Ramirezs most adventurous album to date, but a record that captures the mood of the
country in its music as well as in its lyrics. : Being half white and half Mexican has made this
current political climate especially interesting. So many cultures in this country are being
viewed as un-American and it breaks my heart”. This is the first album Ive had properly
produced, says Ramirez, who either produced or co-produced all of his previous efforts.
For Were Not Going Anywhere, he hired Sam Kassirer, who has helmed albums by Josh
Ritter, Lake Street Dive, Bhiman, and many other artists. I needed to evolve and change things up a bit, which is why I
chose Sam. He pushed me in a way I hadnt been pushed before. Kassirer challenged
Ramirez to simultaneously simplify and complicate his songwriting, to find new ways to tell
his stories and make a band record. In January 2017 Ramirez and his band decamped to the
Great North Sound Society, an eighteenth-century farmhouse in rural Maine that serves as
Kassirers studio. Especially in the winter, when the trees are bare and snow blankets the
ground, the setting proved inspiring. Its very secluded, which was part of the appeal. We
were able to get out of our touring headspace and stay completely involved with the
record and what we were doing.