The Clarks became a rock-n-roll band in the fall of 1986 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. They played their favorite songs by their musical heroes in the basements of houses and the corners of bars, sometimes for a hundred dollars, but usually just for free beer. They covered the Rave-Ups, the Plimsouls, Hoodoo Gurus, and created a template for their own music.

The Clarks made records, toured the country, and played on Letterman. They started families, wrote more songs about love and loss, and were honored by their alma mater. They reached a point, nearly thirty years on, where they wanted to revisit the music that inspired them in the first place. They made an album called Rewind, a collection of classics by R.E.M., the Replacements, and the Rolling Stones. They took another step forward, this time by looking back.