“Headed West” features the work of both Merchant and Long as well as a cast of musicians with their roots in the 1980’s hard rock/hair metal scene. The duo brought in outside musicians with resumes that include LA Guns, RATT, Enuff Znuff, KIX, Lita Ford, and more to complete the EP.

“Our original idea was a concept album based loosely around the 1980s hair metal scene where musicians from all over the country migrated to the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles seeking fame and fortune,” Merchant said. “Once we started working on the songs, which we tried to keep stylistically true to the era, we found we needed to bring in some outside artists to fulfill our vision”.

“From the first song we cut “Miles In Between” we knew this wasn’t going to be some throwaway ‘side project’” stated Todd Long who along with Merchant wrote all the music, lyrics, and melodies as well as singing harmony vocals and playing guitar, bass, and drums. “We needed to bring in artists who personified that era and time.”

The concept takes a fictional Midwestern band and traces their move to Los Angeles, their rise to national touring artist and the decline as tastes and the industry itself changes. The story which has become common fodder for shows such as Behind the Music spoke to both Merchant and Long who came of age during the golden era which became known as “hair metal”. A term speaks to what many saw as a focus on style over substance.