He eventually turned his attention to an online songwriting contest, which challenged participants to write, record, and upload a new song over the course of one weekend. Newly inspired, Flournoy came up with “Under the Gun” and began to piece together a new band, with former Broken West bandmate Brian Whelan climbing aboard as his right-hand man. More songs followed, and Apex Manor went into the studio with engineers Dan Long and Adam Vine -- both of whom began playing instruments on the band's material, too -- to record their debut album, 2011's The Year of Magical Drinking. ~ Andrew Leahey