehearsal space brought out a new side to the band and a sound that somehow seemed to reflect their newfound surroundings. Add to that the discovery of a new hangout near the rehearsal space building—the Hiawatha Inn.

Although the place’s official name today is the Pizza Lounge, The Great Crusades took to calling it by its name from the 1920s. Chris the bartender filled the guys in on the place’s storied history. It’s been around since Al Capone ruled the Chicago streets all the way to today—a hangout mostly populated by factory workers and the employees of a moving company across the street. But truth be told, it wasn’t history that attracted the guys to the bar. It was the handwritten sign on the door that said, “Monday Through Thursday—Beer and Shot Special—$3.”

Little did The Great Crusades know that this dump of a place would inspire many of the lyrics on their fourth CD, “Welcome to the Hiawatha Inn.” Somehow the saying “if only these walls could talk” just doesn’t cut it as a description of the Hiawatha Inn. These walls wouldn’t shut up! Neither would the bartenders and patrons. That sense of spirited, liquored-up storytelling can be heard in the lyrics of the songs on “Welcome to the Hiawatha Inn.” Stories and tales backed up by a band that can go from blowing-the-doors-off-the-joint rock to introspective, spaced-out Americana to out-of-tune, drinking-song piano ditties.

The band tried to capture the raw energy of the barroom when it came time to record the CD. They completed the basic tracks for the record in two twelve-hour days of recording at Chicago’s Rax Trax studio with Blaise Barton (Bob Dylan, Liz Phair) at the mixing console. And many of what were meant to be “scratch” tracks and rerecorded later were too good to be replaced. They ended up on the CD, including the drums, bass, guitars, guitar solos, a live vocal take on the song “Hiawatha Inn,” and a piano duet recorded live in the studio (“I’ll Be Over Here”).

Which all made sense to The Great Crusades, having toured Europe five times and played countless live shows to support three previous releases (The First Spilled Drink of the Evening [1998],” “Damaged Goods [2000],” and “Never Go Home [2002]”). One of the band’s biggest drawing points has always been its excellent live show. The band tried to capture that raw, loose energy in the studio and combine it with singer Brian Krumm’s always mindful, captivating lyrics. “Welcome to the Hiawatha Inn” is the result. Grab a bar stool, a $3 special, and take it all in.