the core of mr. blotto is the brother songwriting team of mike and paul bolger, who had played together in garage rock bands throughout high school. they went in separate directions musically when they attended different colleges, mike leaning towards the hardcore punk stylings of hüsker dü, and paul focusing on the resurgence of 70s rock like aerosmith, while eventually discovering crosby, stills and nash and the grateful dead, who would later become huge influences. after paul graduated he decided to pursue the life of a full-time musician while mike opted to become a lawyer. paul landed a gig as the house singer in a polish club in chicago called "the cardinal club." it was here that paul met guitarist bob georges and they decided to begin playing together.