"The guest thing/duet approach has already been done to no end," Sonny says. "My hope was to make this different by writing songs specifically for each artist. Because I'm so familiar with their styles, and they've all had such an impact on me, I used that connection to make these collaborations have chemistry. I didn't want this to sound like an album of 'sit ins,' I wanted it to sound more like these friends are in the band." The ideas behind this project have been germinating for a while, Sonny says. "That's one of the great things about playing so many sessions. I was able to tap back into many of the experiences I've had with all the guests on this project." Most of all, he says, "I was very touched by how everyone enthusiastically offered to sign on and worked to make it really easy for me to set it up and to put things in place to make it happen."